James Packer steps down as Crown Resorts chairman

s Packer has left his role as chairman of Australian operator Crown Resorts, to be replaced by former Deutsche Bank executive Robert Rankin.

Packer is to stay on in an executive director role, overseeing Crown’s Las Vegas casino interests, and will remain co-chairman of Crown Resorts’ Asia-facing subsidiary Melco Crown Entertainment.

Packer said: “Crown has a pipeline of resorts globally and this is where the majority of my time will be spent.

“I will continue to drive key projects, including our joint business in Asia and our planned resort in Las Vegas.

“Rob Rankin has my complete trust and respect as an executive and he will do an outstanding job as chairman.”

Rankin commented: “James has put his heart and soul into the company and worked tirelessly to build one of Australia’s most successful tourism and entertainment businesses.

“James may be leaving the chairman’s role, but will have day-to-day engagement and will be actively involved at board level to ensure we meet our targets and ambitious development goals.”

Crown Resorts recently published its financial results for the full year ending 30 June 2015, with gross gaming revenue in Macau experiencing a decline of 26.8% year-on-year.

The rate of decline accelerated in the second half of the year, with the decrease reaching 37% for the latter six months.

Crown Resorts CEO Rowen Craigie described the results as “mixed,” with revenue from Crown’s Australian holdings up 14% to A$3.2bn.