Las Vegas Sands Corp has announced the resignation of long-time Marriott International legal counsel Yibing Mao from its Board of Directors, effective immediately.
The company said in a Thursday filing (Asia time) that Ms Mao, who first joined the LVS board in July 2021 as an independent director, has stepped aside after accepting a new role.
Her departure leaves LVS short of independent directors with the company to instead rely on the “controlled company” exemption from listing requirements under the rules of the New York Stock Exchange.
“The Company qualifies as a ‘controlled company; under NYSE governance rules because Dr Miriam Adelson and trusts and other entities for the benefit of the Adelson family members control more than 50% of the voting power of the Company’s common stock,” it said.
“The Company remains actively engaged in efforts to expand the number of independent directors on the Board.”
Ms Mao was seen as a valuable Asia-facing addition to the LVS board when appointed, having spent the previous 24 years as Chief Legal Counsel for Marriott International, Asia-Pacific, based in Hong Kong. She had helped grow the company’s Hong Kong legal team from an initial two people to more than 50 lawyers and support staff across seven offices, and played a role in the acquisition by Marriott of Starwood Hotels in 2016.