By Kate O'Keeffe
Sheldon Adelson, the 81-year-old billionaire behind the world's
largest gambling company, has a new job. The Las Vegas Sands Corp.
chief executive will in March also take on that title at the
company's prized Macau unit, according to a Friday statement from
Sands China Ltd.
The news, which comes as the once-booming Chinese gambling hub
experiences its worst-ever downturn, underscores the octogenarian's
unwavering focus on his casino empire and solidifies the control
the Las Vegas parent wields over its Macau unit.
Mr. Adelson, who controls Las Vegas Sands, is currently the Las
Vegas company's chairman and chief executive. He is also the
chairman of Sands China, which is controlled by its Las Vegas
parent. On March 6 Mr. Adelson will also become Sands China's chief
executive, the Hong Kong-listed unit said in its Friday statement.
He will succeed Ed Tracy, Sands China's 62-year-old current chief
executive who last week told staff in a letter reviewed by The Wall
Street Journal that he would in March return to the U.S. to focus
on family and health.
Sands China will also appoint Las Vegas Sands' 59-year-old
president, Rob Goldstein, as its interim president effective March
6, the company said in its statement.
The management changes follow a string of recent departures of
top executives at Sands China. The Macau unit's general counsel is
set to retire in April, and its No. 2 executive left in September
2013 and hasn't been replaced. Senior executives in finance and
international marketing have also recently left the company,
according to people familiar with the matter.
Deutsche Bank analyst Karen Tang said in a Friday note following
the company's announcement: "We are concerned that the frequent
senior management re-shuffle could lead to another round of
mid-level management departures from the company." This could be a
problem given the shortage of talented mid-level managers in Macau,
Ms. Tang suggested.
The management changes come at a critical time in Macau, which
has suffered a seven-month losing streak. Last year the territory
recorded its first annual decline in gambling revenue since data
became available in 2002.
Executives and analysts attribute the sharp reversal of fortunes
in Macau, which rakes in seven times more gambling revenue than the
Las Vegas Strip, primarily to China's crackdown on corruption. In
addition to bringing down many top mainland officials, the sweeping
campaign has led high rollers to shy away from Macau's baccarat
tables, they say.
Las Vegas Sands discussed Mr. Adelson's role at the company last
year while it was looking for a replacement for its former
president, Mike Leven, who retired in December. Before deciding on
Mr. Goldstein, who has been with the company for about 20 years ,
the company told people involved with the search that the president
role could possibly be upgraded to a chief executive role because
Mr. Adelson had said he would be willing to cede the title for the
right candidate, according to people familiar with the matter. But
shortly after the company had given those instructions, Mr. Adelson
changed his mind, the people said.
Company spokesman Ron Reese in May told the Journal, which had
contacted Las Vegas Sands for comment about the search, that Mr.
Adelson wouldn't cede the title.
To a degree, the question of title is academic due to Mr.
Adelson's tight control over the company. Still, investors and
analysts have said they are eager for answers regarding the
company's plans for its leadership following a strong run by Mr.
Adelson, who built Las Vegas Sands into a powerhouse by moving more
quickly than his rivals to cash in on the gambling boom in
Asia.
Two former executives who had been seen by people inside the
company as potential successors to Mr. Adelson left Sands under
acrimonious circumstances. Bill Weidner, a former president and
chief operating officer at Sands, left the casino operator in March
2009 after almost 14 years. He had said he disagreed with Mr.
Adelson over what course to take after the company's debt piled up
and its shares plunged during the financial crisis.
Sands fired a previous Macau chief executive, Steve Jacobs, in
July 2010. The former executive's subsequent wrongful termination
lawsuit spawned U.S. bribery investigations into Sands' operations,
the company has said. Sands has denied the claims in Mr. Jacobs'
continuing suit and said it is cooperating with federal
investigators.
Mr. Adelson has sued Wall Street Journal reporter Kate O'Keeffe
for libel. A spokeswoman for the Journal, which wasn't named in the
suit, has said the newspaper will "vigorously defend" Ms.
O'Keeffe.
Chester Yung contributed to this article.
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