The gaming group’s new boss held all the cards in negotiating his arrival. Now shareholders need him to negotiate as effectively on their behalf.
Already a subscriber?Hats off to the former investment banker and Lendlease chief executive Steve McCann, who has once again shown us he can negotiate a deal.
McCann went into negotiations holding all the cards. Star’s imploded – again – during a regulatory inquiry, it is at serious risk of losing what was always its flagship Sydney casino, its board needs rebuilding, its casinos are run by a regulator-appointed overseer, and it is about to open its new flagship site in Queensland .
So Star’s chairwoman, Anne Ward, who has had CEO responsibilities after the exits of David Foster/Robbie Cooke, and her board have had to pay up and signed the dotted line. McCann’sStar’s shareholders are happy to have McCann signed up – and like that he can start in a fortnight and helm the new-look team that includes his former lieutenant Jeannie Mok and CFO Neale O’Connell .
The first thing, though, as shown by the public hearings in the most recent Bell inquiry, is Star’s culture. When McCann walks into the building on July 8, he needs every Star employee to know he is serious about changing the culture. He did it at Crown, according to evidence in Star’s inquiry, and needs to do it again.
Star does have hard assets and there is interest, as shown by last month’s Hard Rock/not Hard Rock kerfuffle. There are others positioning, although there is no need for them to do anything until July 31, when the final report into Star’s suitability in Sydney is due.
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