The Star Sydney appoints Scott Wharton as CEO

Scott Wharton will report to The Star Entertainment Group’s incoming CEO and managing director, Robbie Cooke.

Australia.- The Star Entertainment Group’s board has named Scott Wharton as chief executive officer of The Star Sydney and group head of transformation, pending regulatory approval. Wharton will report to The Star Entertainment Group’s incoming CEO and managing director, Robbie Cooke, who was appointed in June.

Before joining The Star Entertainment Group, Wharton worked at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). He’s held several board positions and is currently co-chairman of Supply Nation and a member of the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Vice Chancellor’s Advisory Board. 

Star Entertainment Groups interim chairman Ben Heap said: “Scott has exemplary credentials as we drive a Renewal Program across the group. The work he led at CBA has been recognised as one of the most comprehensive reforms of corporate culture in Australia. 

“His leadership capabilities, expertise in delivering significant transformation working closely with regulators, together with his commercial skills and experience managing complex businesses, made him the ideal candidate to take on this key position within the organisation.  

“Scott has broad business experience. He has led large teams and managed multifaceted change programs with significant budgets in the United States and Asia as well as Australia. We are delighted to have him join The Star at this important juncture.” 

Wharton said: “I am looking forward to joining The Star at this critical moment in its history. The Star plays an important role in the economies of NSW and Qld as a major employer and catalyst for the states’ tourism industries.  

“I look forward to working closely with the team at The Star, as well as regulators and other stakeholders.”

The New South Wales inquiry into the Star Entertainment has yet to make its final report. In her final presentation, counsel Naomi Sharp SC said she believes that The Star Entertainment Group is unsuitable to hold a casino licence in Sydney.

According to Sharp, the company enabled suspicious money laundering, organised crime, fraud and foreign interference at its Sydney casino. Furthermore, she claimed that the Star was prepared to create false documents and mislead NAB about payments.

The casino operator is also facing an independent external review into its suitability to continue to hold casino licences in Queensland.