Galaxy reshuffles executive team with eye on Japan

Wednesday 11th of April 2018

Galaxy Entertainment Group announced two major changes on Thursday: Michael Mecca retires as president of the company and Ted Chan is hired as “Chief Operating Officer – Japan Development.”

Michael Mecca had held the position of president since 2015. He will remain with Galaxy as a Board member and as a director of Monte-Carlo SBM. He will also be on Galaxy’s Japan development committee.

The hiring of Ted Chan is regarded as a significant boost to Galaxy’s effort to win an IR license in Japan, and he will be based in Tokyo. Chan formerly worked for Melco where he led the development of Macau’s City of Dreams complex.

In the press release announcing the personnel changes, Galaxy Vice-Chairman Francis Lui commented, “I am delighted to welcome Ted to GEG and I am confident that he will add significant value to our existing team and successfully drive the execution of our Japan international expansion ambitions.”

The same document quoted Chan as saying that he wanted to play a role “in taking the company to its next phase of growth.”

A note from brokerage Sanford C. Bernstein gave an upbeat assessment of Galaxy’s latest move: “While Mike Mecca has been leading the effort on international development opportunities, including Japan, the time was ripe to put a seasoned well experienced executive on the ground to heighten the effort as legalization moves potentially closer to fruition.”

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