PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Wynn Macau Ltd
POWER SCORE: 1,170
POSITION LAST YEAR: 19
CLAIMS TO FAME
- Appointed President in 2016 after Wynn Palace’s shaky start and led the highly successful re-alignment of the property
- Led Wynn in Macau while newly minted CEO Matt Maddox steered Wynn in the US through the turbulent post-Steve Wynn waters
Eight years with world-renowned hotel brand The Peninsula, and four each as General Manager of The Peninsula Bangkok and The Peninsula Hong Kong, honed Ian Coughlan’s instinct that it is the brand itself which shines, rather than any one individual attached to it.
Nevertheless, many in the industry attribute the unique position the Wynn brand in Macau has secured as the unrivaled pinnacle of luxury to Coughlan, rather than his former boss after which it is named. Wynn in Macau has overtaken its American namesake in terms of brand standards, with an utterly fastidious attention to detail earning it more than a dozen Forbes five-star awards across its peninsular and Cotai properties, including bragging rights for Wynn Palace as the world’s largest Forbes five-star hotel.
Coughlan prefers to lie low, and while that lack of noise around his personal brand may have led his Power 50 ranking to suffer in prior years, anyone achieving the success that Coughlan has can remain a hidden gem for only so long.
Just as Coughlan collects fiercely loyal subordinates who think for the long-term, the man some refer to as “the defender of the Wynn Macau brand” has himself been loyal to his company, having joined in 2007 and remained there ever since. There have even been “next in line” murmurings when the subject of succession planning for the very top job arises.
Away from work, Coughlan is known to have an almost encyclopedic knowledge of music – perhaps just another reflection of an ability to recall the most minute of details from an immense array of information.
For the full list of 2020 Asian Gaming Power 50 winners, click here.
