The CEO of Star Entertainment Group’s flagship property, The Star Sydney, has stepped down just nine months after first joining the company.
Star announced on Monday that Scott Wharton, who was also Group Head of Transformation, would depart on 28 April after accepting a new role outside the company. It is being reported that he will lead salary packaging and novated leases company Smartgroup as of July.
Wharton, a former executive with Commonwealth Bank of Australia, joined Star in July 2022 with a remit to drive a transformation of the group’s culture following a damning regulatory review into The Star Sydney’s operations. The review ultimately found Star unsuitable to retain its casino license for The Star Sydney but provided a two-year window to prove it can transform under the purview of a Special manager.
Interim Star Chairman Ben Heap said of Wharton at the time, “Scott has exemplary credentials as we drive a renewal program across the group. The work he led at CBA has been recognized as one of the most comprehensive reforms of corporate culture in Australia.
“His leadership, capabilities, expertise in delivering significant transformation working closely with regulators, together with his commercial skills and experience managing complex businesses, made him the ideal; candidate to take on this key position within the organization.”
Following news of his resignation on Monday, Star Entertainment Group CEO and Managing Director Robbie Cooke revealed a restructure would now take place with two new candidates to be appointed to fill Wharton’s dual roles. One of those is current General Manager Transformation Office, Nicola Burke, who will take over Wharton’s Chief Transformation Officer role, with a new CEO of The Star Sydney to be named at a later date.
“I want to thank Scott for his valuable contribution, particularly in respect of our remediation actions,” said Cooke.
“We are committed to winning back trust and confidence from the community and the work Scott has led since his appointment last July has laid incredibly important foundations.
“We still have a lot of work ahead, but the Board and the management team have an unwavering focus on proving our suitability to hold casino licenses in NSW and Queensland.”
Wharton’s departure comes just weeks after Star completed an AU$800 million (US$532 million) equity raising initiative, having reporting a net loss after tax of AU$1.26 billion (US$849 million) in 1H23, which included AU$1.31 billion (US$892 million) in “significant items” emanating from regulatory action taken against it in NSW and Queensland.
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