CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Crown Resorts
POWER SCORE: 631
POSITION LAST YEAR: NIL
CLAIMS TO FAME
- Veteran Macau gaming executive with experience at Galaxy, Sands and Wynn
THERE IS SOME IRONY in the fact that, when Australia’s Crown Resorts was looking for the person to lead them out of the regulatory wilderness, they turned to Macau – the very jurisdiction that sparked Crown’s recent regulatory woes in the first place.
Yet Ciarán Carruthers, the former Wynn Macau Resort COO, comes with an impeccable reputation that includes more than 20 years working with some of the biggest gaming organizations in the world. His appointment as Crown Resorts CEO places him at the Australian casino coalface, with responsibility for Crown Melbourne, Crown Perth, Crown Sydney – all recently found unsuitable to hold casino licenses – plus Crown London Aspinalls and Crown’s online business.
His first point of call will be proving to the regulators that Crown has turned a corner, although early indications have been positive. The first report from the special manager appointed to oversee Crown Melbourne’s remediation program was overwhelmingly positive, while the casino at Crown Sydney has finally opened its doors after a near two-year wait for approval.
And in Carruthers Crown has a man who has seen it all in the monstrous market that is Macau. Beginning his Macau career at Galaxy Entertainment Group in September 2002, Carruthers was Chief Operating Officer of Galaxy’s first property, Waldo casino, from its July 2004 opening, followed by three years in the same role at Galaxy’s then-flagship property StarWorld, which opened in October 2006.
He left Galaxy in 2009 to pursue consulting work in the industry, working for the likes of Sands China before being appointed SVP & Director Operations Venetian Resort and Plaza Casino from 2013 to 2016. He joined Wynn as Chief Operating Officer of Wynn Macau Resort in January 2017. He took the top job at Crown in early September after being identified by the company’s new owners, The Blackstone Group.
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