IAG introduces the seven members of the judging panel who have determined this year’s Asian Gaming Power 50 list.
ANDREW W SCOTT
(JUDGING PANEL CHAIRMAN)
Vice Chairman and CEO
Inside Asian Gaming
ANDREW is a gaming industry expert and media publisher, commentator and advisor. He has lived in Macau for more than 14 years.
He is Vice Chairman and CEO of Inside Asian Gaming (IAG) and parent company O MEDIA. IAG publishes a monthly magazine and a daily email newsletter sent to around 28,000 industry recipients. IAG’s website, asgam.com, is the highest ranked B2B gaming industry media website in the world. Its LinkedIn account has around 27,000 followers.
IAG produces numerous gaming industry business and social events, operates a consulting and advisory unit and publishes several trade show print newspapers.
Andrew completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Australia in 1992 and a Master of Science in International Integrated Resort Management (Honors) in Macau in 2019. He has established and operated a retail sports betting business, a professional casino training school and an IR poker room.
Andrew is a permanent member of the Macau Gaming Management Association, a member of the Poker Tournament Directors Association, a Fellow of the Hong Kong Institute of Directors, a member of the International Federation of Journalists and a member of the Portuguese and English Press Association of Macau.
BEN BLASCHKE
Managing Editor
Inside Asian Gaming
BEN began his career as a sports journalist in Sydney in 1999, working for a number of leading news publications before his interest was piqued by the TV poker shows that frequented the airwaves late at night. He soon found himself not only playing the game but writing about it too – taking on the role of Editor for PokerNews Australasia and subsequently visiting Macau for the very first time in 2008.
He was appointed Managing Editor of World Gaming Magazine (WGM) in February 2013, later overseeing O MEDIA’s editorial catalogue including High Life, Hengqin Record and more. He was appointed Chief Content Officer in 2017.
In 2016, Ben became Managing Editor of Inside Asian Gaming and has spent his years since then delving ever more deeply into the business of gaming. He was instrumental in the launch of the industry-leading daily e-newsletter IAG Breakfast Briefing in April 2017 and in the development of the inaugural IAG Academy Summit and IAG Academy Awards, held in September 2023.
GRANT BOWIE
Member of the Advisory Board
Institute for the Study of Commercial
Gaming, University of Macau
GRANT BOWIE was formerly Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of MGM China Holdings Limited until his retirement on 31 May 2020. He was responsible for the overall management, strategic development and expansion of the Company including the direction and operations of MGM Macau and MGM Cotai. Grant joined MGM in August 2008 as President. Prior to this, he was President and General Manager of Wynn Resorts in Macau from 2003 to 2007. Before arriving in Macau.
Grant spent 16 years with Park Place Entertainment Corporation in Australia, holding senior positions in gaming, general finance and hotel operations. His last position held was Area Senior Vice President overseeing all Australian operations. Grant was educated in New Zealand and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from the University of Otago in 1980. He was recognized by leading financial publication Institutional Investor as “Best CEO” in the All-Asia Executive Team survey for three consecutive years from 2015 to 2017. He is currently a Member of the Advisory Board of the Institute for the Study of Commercial Gaming at the University of Macau and an adjunct professor of Tourism and Leisure Management at the University of Queensland. Previously, he was a member of the Australian Federal Government’s Tourism Forecasting Council, Chairman of Queensland’s Responsible Gambling Advisory Committee and a member of the National Advisory Body on Gambling.
DAVID GREEN
Principal
Newpage Consulting
DAVID GREEN is founder and Chairman of Newpage Consulting, a company he established in Macau early in 2010. Previously he was Director of the Gaming Practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers (Macau) Limitada. An Australian citizen, he is also a Permanent Resident of Macau. He retired as a Partner of PwC in 2004 but rejoined in 2005 to assist in the further development of the firm’s presence in the Asian gaming industry.
He lived in Macau for more than 14 years and worked with the SAR Government in relation to the liberalization and regulation of the casino industry.
David is both a qualified lawyer and accountant, with considerable experience in gaming, including seven years (1995 to 2002) as a member and Chairman of the Independent Gambling Authority of South Australia, which regulates the Adelaide casino, bookmaking, community-based machine games, sports betting and racing industries. He is a former Commissioner for Consumer Affairs in South Australia, in which capacity he represented the state in negotiations for Australia’s new Consumer law.
David holds a Masters degree in Law from the University of Melbourne, an MBA with Honors from IMD, Lausanne, and a Commerce degree, also from the University of Melbourne. He was admitted to legal practice in Australia in 1977.
DESMOND LAM
Professor
Integrated Resort and Tourism Management,
University of Macau
PROFESSOR DESMOND LAM is a life member of Clare Hall at the University of Cambridge and an honorary scholar of the School of Continuing Education at the Hong Kong Baptist University. He is one of the judges for the International Gaming Awards and G2E Asia Gaming Awards and a regional assistant editor for the scholarly journal International Gambling Studies.
Desmond has written and presented extensively on IR-related issues and his articles are featured in premier trade publications. He is author of two books, Chopsticks and Gambling and Casino Management in Integrated Resorts.
Desmond is the recipient of several research and industry awards including the Cambridge Clare Hall Fellowship and the Emerging Leader trophy at the 2016 Asia Gaming Awards.
He has lectured in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau and Malaysia and has conducted numerous university courses as well as executive workshops in gaming, marketing, tourism and hospitality.
MELINA LEONG
Managing Director
Yeewood Consultancy Ltd
MELINA LEONG, a Macau native, has over 30 years’ experience in public relations, corporate affairs, community affairs and event management. She has held senior positions in various companies including Chief Operating Officer at Cotai Water Jet and Senior Vice President of Public Relations and Community Affairs at Sands China Limited. Additionally, she has led corporate communications functions for the Macao Telecommunications Company (CTM) and Macau International Airport.
Ms Leong first set up her own public relations and event management agency in the 1990s and is a pioneer in the industry. Ms Leong currently serves as Macao delegate of the 13th executive committee of The Guangdong Women’s Federation, Director of the Macao Chamber of Commerce, and as a Macao member of the China Overseas Friendship Association. She is actively engaged in community work.
RUI PINTO PROENÇA
Managing Partner
MdME Lawyers
RUI PROENÇA is the Managing Partner of MdME, a leading Macau law firm with offices in Hong Kong and Lisbon. He is a Permanent Resident of Macau, where he has lived since 2008. Rui holds a Law degree from the University of Coimbra, Portugal and is admitted to practice by the Portuguese Bar Association (2008), the Macau Lawyers Association (2008) and the Angola Bar Association (2018).
Rui specializes in mergers and acquisitions, with a focus on highly regulated sectors. He often acts on private equity transactions, having a significant track record across a range of different industries. Rui also advises clients on a broad range of corporate and M&A matters, including corporate restructurings, debt issuance and strategic advice at a board level. He regularly advises issuers and underwriters concerning listings of Macau interests with overseas capital markets.
He focuses his practice on the gaming sector, where he regularly acts for casino operators, investors and gaming technology companies in Macau and across the Asia-Pacific region. He also assists governments in emerging markets in developing their gaming policies and regulatory frameworks.
Rui is the global chair of the Lex Mundi Gaming Solution, a network of law firms covering over 25 gaming jurisdictions worldwide, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the International Association of Gaming Advisors.
For the full list of 2023 Asian Gaming Power 50 winners, click here.
