MGM China CEO Grant Bowie has announced he will retire on May 31, without completely distancing himself from the company. Bowie will stay on as the company’s executive director for an undetermined “handover” period and continue in an advisory position through 2022.
In a May 11 filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, MGM China said Bowie had “decided not to extend his contract and elected to step down earlier to match with his personal retirement plans.”
Bowie—who opened Wynn Macau in 2006 and joined MGM two years later, shortly after the launch of MGM Macau—informed MGM China employees of his decision in an email, according to Inside Asian Gaming.
He “expressed his gratitude to the board, particularly Mr. Bill Hornbuckle and Ms. Pansy Ho, the company and MGM Resorts for this opportunity and their support over the years,” MGM said. “He also expressed his appreciation of the entire MGM China team and has much confidence that it will continue to take the company to great heights.” “Mr. Bowie has confirmed that he has no disagreement with the board and there are no other matters in relation to his retirement… which need to be brought to the attention of the shareholders of the company,” noted the filing.
The announcement came as a surprise to many. According to CDC Gaming Reports, Bowie is departing “earlier than analysts had been expecting.”
In an investor note, Bernstein Research wrote that his retirement is “earlier than expected,” and speculated on Bowie’s possible successor. “The more looming question is, who will be his replacement? The company did not announce a new CEO, which is a bit perplexing as there seemed to be a belief that Bowie would be departing and a transition would need to occur soon.”
The firm said it expected the replacement to be promoted internally, and mentioned the possibility of having two co-CEOs. Bernstein suggested that both Zhi Qi (Hubert) Wang, currently the CFO and president of hospitality, and Xiaofeng (Kenneth) Feng, president, chief strategy officer and executive vice president of MGM Asia Pacific are both candidates.
“In the end, another candidate may emerge, but either one is a potential for the CEO. But a co-CEO structure may be put in place,” said the research team. “With MGM Cotai not ramping up as well as expected, we still have concerns about managing rebound at the property without strong clear leadership at the helm. Further, one head is better than two, as co-CEO structures rarely work well.”
