CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, MACAU
Galaxy Entertainment Group
POWER SCORE: 1,253
POSITION LAST YEAR: 18
CLAIMS TO FAME
- Helped launch The Venetian Macao in 2007
- Decades of experience in senior management, specializing in mass market
- Trusted deputy of Galaxy Vice Chairman Francis Lui
Just about everyone in the industry has felt the pain of the COVID-19 pandemic, but thanks to a frugal fiscal policy once scoffed at by peers and now the envy of the world, Galaxy Entertainment Group is best positioned to brave the tempest and safely navigate towards a posta-COVID world.
While its peers have survived 2020 by accruing debt, GEG has been aided by a huge stockpile of cash put aside in recent years thanks to a hugely successful operation largely overseen by Kevin Kelley and his team.
Vice Chairman Francis Lui made particular note of GEG’s strong cash position during the company’s 2Q20 results announcement in August – namely HK$49.8 billion (US$6.4 billion) in cash and liquid investments and HK$43.6 billion (US$5.6 billion) of net cash – with Kelley’s boss insisting the company has no need to bolster liquidity via the issuing of debt.
Instead, Galaxy managed to reduce its daily operating costs by more than 25% to around US$2.5 million between the first and second quarters to give it ample breathing room for whatever lies ahead.
Nonetheless, it seems Kelley would welcome the challenges posed by the past 12 months. A seasoned executive who is no stranger to high pressure situations, his 40 years of industry experience has included time spent as Senior Vice President of Operations at Las Vegas Sands where he helped open The Venetian Macao – Galaxy’s nearest neighbour upon the unusually quiet Cotai landscape.
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