Crown Resorts, a land-based casino operator, has made several appointments to its leadership team. David Tsai is now the president and chief operating officer of Crown Resorts and Nicole Pelchen is chief technology officer.
These senior executive positions are a mix of both internal and external appointments. Crown said that leadership changes would take place over the course of the next three month.
Tsai is one of the new appointments. He was most recently Crown Perth’s CEO and will now take on a senior position within Crown. Tsai, who was most recently CEO of Crown Perth, will now take on a new senior role within Crown.
Brian Pereira will be the interim CEO of Crown Perth while Crown searches for a permanent successor.
Crown seeks out new government relations and CTO chief for Crown
Pelchen will join Crown as CTO with effect on 12 August. Pelchen, an experienced executive who has worked in several industries over a 25-year career span, joins Crown. She was most recently CTO at MUFG Pension & Market Services. Previously, she worked for ANZ Bank, IBM, and MUFG.
Gemma Allman has also been promoted to the position of chief Government Relations Officer. After 16 years at ExxonMobil where she most recently served as General Public and Government Affairs Manager, Gemma Allman will be joining Crown in October.
Louise Tebbutt has also been appointed chief culture and people officer. Tebbutt joined Crown after nearly six years in the role of chief people officer for Bendigo Adelaide Bank. She has also held several positions at Australian department retailer Myer.
Stanford Le is the final appointment, and he will be taking on the CEO role at Crown Sydney. Mark McWhinnie announced recently that he would be retiring. Le worked for nearly 20 years in the gambling sector, including at Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Resorts. He currently serves as the CEO and President of Snoqualmie Casino.
McWhinnie is staying with the company until Le comes on board in October.
Crown is undergoing a transformation.
Carruthers, the group CEO of Crown Group Ltd. welcomed the new members to its leadership team. The changes, he added, will help the operator through a time he described as a critical period of change.
Carruthers stated, “I’m delighted to announce David Tsai’s expanded role as well as to welcome four veterans from their respective industries who will bring global perspectives and experience to Crown Resorts.”
The addition of Stanford Le, Gemma Allman and Louise Tebbutt to the team will help the company transform at a crucial time.
Carruthers paid McWhinnie a tribute for his leadership of Crown’s Sydney reformation and remediation program over the last three years. He said that the New South Wales Independent Casino Commission found Crown to be suitable for operation in the state.
Mark’s leadership was instrumental in the evolution of our business. Stanford will continue to focus on this under his leadership as Crown Sydney’s new CEO, he said.
John Borghetti’s appointment as Virgin Australia’s new Chairman was confirmed last month. Borghetti will take over the role in one month.
Crown licenses survive New South Wales, Victoria scare
Crown, as Carruthers stated, has successfully restructured their business in order to retain licences in both states that are crucial, following a 2021 report on the practices of the operator.
Crown was able to retain the casino license for their Sydney property in April. The state has been undergoing intensive remediation for three years after the Bergin Report deemed it “unsuitable to operate a Casino at Barangaroo, Sydney” in February 2021.
Crown had also been told a few weeks earlier that it would be able to keep its Victoria casino license. In March, the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission ruled that Crown was eligible to have a license for its Melbourne casino.
Crown Casino has also implemented a number of changes in response to the Royal Commission on casino licenses.
