Steve McCann has officially been appointed CEO and Managing Director of Crown Resorts after receiving regulatory approvals just in time for today’s Annual General Meeting.
McCann’s appointment became effective on Wednesday 20 October, some five months after he was first announced as the man to guide Crown through its regulatory woes. The former Lendlease boss outlined his plans for cultural reform within the company during recent hearings for Victoria’s Royal Commission, the findings of which were handed to the state government last Friday but have not yet been made public.
In his address to shareholders this morning, McCann, who is also set to become CEO of Crown Melbourne, said he has “come to understand in greater detail the challenges confronting the organization” since joining in May.
“While we have a lot of hard work ahead of us, the Board and management of Crown are committed to restoring the reputation of the organisation and driving an appropriate return for shareholders in a responsible manner,” he said.
“We need to build the right culture and provide the direction and support for our people to enable them to set the business on the right path for growth and to maximise the value of our outstanding assets.
“We must do things differently to how they have been done in the past. A substantial culture reform program is underway across the business. We have refreshed our Purpose and Values and are embedding a new way of working.
“We are substantially upgrading our processes and systems to make it easy for our people to perform at their best, to manage risk appropriately, and to provide transparent and accurate information. We are creating an environment which will help our people to act with integrity and care, and to speak up around any issues that do not align with our values.”
Among the reforms currently being implemented, McCann pointed to a refined player review process aimed at improving Crown’s ability to identify risk when it comes to issues around money laundering – a key focus of Royal Commissions in Victoria and Western Australia as well as last year’s Bergin inquiry in NSW.
The process, he said, “has resulted in the exit of a number of customer relationships.” Crown previously announced that it had ceased dealing with all junket operators.
“There is no question these reforms represent fundamental changes that will strengthen our business, he said. “We will continue to work hard to implement these reforms as we seek to restore Crown’s reputation and build the trust of our communities, regulators, governments and investors.”
