• Subscribe
  • Magazines
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
Tuesday 5 August 2025
  • zh-hant 中文
  • ja 日本語
  • en English
IAG
Advertisement
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Cambodia
    • China
    • CNMI
    • Europe
    • Hong Kong
    • India
    • Japan
    • Laos
    • Latin America
    • Malaysia
    • Macau
    • Nepal
    • New Zealand
    • North America
    • North Korea
    • Philippines
    • Russia
    • Singapore
    • South Korea
    • Sri Lanka
    • Thailand
    • UAE
    • Vietnam
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
  • 中文
  • 日本語
No Result
View All Result
IAG
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Cambodia
    • China
    • CNMI
    • Europe
    • Hong Kong
    • India
    • Japan
    • Laos
    • Latin America
    • Malaysia
    • Macau
    • Nepal
    • New Zealand
    • North America
    • North Korea
    • Philippines
    • Russia
    • Singapore
    • South Korea
    • Sri Lanka
    • Thailand
    • UAE
    • Vietnam
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
  • 中文
  • 日本語
No Result
View All Result
IAG
No Result
View All Result

New Crown boss gets emotional talking plans to overhaul corporate culture

Ben Blaschke by Ben Blaschke
Tue 6 Jul 2021 at 15:42
New Crown boss gets emotional talking plans to overhaul corporate culture
58
SHARES
1.5k
VIEWS
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Recently appointed Crown Resorts Managing Director and CEO Steve McCann gave a brief glimpse into the monumental task ahead after choking up during Tuesday’s Royal Commission hearings in Melbourne when describing his plans for cultural reform at the embattled casino giant.

Royal Commissioner Ray Finkelstein QC eventually took a 10-minute break to allow McCann to compose himself as the former Lendlease boss described the impact Crown’s damaged reputation was having on staff.

The Royal Commission, which was recently granted more time and funding by the Victorian state government, is examining whether Crown is fit to retain a Victorian casino licence for its flagship business, Crown Melbourne.

Providing some details around conversations he had already held with a number of Crown Melbourne employees, McCann, who only stepped into the role on 1 June, said his early assessment “is that there is a very significant population of Crown [employees] who are crying out for the ability to speak up, the ability to be involved, to restore the pride in the organisation that they used to feel but that is currently a challenge because their family and friends are struggling with what’s going on.”

Royal Commissioner Ray Finkelstein QC

Explaining the need to implement strong corporate values and purposes amid concerns around the company’s gambling addiction measures, including a revelation that one patron had gambled for 96 hours straight without being checked upon, McCann said, “The phrase that I have used and which does seem to resonate with the employees is, ‘What you walk past is what you condone,’ so if you see behavior that is inappropriate you should speak up.

“I’ve told staff they should not do what I asked them to do if they feel uncomfortable … they should not feel that they must do, irrespective of whether it’s me or Helen (Coonan) or anyone else in the organization asking, something that is inconsistent with their values.”

It was at this point, with McCann’s voice cracking, that Royal Commissioner Finkelstein opted to take a break.

Upon his return, McCann revealed Crown will hold a senior leadership forum on 15 July where around 60 members of senior management alongside some “up and coming performers” will discuss the direction the company is headed.

The forum relates to a draft report due to be submitted by Deloitte in the coming days outlining issues around Crown’s corporate culture, among various regulatory concerns. The report, once finalized, is set to form part of what McCann calls Crown’s “roadmap to its future state.”

Crown Melbourne

Asked about his previous experiences with Lendlease, McCann said he had been appointed CEO of the global construction giant in 2008 in the midst of the Global Financial Crisis and with the company’s corporate culture a shambles due to “a lack of accountability, a siloed mentality across the businesses and a lack of purpose.”

By the time he departed earlier this year, McCann said significant improvement had been achieved across the board but most notably in regards to Lendlease’s safety culture, where he said global fatalities had fallen from an average of nine per year to just 11 in total over the past decade.

“How I achieved that, I intend to apply the same way at Crown,” he said.

“The only way you can do that is, you can’t throw more resources at the same problem. You have to have a combination of people whose job is leading in safety and you have to have an entire organization that buys into it and thinks about it every day.

“When I say I liken it to Crown, it is a regulated environment where we have a social license and a regulatory license to essentially make money out of people gambling. That does clearly come with a significant amount of responsibility.

“When I look at Crown’s challenges, there is a lot of discussion around responsible gambling. Crown in Melbourne is a very significant asset. At peak it can accommodate 5,000 to 6,000 people gambling at any one time with about 700 staff walking the floor but only a small number of those, maybe too small, are engaged full-time in responsible gambling. The balance [of staff] is not.

“In my opinion they need to all be trained to be very conscious of that issue. They need to be trained not to walk past something that they don’t condone. They need to live and breathe values that align with the social responsibility and I see that as a very strong parallel to the safety journey at Lendlease.”

McCann noted that it took two years to implement cultural change at Lendlease but said his experience since arriving at Crown had been “a culture of openness and transparency” with “a lot of people who are concerned about their future and are looking for strong leadership.”

Tuesday’s proceedings also saw Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission grill the Crown boss over the company’s underpayment of tax since 2012, with McCann insisting any money owed would be repaid but admitting there was still confusion over exactly what that amount should be.

The Royal Commission continues Wednesday.

RelatedPosts

Legal battle continues to hurt Donaco’s bottom line

Donaco shareholders approve US$35 million privatization bid

Mon 4 Aug 2025 at 15:36
Light & Wonder’s Siobhan Lane

Global debut of “Fortune Doors” among five Light & Wonder game families to be showcased at next week’s Australasian Gaming Expo

Mon 4 Aug 2025 at 13:16
Star to open AU$3.6 billion Queen’s Wharf Brisbane development on 29 August

Star’s Hong Kong partners officially terminate Queen’s Wharf Brisbane acquisition deal

Fri 1 Aug 2025 at 13:02
Hong Kong’s Far East Consortium reports first full year gaming revenue after Australian, European acquisitions

Star says deal now “unlikely” to offload Queen’s Wharf Brisbane assets to Hong Kong partners

Wed 30 Jul 2025 at 13:53
Load More
Tags: AustraliaCrown MelbourneCrown ResortsLendleaseRaymond Finkelsteinroyal commissionSteve McCann
Share23Share4
Ben Blaschke

Ben Blaschke

A former sports journalist in Sydney, Australia, Ben has been Managing Editor of Inside Asian Gaming since early 2016. He played a leading role in developing and launching IAG Breakfast Briefing in April 2017 and oversees as well as being a key contributor to all of IAG’s editorial pursuits.

Current Issue

Editorial – Better late than never

Editorial – Better late than never

by Ben Blaschke
Thu 31 Jul 2025 at 07:13

Inside Asian Gaming has in recent weeks been hearing increasing chatter around a possible move by Vietnamese authorities to introduce...

Angel’s Yasushi Shigeta

Angel’s Yasushi Shigeta

by Ben Blaschke
Thu 31 Jul 2025 at 07:08

Yasushi Shigeta, Chairman and owner of one of the world’s largest gaming industry suppliers, Angel Group, sits down with Inside...

The Magic Number

The Magic Number

by David Bonnet
Thu 31 Jul 2025 at 06:41

In this in-depth deep dive into the evolution of the Asian gaming landscape, David Bonnet argues that many regional jurisdictions...

Rashid Suliman – A road well traveled

Rashid Suliman – A road well traveled

by Ben Blaschke
Thu 31 Jul 2025 at 02:45

Rashid Suliman, Vice President of Global Gaming Asia-Pacific for casino solutions provider TransAct Technologies, provides some insight into his unique...

Evolution Asia
Your browser does not support HTML5 video.
Aristocrat
GLI
Nustar
SABA
Mindslot
Solaire
Hann
Tecnet
HKUST
NWR

Related Posts

MGTO to launch 10-day market in Macau’s NAPE to help area transform ahead of pending satellite casino closures

MGTO to launch 10-day market in Macau’s NAPE to help area transform ahead of pending satellite casino closures

by Pierce Chan
Tue 5 Aug 2025 at 14:59

The Macau Government Tourism Offic e(MGTO) plans to hold a food and cultural market in Zona Nova de Aterros do Porto Exterior (NAPE) in mid-August, aimed at promoting the transformation of an area that has expressed concern over the impact...

Delta Corp to acquire 45% stake in shipyard that built “Casino Royale” floating casino

Gaming sector shows strength as India’s Delta Corp reports income of US$22 million in June 2025 quarter

by Newsdesk
Tue 5 Aug 2025 at 05:58

India’s leading casino and online gaming operator Delta Corp has reported gross income from operations of Rs 195.84 crores (US$22.3 million) for the three months to 30 June 2025, up 2.6% year-on-year and down by less than 1% compared with...

First auction of Imperial Pacific gaming equipment postponed

IPI’s abandoned Saipan hotel and casino building shows signs of wear and tear but no immediate danger ahead of planned sale

by Newsdesk
Tue 5 Aug 2025 at 05:34

The Department of Public Works of the CNMI has found that Imperial Pacific International’s unfinished hotel and casino building in Garapan, Saipan, is showing signs of wear and tear some five years after construction was halted but does not pose...

Casino revenue at Korea’s Paradise Co up 23% year-on-year to US$55 million in July, slightly down sequentially

Casino revenue at Korea’s Paradise Co up 23% year-on-year to US$55 million in July, slightly down sequentially

by Newsdesk
Tue 5 Aug 2025 at 05:14

Leading Korean foreigner-only casino operator Paradise Co reported a 23.0% year-on-year increase in casino revenues to KRW75.7 billion (US$54.7 million) in July, however the figure was 6.3% lower than in June. According to information filed with the Korea Exchange. July...

Your browser does not support the video tag.


IAG

© 2005-2025
Inside Asian Gaming.
All rights reserved.

  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
  • NEWSFEED
  • MAG ARTICLES
  • VIDEO
  • OPINION
  • TAGS
  • REGIONAL
  • EVENTS
  • CONSULTING
  • CONTRIBUTORS
  • MAGAZINES
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • ADVERTISE
  • 中文
  • 日本語

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

No Result
View All Result
  • 中文
  • 日本語
  • Subscribe
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • Magazines
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • About
  • Home for G2E Asia

© 2005-2025
Inside Asian Gaming.
All rights reserved.

  • 中文
  • English
  • 日本語