He stepped down as chief executive officer at Accor Pacific in February this year to take the top job at Crown’s new Barangaroo tower, where he was instrumental in rehabilitating the company in the eyes of regulators and the public after it was declared non-profit. unfit to run the casino due to a damaging NSW investigation into Crown’s practices.
The New South Wales investigation found that Crown developed relationships with overseas tour operators linked to organized crime, and their failure to address money laundering risks or ensure the safety of their staff. It launched similar investigations in Victoria and Western Australia, where Crown’s other facilities are located.
Crown cleaned out its board and top executives and spent millions of dollars on new corporate governance systems in its presentation to regulators in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia that it was capable of reform and should hold on to its licences. The group’s outgoing CEO Steve McCann, former chair Jane Halton and McGrath did much of the heavy lifting.
Crown Sydney only opened the first of its gaming halls in early August, 16 months after the tower finished construction, after being granted a provisional license to operate by the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority.
Crown confirmed Mr McGrath’s departure and said his second role as Crown’s group head of hospitality will be discontinued when he leaves later this year.
“Crown Sydney chief executive and group head of hospitality Simon McGrath will end the business at the end of September,” a spokeswoman said.
“Simon has made a significant contribution to Crown Sydney during his time as CEO, including overseeing the successful opening of Australia’s only VIP-only casino, and we wish him all the best for the future.
“Simon has applied his deep knowledge of the industry to update the Group-wide approach to hospitality, quality control and performance management,” he said.
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