Robert Rankin recently resigned from the board of Crown Resorts Limited in Australia. He previously served as non-executive chairman of Crown Resorts from August 2015 to January 2017. John Alexander was appointed executive chairman effective February 1.
Rankin commented, “It has been an honor to have served on the Crown Resorts board. The company remains one of Australia’s most valuable tourism operators. I am proud of the direction that Crown Resorts is taking and my role in its development.”
Alexander added, “I would like to thank Rob for his contribution as a director and his time as Crown Resorts chairman. Rob has shown great commitment to the company and strived to ensure Crown Resorts is best positioned for the future.”
In May, Crown Resorts completed disposing of its remaining stake in Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited, which owns and operates casino properties in Macau and in the Philippines. Afterwards, Rankin resigned as a non-executive director at Melco.
Also in May, Melco Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lawrence Ho Yau Lung told the Financial Times that Crown Resorts, directed by his former business partner James Packer, and other casino operators had upset the Chinese government by engaging staff to promote gambling despite a ban on gambling marketing in mainland China. Three Australian employees of Crown Resorts recently were sentenced in a Shanghai court to less than one year in prison for illegally promoting gambling in China. Three other Crown Resorts employees were convicted but not fined or sentenced to prison.
