CLAIMS TO FAME
- Stepped in to manage then-Resorts World Manila after the collapse of former JV partner Genting Hong Kong
Kevin Tan, son of Alliance Global Group (AGI) Chairman Andrew Tan, stepped into the CEO role of the Philippines conglomerate in 2018 as part of the family succession plan. However, it was his appointment in 2023 as Chairman of AGI subsidiary Travellers International Hotel Group, which owns and operates Newport World Resorts (NWR), that saw him make his biggest – and certainly most public – impact.
In June, IAG broke the news that long-time Travellers CEO Kingson Sian, COO Hakan Dagtas and CFO Bernard Than had all suddenly departed the company on the same day, replaced by a new executive team led by Nilo Rodriguez as CEO. Rumors continue to swirl about the reasons behind the dramatic change, although Travellers says this had been planned ever since it bought out former joint venture partner Genting Hong Kong to assume full ownership of the Manila property.
Either way, early results look encouraging, with NWR achieving a 20% quarter-on-quarter increase in gross gaming revenues in 2Q24 and declaring an all-time record in average daily footfall of 44,000.
Travellers, meanwhile, is eying expansion with two new, albeit smaller, boutique casino resorts planned in Cebu and Boracay respectively. The company is also linked to the substantial Westside City township in nearby Entertainment City, although operation of a US$1.1 billion hotel and casino within the precinct has been outsourced to Hong Kong’s LET Group.
Still, it’s enough to keep Tan a very busy man: Traveller’s aside, AGI’s interests include real estate giant MegaWorld Corp and beverage production firm Emperador Inc, while it is also the master franchise holder of McDonald’s in the Philippines via its subsidiary Golden Arches Development Corporation.
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