{"id":35589,"date":"2022-11-18T14:52:13","date_gmt":"2022-11-18T17:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=35589"},"modified":"2026-04-23T02:49:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T05:49:27","slug":"robbie-cooke-confirmed-as-ceo-and-managing-director-of-the-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/robbie-cooke-confirmed-as-ceo-and-managing-director-of-the-star","title":{"rendered":"Robbie Cooke confirmed as CEO and managing director of The Star"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Robbie Cooke has been confirmed in the position following regulatory approvals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>Australia.- The Star Entertainment Group&nbsp;has confirmed that all necessary approvals have been received for Robert &#8216;Robbie&#8217; Cooke to begin his role as managing director and chief executive officer. Cooke\u2019s appointment&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/the-star-entertainment-group-appoints-new-ceo\" target=\"_blank\">was announced on June 29<\/a>, following an extensive search and he had been due to take up the role in October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cooke replaces&nbsp;<strong>Ben Heap<\/strong>, who has returned to a non-executive role in the company. He&#8217;s the company&#8217;s fourth CEO this year following Matt Bekie, who&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/matt-bekier-steps-down-as-star-entertainment-ceo-amid-ilga-inquiry\" target=\"_blank\">resigned<\/a> during the New South Wales inquiry into the Star,<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/matt-bekier-steps-down-as-star-entertainment-ceo-amid-ilga-inquiry\" target=\"_blank\"> <\/a><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/star-entertainment-chair-john-oneill-quits\" target=\"_blank\">John O&#8217;Neill<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/geoff-hogg-steps-down-as-stars-acting-chief-executive-officer\" target=\"_blank\">Geoff Hogg<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The company has undergone a series of profound changes after multiple investigations. In Queensland, the company has been deemed&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/queensland-deems-the-star-unsuitable-to-hold-a-casino-licence\" target=\"_blank\">unsuitable to continue holding a casino licence<\/a>&nbsp;and it has received&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/the-star-receives-show-cause-notices-from-queensland-regulator\" target=\"_blank\">show cause notices<\/a>&nbsp;from the Queensland regulator, the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation (OLGR).&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In New South Wales, the Star was found unsuitable to operate casinos. Potential disciplinary action could range from a letter of no confidence to a written order, a fine of up to AU$100m, the cancellation or suspension of casino licences or the designation of a special manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">New board appointments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Star Entertainment Group Limited&nbsp;<\/strong>has announced the appointment of&nbsp;<strong>Deborah Page AM&nbsp;<\/strong>and&nbsp;<strong>Toni Thornton<\/strong>&nbsp;as&nbsp;<strong>non-executive directors<\/strong>, subject to regulatory approval. The appointments are a continuation of the board renewal program announced following&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/gerard-bradley-to-step-down-from-star-entertainment-board\" target=\"_blank\">the resignations of Gerard Bradley and Sally Pitkin<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In August, the casino operator announced the appointment of&nbsp;<strong>Anne Ward&nbsp;<\/strong>and&nbsp;<strong>David Foster<\/strong>&nbsp;as&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/star-entertainment-group-appoints-new-non-executive-directors\" target=\"_blank\">non-executive directors<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Robbie Cooke has been confirmed in the position following regulatory approvals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":25794,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"Robbie Cooke has been confirmed as the Managing Director and CEO of The Star Entertainment Group following all necessary regulatory approvals. This executive appointment and ongoing board renewal occur amidst severe regulatory scrutiny in Queensland and New South Wales, where the company has been deemed unsuitable to hold casino licenses.","focusai_entities":"Robbie Cooke, The Star Entertainment Group, Ben Heap, Matt Bekie, John O\u2019Neill, Geoff Hogg, Deborah Page AM, Toni Thornton, Gerard Bradley, Sally Pitkin, Anne Ward, David Foster, Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation","focusai_location":"Australia, Queensland, New South Wales","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (1.0), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (1.0), operator_casino (1.0), investor_analyst (1.0), supplier_vendor (0.8), journalist_researcher (1.0)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Impact on License Status?","query":"What specific remediation actions and enhanced governance frameworks are expected from The Star Entertainment Group to address the findings of unsuitability and retain its casino licenses in Queensland and New South Wales?"},{"label":"Cooke's Strategic Mandate?","query":"Given the severe regulatory pressures and board renewal, what is Robbie Cooke's immediate strategic mandate for The Star, particularly concerning operational integrity, regulatory compliance, and stakeholder confidence?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16336,157],"tags":[23871],"class_list":["post-35589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australasia-news","category-business-news","tag-the-star-entertainment-group"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35589"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35602,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35589\/revisions\/35602"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}