Crown Resorts boss Ciaran Carruthers in surprise departure
Crown Resorts national boss Ciaran Carruthers is stepping down suddenly, just two years after he was parachuted in to fix up the newly privatised company.
Staff at Crown were told on Monday that former Crown Perth boss David Tsai would run the group on an interim basis until a new chief executive was appointed.
The exit is the latest in a string of management changes in recent months as Crown tries to address trading weakness in Sydney and Melbourne.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Mr Carruthers, who took the helm of Crown in September 2022 after helping run the huge Wynn Macau gaming and hotels complex as chief operating officer, said “now is an appropriate time to depart and pursue other interests”.
He would finish up at “year end” but Perth-based Mr Tsai, appointed president and chief operating officer on August 1, would run the group from September 1.
Mr Carruthers said the “work of rebuilding” Crown was “well underway” and he would leave the group “as a stronger, complaint and transformed business with a strong and experienced leadership team”.
He was appointed to Crown as part of a management overhaul of the group by US private equity giant Blackstone, which paid $8.9 billion for the James Packer-controlled business in mid-2022.
At the time Crown was dealing with the aftermath of three State inquiries that had found Crown unfit to hold a casino licence because of “disgraceful” conduct that was deemed “variously illegal, dishonest, unethical and exploitative”.
Mr Carruthers told staff he “couldn’t be prouder of the work we’ve accomplished together”.
“We have successfully steered Crown Resorts through a period of intensive transformation and remediation, culminating in Crown Melbourne and Sydney being deemed suitable by their respective state regulators and the Crown Perth transformation program now well progressed,” he said.
The one major public blip in his tenure was an investigation in late-2023 into allegations that he intervened to allow patrons back into Crown Melbourne after they had been ejected by security.
He was cleared in February after the probe found no wrongdoing.
Just three months ago, Crown cut 1000 jobs across the country, blaming weaker tourism and tighter gaming restrictions at this three casinos.
