Crown Resorts makes further board changes
Crown Resorts has named Craig Durham as group company secretary and legal counsel and Anne Ward as an independent non-executive director.
Australia.- As it continues its bid to show changing are being made, Crown Resorts has announced two new appointments to its board.
Craig Durham will be join as group company secretary and legal counsel from October 4, 2021, replacing Alan McGregor, who has been in the role of interim company secretary. Anne Ward will join the company as an independent non-executive director to the board.
Jane Halton, Crown’s interim chairman, said: “Craig is an accomplished and experienced ASX listed company secretary, lawyer and governance professional with qualifications in Australia and the United States, and on behalf of the board of directors and management, we welcome Craig to Crown.”
He added: “I am pleased to welcome Anne as a director. Anne brings to the Crown Board rich experience from her extensive board and executive careers. Her appointment further strengthens the mix of capability and experience as we continue the refresh of the Board.”
The news comes after it was announced that Toni Korsanos would step down from Crown Resorts’ board. She will depart after the annual general meeting on October 21. Korsanos joined Crown Resorts in 2018. Along with Jane Halton, she was one of only two directors who stuck through the operator’s recent controversies and public inquires.
In August, Crown Resorts appointed Ziggy Switkowski as chairman of the group to replace Helen Coonan, who stepped down after Adrian Finanzio, the counsel assisting Victoria’s Royal Commission into Crown Resorts, questioned the appropriateness of her remaining in the position.
The company has named Steve McCann as chief executive officer of Crown Melbourne in addition to his role as CEO of Crown Resorts.
Crown Perth players threatened by loan sharks, inquiry hears
Western Australia’s Royal Commission has received submissions from the Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) claiming that several players went to the organisation after being threatened by loan sharks at Crown Perth.
The FCA claimed that unauthorised moneylenders were operating with impunity at the casino. It said that in one case, a lender approached a losing player on the Crown Perth casino floor and offered him an AU$10,000 loan. The player lost the acquired cash, leading to threats from the predatory lender.
The FCA, a not-for-profit organisation that helps people in financial difficulty, said the casino operator had never taken action to stop such practice. However, Brian Lee, general security and surveillance manager at Crown’s Perth venue, insisted that the operator had worked to prevent loan sharks from entering the premises.
Those suspected of being predatory lenders could face a ban for at least two years before reaching Lee for revocation, he said. He added that such bans are usually extended to more than two years.
