SkyCity shakeup: Executives Graeme Stephens, Rob Hamilton and Liza McNally depart

A major shakeup at SkyCity Entertainment Group has seen three executives suddenly leave the business.

Chief Executive Officer Graeme Stephens will unexpectedly leave the business at the end of the month to be replaced by Chief Operating Officer Michael Ahearne.

In the shock move not noted above, SkyCity President Rob Campbell announced the change, as well as the resignations of Chief Financial Officer Rob Hamilton and Chief Marketing Officer Liza McNally.

Ahearne is currently the Chief Operating Officer of SkyCity and has overseen SkyCity’s operations in New Zealand and Australia since December 2017 and launched the SkyCity online casino in August 2019.

He has significant global experience in the gaming industry in land-based and online casinos.

Chelsea Leadbetter, Forsyth Barr’s senior equity analyst covering SkyCity, said today: “I think most people would be surprised in terms of what was announced this morning.”

Salt Funds’ Matt Goodson said it was unusual for three senior executives of this type to leave a major company like SkyCity at the same time: “Yeah, I was surprised. the other parties would have to be the CEO and they are not, it possibly makes sense for them to leave.

SkyCity has a conference call booked today at 12 noon.

Campbell thanked Stephens for his leadership of the company since his appointment in May 2017, but did not explain the reason for his departure.

What has happened at the company for three top executives to leave at once is unclear at this stage.

Incoming CEO Ahearne previously held various senior product, operational and commercial leadership positions at Paddy Power Betfair, one of the world’s leaders in sports betting and gaming.

Prior to that, he had a 13-year career in Australasian gaming and entertainment, 10 of which were spent at The Star Casino, Sydney, where he held senior management positions, followed by three years as COO by Aristocrat. in the Australia and New Zealand regions.

He is a qualified accountant and has an MBA from the Sydney University of Technology.

SkyCity also launched a major investor presentation today.

The company is about to open a major long-planned development in Adelaide this month, where it has built a huge new hotel next to the existing casino. The presentation said it would take hotel reservations from early December and “up to 700 new hires [are] in [the] hiring process “.

The construction project was delivered in October on time and on budget, he said.

Good progress is being made on the NZ International Convention Center and Horizon Hotel projects. There were no changes to the estimated restoration costs of at least $ 336 million, the company said.

SkyCity said it was on track to resume paying dividends as of late 2021.

It had available liquidity of around $ 500 million and its main projects in Auckland and Adelaide were fully funded.