GGRAsia – Carruthers to leave Crown before year-end: company

Carruthers to leave Crown before year-end: company

Aug 26, 2024 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck, World

Macau casino veteran Ciarán Carruthers (pictured in a file photo) is to leave before year-end his current role as chief executive of Australian casino operator Crown Resorts Ltd.

David Tsai, president and chief operating officer at Crown Resorts, will become acting chief executive from September 1 until a permanent replacement is found.

The development was confirmed to GGRAsia in a company statement emailed at our request following Monday reports by media including the Australian Financial Review and other outlets.

The statement said: “Mr Carruthers steered the business through a period of significant transformation and remediation, culminating in Crown Melbourne and Sydney being deemed suitable by their respective state regulators while also progressing the Perth transformation programme.”

“Following these significant achievements, Mr Carruthers has decided now is an appropriate time to depart.”

John Borghetti, Crown Resorts’ chairman, was cited saying: “It has been a privilege to work alongside Ciarán during this critical period of transformation and remediation which has resulted in Crown retaining its licence to operate in both Victoria and New South Wales,” with similar effort regarding its property in Perth, Western Australia, “well progressed”.

Mr Carruthers was cited as saying: “It has been my privilege to lead the committed and talented team at Crown Resorts, but I feel now is an appropriate time after two and a half years of intensive transformation work to pursue other opportunities and interests.

“I am very pleased to hand over a stronger, compliant and transformed business to its next leader. There is more work to do, but I am very proud of what we have achieved as a team.”

Mr Carruthers had been chief operating officer of the Wynn Macau property of Macau casino operator Wynn Macau Ltd, up to September 2022, the time he joined Crown Resorts as CEO.

Investment firm Blackstone Inc completed its US$6.15-billion acquisition of Crown Resorts in June 2022.

Before and subsequent to the takeover, Crown Resorts’ business has been roiled by regulatory scrutiny – some of it with elements common to its main commercial rival in Australia, The Star Entertainment Group Ltd, in terms of reported past links with Chinese junkets and alleged regulatory failings.

Crown Resorts runs casino properties in Melbourne, Victoria; Perth, Western Australia; and Sydney, New South Wales.

In March, Crown Resorts learned it would be allowed to keep its licence to run the Crown Melbourne property in Victoria, following a lengthy probation period and reviews from the authorities there.

In April, the regulatory authorities in New South Wales found Crown Resorts “suitable” to retain its Crown Sydney casino licence, after nearly three years of work by the group to improve its overall business practices.

Crown Perth has been implementing its own remediation plan, with a report due to be submitted to Western Australia’s regulator by the end of January 2025, according to an April statement by Crown Resorts.