Michael Leven is retiring as president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp.
The company said the veteran hotelier will leave when his contract expires the end of this year, concluding a five-year run that saw LVS emerge from the 2008-09 financial crisis to amass a US$60.2 billion market capitalization, the highest in the industry.
During his tenure, NYSE-listed LVS took its market-leading Macau operations public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, significantly expanded its footprint in Macau with the opening of Sands Cotai Central and opened Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. More than 75% of the company’s industry-leading revenues come from Macau and Singapore.
“I’m grateful to Sheldon and his family for allowing me to help him lead the company during such a tremendous period of growth,” Leven, 76, said in a statement. “For me, this is truly a storybook ending to a more than 50-year career in the hospitality industry. I wouldn’t want it to end any other way.”
Mr Leven was a retired hotel company executive and an independent board member when Sheldon Adelson asked him to become president in 2009 after firing longtime President Bill Weidner during a management dispute. Mr Leven agreed to a contract extension in 2011.
A committee of the company’s board will conduct a search for a new president.
Mr Leven’s departure has fueled speculation that Mr Adelson, who is 80, might step down as CEO. Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported the billionaire was considering bringing in a new chief executive when Mr Leven leaves. But Mr Adelson, who is also chairman and controlling shareholder, was quick to quash it, quoting Mark Twain: “The rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated,” he said.
“We have taken an important leadership position in the gaming and hospitality industry, and I plan on spending year after year building on that success,” he said. “I am intently focused on building on the momentum we have established over the past several years.”
Forbes ranks Mr Adelson the world’s ninth richest individual with a net worth of US$36.2 billion. He and his family hold roughly 53% of LVS.
Mr Leven’s departure will leave President of Global Gaming Operations Rob Goldstein, 59, as the company’s longest-serving executive after Mr Adelson. CFO Ken Kay left last July. Chris Cahill resigned in March as executive vice president of global operations.
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