Inside Asian Gaming

IAG NOV 2021年11月 亞博匯 101 26-50 CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER SkyCity Entertainment Group 行政總裁 POWER SCORE 權能指數: 735 POSITION LAST YEAR 去年排名: Nil 無 CLAIMS TO FAME 名成事跡 Former executive at The Star Sydney and slot giant Aristocrat Has driven the company's digital gaming arm • • • • 曾在The Star Sydney及角子機巨擘盛世貴族擔任高管 推動公司網絡博彩部門的發展 35 THE SUDDEN DEPARTURE of three senior executives saw Michael Ahearne thrust into the top job at New Zealand’s SkyCity Entertainment Group last November, and he hasn’t had much time to ease into his new role. Coming in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, much of his early tenure has been spent navigating property closures, which have impacted all three of Skycity’s New Zealand casinos in Auckland, Queenstown and Hamilton plus its sole Australian resort in Adelaide. At time of writing, two of those were still closed, SkyCity Auckland and SkyCity Hamilton, with the flagship Auckland IR having been shuttered since 18 August. But there were enough positives to come out of the company’s FY21 financial results – with a profit of NZ$156 million (US$109 million) – for Ahearne to feel confident in what the future holds. SkyCity’s results were driven by its strong domestic market, and it is this market that holds the key given the decision in April to cease working with international junkets following the Crown Resorts debacle in neighboring Australia. The company has also seen solid growth in its online gaming business, SkyCity Online Casino, with the number of active customers increasing from 24,400 in mid-February to 38,000 in April and 45,000 as of 30 June 2021. It was Ahearne himself who oversaw the establishment of SkyCity Online in 2019 in his role as Chief Operating Officer. He first joined the company two years earlier, bringing with him extensive experience in both land-based and online gaming operations. He held a number of senior commercial, operational and product leadership roles at UK giant Paddy Power Betfair, served as COO for Aristocrat in Australia and New Zealand and held several senior management positions at The Star Sydney. MICHAEL AHEARNE 去年11月 ，三名高管的突然離職令Michael Ahearne被推至紐西蘭SkyCity Entertainment Group的最高職位，然而他並沒有太多時間來輕鬆適應新 角色。 新冠疫情大流行期間，其早期的大部分任期都用於應對酒店的關閉， 包括Skycity在紐西蘭的奧克蘭、皇后鎮和漢密爾頓的三間娛樂場，以及唯 一一間位於澳洲阿德萊德的綜合度假村。 及至本文落筆之時，SkyCity Auckland及SkyCity Hamilton仍處於 關閉狀態。其旗艦酒店Auckland IR自8月18日以來一直關閉。但是該公司 2021財年的財務業績有著足夠的利好因素——錄得1.56億紐西蘭元（1.09 億美元），令Ahearne對未來發展充滿信心。 SkyCity的業績乃是由其強勁的國內市場所推動。由於鄰國澳洲發生 皇冠事件之後決定停止與國際博彩中介人的合作，這個市場才成了關鍵之 所在。該公司的網絡博彩業務SkyCity Online Casino也出現了穩健增長， 活躍客戶數量從2月中旬的24,400人增加到4月的38,000人，截至2021年 6月30日有約45,000名。 Ahearne本人在2019年以行政總裁的身份負責了SkyCity Online的成 立。他於兩年前首次加入公司，帶來了實體及網絡博彩營運方面的豐富 經驗。他曾在英國巨頭Paddy Power Betfair擔任過多個高級商務、運營 和產品領導職務，曾擔任盛世貴族澳洲及紐西蘭的首席運營官，並在The Star Sydney擔任過多個高管職位。