Profile | Grant Bowie’s leadership difficult to replace, say analysts, employees

One of the pioneers of Macau’s Western-style integrated resorts model, Grant Bowie, has announced he will resign from his post at MGM China.
After leading one of the city’s gaming operators for a decade, Bowie is set to leave MGM China, where he has held the position of CEO and executive director. He was previously president of MGM Grand Paradise.
Bowie has always been an advocate for encouraging local leadership. As seen at several of MGM’s events, the CEO has always been vocal about raising and apprenticing local residents, initiating a series of training programs that target local employees.
For Ben Lee, managing partner at IGamiX Management & Consulting Ltd, this will be Bowie’s legacy – engaging with and encouraging local leadership.
Lee believes that Bowie has acted as the buffer between Pansy Ho, co-chairperson and executive director of MGM China, and U.S. partner, MGM Grand Paradise.
“The fact that there has been no overt fracturing of that relationship speaks to his management style,” Lee told the Times.
Lee predicts his successor will be an American executive.
“We might also see a restructuring of the line reporting directly to Vegas, as that is what happened to Sands,” the gaming consultant said.
Grant has worked for three major Las Vegas companies in the past 22 years.
Before joining MGM China in 2008, the 62-year-old held a similar position at Wynn Macau.
According to Niall Sean Murray, chairman of consulting firm Murray International, the new leader will have to please Beijing in the upcoming renewal process, which will take place in 2022. They will also have to keep MGM shareholders and the stock market calm by focusing on the numbers and the bottom line.
“However, politically-motivated, high-IQ, low-EQ leadership and number crunching will eventually cause significant damage to the heart of the organization and its team members and will slowly kill the golden goose,” the consultant said.
He also said that a Las Vegas-centric strategy would not be appropriate for the Macau market. and that MGM China’s strategy would need constant and significant adjustments to meet the needs of the local market.
According to the gaming consultant, this unenviable task was led, facilitated and refereed by Grant Bowie to a large extent. Thus, his key leadership role will be difficult to replace.
“Grant helped prioritize challenges to be tackled, delicately manage powerful personalities and egos, bridge cultural divides and help reach optimal solutions to best fit local operational requirements, serve guest demands and the best interests of shareholders,” Murray told the Times.
“This was a very difficult task, but one that Grant could handle due to his vast international experience and his unique approach to leadership, which combines an extremely high IQ with an extraordinary EQ wrapped in dogged determination to do the right thing for the right reasons,” he said.
Murray noted that Bowie would be hard to replace, as a “charismatic team leader will be needed to fill the leadership and to steer MGM Macau and MGM Cotai in the right direction for the right reasons moving forward.”
Meanwhile, when asked whether his retirement was prompted by the steep drops in the city’s gross gaming revenue, Lee remarked, “I believe Grant has been looking to retire for quite a while and with the company looking to cut costs at all levels, probably decided it was an opportune time to take that retirement.”
MGM China’s revenue during the first quarter of the year tumbled 63% year-on-year to $272 million.
The drop in gross gaming revenue was mainly caused by the travel restrictions introduced by the central government, which included the halting of the Individual Visa Scheme, which prevented the city’s main source market from entering Macau, as well as the 15-day closure of casinos in the city on February 5.
The company clarified in a filing that Bowie had decided not to extend his contract, aligning with his personal retirement plans.
“Mr. Bowie has confirmed that he has no disagreement with the Board and there are no other matters in relation to his retirement as the Chief Executive Officer of the Company which need to be brought to the attention of the shareholders of the Company”, the company said in a filing.
Murray said that significant corporate strategic leadership change is afoot at MGM with the recent departure of James Murren, former chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts International, the promotion of Bill Hornbuckle to president and the departure of a significant number of property presidents and senior executives.
“Another major change in how MGM will conduct business moving forward is the impact of the sale and leaseback of properties to the Blackstone Group and MGM’s significant financial commitment to a Japanese IR [integrated resort],” said Murray.
Although Bowie will continue to act as an advisor to the company until December 31, 2022, the gaming consultant said there would be a major change in day-to-day leadership strategy and implementation at the company.
The Times also spoke with former employees of MGM China. Some of them commented that Bowie was always keen on working with and getting close to his staff.
Bowie was said to be supportive of the Golden Lion Team, even remaining in attendance at dragon boat races for as long the team remained in the race. He was also seen running with his team members last year in the annual Trailhiker event.
“For him, taking care of the staff is a priority, and this includes giving learning opportunities, developing them and giving them a safe and good work environment,” said former employee Vanessa Estorninho.
Echoing the sentiment, former employee Juliana Kung said, “He genuinely cares about the well-being of the staff. He remembers the names of team members whom he would not see on a regular basis.”
For these former employees, working with Bowie was a learning opportunity. He would continually advise them to explore their career paths and strive for excellence.
“He is very inspiring, and he has a wealth of knowledge in so many different facets beyond the integrated resort industry. It makes every conversation with him a learning opportunity,” Kung said.