GGRAsia – Wynn CEO Billings 11pct rise in base salary in 4-yr deal

Wynn CEO Billings 11pct rise in base salary in 4-yr deal

Jun 05, 2023 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck, World

Craig Billings, chief executive of casino group Wynn Resorts Ltd, has been awarded an 11.1 percent increase in his annual base salary as part of a new four-year employment agreement that will run until June 1, 2027.

Under the arrangement, announced in a Friday filing in the United States – and effective from Thursday (June 1) – the annual base salary for Mr Billings (pictured in a file photo) will rise to US$2.0 million, from US$1.8 million.

He will also be eligible to an increase to his annual target bonus from “no less than 200 percent to no less than 250 percent” of his annual base salary.

There is also a provision for an increase in the target value of his annual equity grant of restricted stock, “from 375 percent to 410 percent” of his annual base salary.

Mr Billings oversaw the successful refreshment of Wynn Macau Ltd’s rights to Macau casino business via a new 10-year public concession that began on January 1. The brand runs the Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace properties in that market.

On his watch, the firm has also navigated the difficult trading conditions in its United States and Macau markets, linked to the Covid-19 pandemic. In the U.S. the group operates Wynn Las Vegas, in Las Vegas, Nevada; and Encore Boston Harbor in Massachusetts.

The parent group has additionally under Mr Billings clinched an agreement for an anticipated US$3.9-billion casino complex for Ras Al Khaimah in the Unites Arab Emirates, to be managed by Wynn Resorts.

In another step with effect from June 1, the company amended its employment agreement with Julie Cameron-Doe, Wynn Resorts’ chief financial officer, extending it to June 1, 2026.

She will also be entitled to a 5.6-percent rise in annual base salary, to US$950,000, from US$900,000. Other updated terms include an increase in the target value of her annual equity grant of restricted stock “from 150 percent to 175 percent” of her annual base salary; and an extension of her eligibility to participate in the group’s senior executive health programme.

On June 1, Hong Kong-listed Wynn Macau Ltd said in a filing that Ian Coughlan – president of that firm from September 2016 until February this year – was no longer a non-executive director of the company, following the Thursday conclusion of his term of office. He will remain as a company adviser until the end of the year, as previously announced.

Taking his place as non-executive director of the Macau unit is Ms Cameron-Doe. Her appointment became effective on Friday, for a term of three years.