Every few years or so, gaming companies find management revamps and shuffles and early this year, Crown Resorts saw this with the CFO Ken Barton taking over the top spot vacated by John Alexander. This management reshuffle has also seen movement in other positions, with Helen Coonan taking the Non-Executive Chair and the Deputy Chair being claimed by John Hovarth.
This move is due to feedback coming from the company’s shareholders which prompted them to return to a more traditional management model. This doesn’t mean however that former CEO John Alexander is out of the company. He is still a member of the board as the company transitions to a new way of being managed.
It has been mentioned that Coonan and Hovarth bring a lot to the table with their expertise, background, and knowledge. Coonan is said to bring with her years of corporate and legal expertise while Horvath, who is also a professor, comes onboard with fresh ideas and perspectives for the group.
This reshuffle is said to come after the company came under fire due to allegations of money laundering and failure to disclose the sale of shares. The sale of shares is to Melco International, which was made before the authorities were informed of such a move. The public announcement of these sales came after the fact and is considered a breach the casino licensing laws of NSW. The announcement was about Melco’s plan to purchase approximately 20% of Crown Resorts.
The money laundering charge, on the other hand, was brought about by CCTV footage that showed a huge amount in AU$ being exchanged for high-value casino chips. The amount mentioned was somewhere in the ballpark of AU$100,000 or approximately US$67,000. Investigations are still ongoing on both allegations.
