Jessica Mellor, the CEO of The Star Entertainment Group’s Gold Coast casino and resort, resigned after only six months as head of the casino.
Company’s issues:
While its leadership keeps resigning, the company is fighting on another front. The second Bell Inquiry, which will determine if the company is suitable for holding a license, is ongoing. In the meantime, during the process, several senior staff members described the leadership as “dysfunctional”.
Betty Ivanoff, the former legal officer at Star Entertainment, also left the company after six months in December 2023. As Business News Australia reports, she said that she “wasn’t really getting the fullest picture” from a transparency side.
Furthermore, Christina Katsibouba, a former chief financial officer who left in March, claims that the leadership is dysfunctional, using the same words as the senior employees. She added that she lost “faith and confidence in the integrity of the CEO”.
Mellor also joined the company before the company’s leadership experienced the consequences of the original Bell Inquiry.
Successful career:
Jessica Mellor was the youngest female general manager and COO in the history of Star Entertainment, joining the company at the age of 33. Before joining The Star Gold Coast’s team, she worked at Aquis Entertainment, where she gained significant success. The company recorded a loss just before she joined, but Mellor turned it into EBITDA profit. She spent four-and-a-half years in Aquis and left the company in October 2023 to join The Star Gold Coast.
The company announced to the ASX that Mellor is leaving, but the reason remains unknown. She will remain in the position until May 24, 2024.
The Star is grateful for everything Jessica Mellor has done during her time at the company. They said that her role was one of the most important when positioning the company as a leader in the Gold Coast tourism industry. She was also part of a consortium that worked on a master plan worth $2 billion.
David Foster, an Executive Chair, said: “Jessica has led The Star Gold Coast through some challenging times including through COVID, and has been instrumental in developing the Gold Coast property into an iconic world-class integrated destination resort with our joint venture partners. Jessica has decided the time is right to move on and she leaves with both the Board’s and my personal thanks, for her tireless efforts as CEO of The Star Gold Coast.”
The Star has begun looking for a new CEO. Meanwhile, Ian Brown, current General Manager of Gaming, will temporarily fill the role, but this will also be subjected to regulatory approvals.