Former Sands China and Marina Bay Sands executive Mark McWhinnie has been named as the new CEO of Crown Sydney.
McWhinnie, one of a number of new appointments at Crown Resorts since the company was acquired by The Blackstone Group in June, will step into his new role on 4 October. He replaces Simon McGrath, who only stepped into the top job at Crown Sydney in February.
McWhinnie also builds on the company’s Macau connections following the recent appointment of former Wynn Macau COO Ciarán Carruthers as Crown Resorts CEO.
No stranger to overseeing sizeable operations, McWhinnie spent more than 14 years with Sands China where he held various VP and SVP roles across multiple integrated resorts, including The Venetian Macao and Sands Cotai Central (now The Londoner Macao). He was also involved in the opening of The Parisian Macao.
More recently he worked at iconic Singapore integrated resort Marina Bay Sands.
“I’m delighted to have Mark on board to lead Crown Sydney,” said Carruthers. “He is a global gaming and hospitality executive boasting an impressive track record founded on strong culture and premium service. Mark’s appointment adds to the deep industry experience at Crown and is further testament to our ability to attract strong talent to our business.”
McWhinnie said, “Crown Sydney is a world-class integrated resort and Crown has a reputation across the industry for premium service delivered by a team of talented and dedicated people. I want to build on that status and I am also determined to play my part in realizing our ambition to be a leader in the delivery of safe and responsible gaming.
“I have a strong understanding of the complexities of operating in a heavily regulated environment and will be prioritizing continued progress on the reform, remediation and cultural transformation underway across the business, while delivering an exceptional experience for our customers.
“Sydney is the gateway to Australia and Crown Sydney has a significant role to play in fostering a re-emergence of activity across the hospitality and tourism sectors.”
