A top executive of Genting Highlands Resort is leaving Malaysia and relocating to the Philippines to take over as chief operating officer of the company that will manage the US$1.4 billion Belle Grande scheduled to open in next summer at Manila’s new Entertainment City casino complex.
Kevin Sim, the executive vice president in charge of Genting Highlands’ casino and hotels, will join Melco Crown Philippines on 29th April, the company said in a statement.
MCP is the Philippines-listed subsidiary of Macau casino operator Melco Crown Entertainment. MCP has contracted with Belle Grande’s owner, a division of Philippines retail and commercial property giant SM Investments, to manage the resort’s operations. Melco Crown also is an equity partner in the project.
Mr Sim is credited with being the driving force behind Genting Highland’s move into integrated data base marketing and customer relatonship management, a track record that Melco Crown Entertainment CEO Lawrence Ho said “will be instrumental in customer acquisition and profitablity management” at Belle Grande.
“I am confident that [Mr Sim’s] extensive experience and familiarization with the Asian gaming market, including his vast experience in data-based strategy and analytics, will be an integral part of the success of our project in Manila.”
Mr Sim’s previous jobs at Genting Highlands included senior vice president of casino operations, vice president of slots and vice president of finance.