Wynn COO resigns, operator said to seek new management ahead of license bid
Another casino lifer is set to step down at Wynn Macau Ltd., according to an announcement that came a day after the operator revealed the intended departure of current president Ian Michael Coughlan next year.
Casino veteran Ciarán Carruthers is slated to leave his position as chief operating officer (COO) of the Wynn Macau property September 30.
Carruthers will be taking over as the new CEO of Crown Resorts, after serving in several leadership roles in the city’s integrated resorts over 20 years. He has worked in the gaming industry since 1991.
Prior to his Wynn position, the gaming veteran was the senior vice president and director of the Venetian and Plaza Operations of Venetian Macau and held positions as president of Asia Pacific Gaming and COO of StarWorld at Galaxy Entertainment Group Limited.
Wynn Macau is on the hunt for a new chief marketing officer position, seeking candidates with a deep understanding of Chinese culture and markets, a source familiar with the matter told media outlet Bloomberg.
According to the report, the hiring process began as early as six months ago with candidates hailing from different regions. However, the current outbreak and strict border restrictions have slowed down the interview process.
The move comes as the gaming operator seeks to create a new senior management team amid the upcoming tender process for gaming concessions.
A deepened connection with the mainland is vital as casinos are set to formulate plans that help boost the tourism market and customer base – both of which are from the mainland.
When Ian Michael Coughlan, President of Wynn Macau, Limited steps down in 2023, current vice chairman and COO Linda Chen will take over as president. Chen has close ties with the mainland, sitting on the Nanjing political advisory board.
Commenting on whether this promotion is a political move that comes ahead of the license bidding that will commence early next year after current concessions expire December 31, Ben Lee, managing partner of IGamiX Management & Consulting, said that a “possible interpretation is that Wynn believes that changing their top echelon to Chinese executives may improve their chances of securing a new concession.”
Both MGM China and Sands China have already made similar moves, with Hubert Wang appointed as president and COO of MGM in 2020, and Wilfred Wong remaining president of the latter since 2015.
However, the gaming expert sees the departure of Wynn’s top executives as “part of the wider picture of an exodus of expats from Macau.”
“With no clear end in sight to the prevailing current economic conditions, many businesses are forced to restructure their costs towards survival mode,” he told the Times.
