Caesars appoints head of Japan development

Caesars Entertainment has appointed Yusuke Watanabe as its inaugural vice president of Asia development and head of Japan business development, signaling their determination to pursue IR partnership opportunities while the nation still debates the overall legal framework.

Watanabe has an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Most of his career has been spent in the banking industry—Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, JP Morgan, and, most recently, Morgan Stanley.

Steven Tight, president of international development, tells AGB that hiring Watanabe is intended to help “localize our pursuit efforts” towards an IR in Japan. He continues, “Fundamentally, Caesars values the complementary capabilities Japanese partners bring to an investment consortium. Even though we travel to Japan quite frequently, it is important to maintain a constant dialogue with potential partners in Japan as our relationships progress.”

A significant part of Caesars’ strategy is to find capable Japanese consortium partners who can help guide their bid to success, and Watanabe is expected to spearhead these efforts.

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