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Seasoned international hotel executive Jennifer Cronin has been named interim CEO of The Star Gold Coast, six months after the sudden departure of Mark Mackay who had lasted just three months in the role.
Cronin, who started her career on the Gold Coast but has worked in the hotels sector in Asia for most of the past 25 years, joins The Star after an eight-year stint with Wharf Hotels in Hong Kong – the last six as CEO.
The appointment also represents a homecoming for the Gold Coast local who was sales manager at Conrad Jupiters Hotel and Casino as the property was known when it first opened in 1985.
The Star says Cronin will act as interim CEO for up to the next year while the company continues its search for a permanent CEO.
Business News Australia has sought comment from Cronin on her appointment.
The Star’s six-month search for a new Gold Coast CEO is critical in light of the company’s renewed focus on the property following the sale of its interest in the Destination Brisbane Consortium and plans by the group's Hong Kong-based former partners to eventually find a new operator for The Star Brisbane.
The Gold Coast property, which has been a relatively strong performer amid the company’s regulatory woes, is also pivotal to the future of the business following the $300 million investment by US-based casino giant Bally’s Corp and major shareholder Bruce Mathieson which will ultimately give them control of The Star.
Cronin looks up to the task. Apart from local knowledge and connections, she rose relatively quickly in the ranks of the hotel industry across the South-East Asian region.
After being appointed director of marketing at Hyatt Regency Sanctuary Cove in 2000, she became area director of marketing at Grand Hyatt Singapore a year later.
Apart from leading Wharf Hotels until 2022, Cronin was also previously president and CEO of Marco Polo Hotels and Niccolo Hotels in Hong Kong overseeing 17 hotels in China, Hong Kong and the Philippines.
Cronin fills the void left by Mackay in December last year after he made a return to The Star in September following a stint as chief operating officer for Crown Resorts Melbourne.
While Cronin’s appointment remains subject to regulatory and ministerial approvals, she has also been named as a director of The Star Entertainment Qld Custodian Pty Ltd, which is the licensee of The Star Gold Coast Casino.
The appointment, for an initial term of three years, is part of The Star’s decentralisation of its properties as it embeds a new governance framework agreed with casino regulators in NSW and Queensland.
To that end, The Star has also announced the appointment of Helen Galloway as independent chair of The Star Sydney.
Galloway, who has been appointed for an initial term of three years, has already stepped in as “observer” on The Star Sydney board.
The Star also announced a series of other key appointments today, including Rowena Craze as chief risk officer, Patrick McGlinchey as group chief legal officer, Sarah Derry as chief people officer, and Peter Meliniotis as group chief information officer.
“I am pleased to finalise these key appointments for The Star,” says group CEO Steve McCann.
“These appointments add to the depth of experience and talent at the board and executive level and are a key step in The Star’s progress to suitability.”
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