Crown Resorts’ newly minted executive chairman Helen Coonan will be paid $2.5 million a year to try to steady the under-siege casino giant but says she does not expect to be in the role for long.
“I want to be clear I do not see myself as executive chairman for an extended tenure,” Ms Coonan said in a statement on Thursday morning. “We have already commenced a global search for a new CEO.”
Helen Coonan said she does not expect to occupy the top job at Crown for long. Credit:Louie Douvis
The former Howard government minister took the reins at the James Packer-backed company last week after chief executive Ken Barton resigned following the damning Bergin Inquiry report which found Crown was unfit to hold the licence for its new Sydney casino.
Crown – which on Thursday revealed it had swung to a $121 million loss in the first half – said Ms Coonan, who was previously Crown’s chairman, would be paid an extra $1.8 million a year to take on the top management role. That brings her annual remuneration to $2.5 million, slightly short of Mr Barton’s $3 million annual salary before bonuses.
