Revolving management table spins again at The Star
The fast-spinning roulette wheel that is the board and senior management table of The Star Entertainment Group has had another spin, leaving spectators dizzy.
On Tuesday, the company, which owns The Star Gold Coast and employs 9000 people, announced that Steve McCann would immediately leave his role as Group CEO and Managing Director.
The company said chairman Bruce Mathieson Jnr, the son of the Hedges Avenue-dwelling pubs baron Bruce Mathieson Snr, would take on the role of acting CEO “while a search for a permanent CEO is conducted”
Mr McCann agreed to remain available to help the company through a handover period until July 8 next year.
“On behalf of the Board I want to thank Steve for his strong leadership and hard work during one of the most complex and challenging periods for The Star,’’ Mr Mathieson Jnr said on Tuesday.
“Steve joined at a time of crisis for The Star and has helped to deliver a critical financial reset for the business and successfully progressed our remediation plan, which have laid the foundations for The Star’s long-term future success.
“We wish him well in his next endeavours.”
But less than 24 hours later the company announced that Mr Mathieson Jnr had stepped down as chairman and Bally’s Corporation’s Soo Kim would take on the role.
And in a surprising twist, Mr Mathieson Jnr has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of The Star, as well as remaining on the Board.
The Star also announced that two other executive directors, Peter Hodgson and Toni Thornton, resigned on Tuesday.
The Board will now comprise Soo Kim, Bruce Mathieson Jnr, and George Papanier.
Earlier this year, US casino giant Bally’s Corporation and the Mathieson family-controlled Investment Holdings teamed up to save The Star from the scrap heap
Bally’s Corporation, which owns and operates 19 casinos across 11 US states, and the Mathiesons poured in $300 million to salvage the company.
The Star Entertainment Group had been trapped in a financial black hole which was threatening to suck the life out of the company which owns casinos on the Gold Coast, Brisbane, and Sydney.
The company has staggered from one crisis to another since a money-laundering scandal erupted in 2021. NSW’s Independent Casino Commission heard evidence of money laundering, links to organised crime and fraud. The Star was fined $15 million and is now operating with Government-appointed manager Nick Weeks running the operation.
A 2022 Queensland inquiry that Star was “unsuitable to hold a licence”. The Star Gold Coast was due to have its casino licence suspended for 90 days from December 20, 2024, but the Queensland Government postponed its decision.
 |
|