The leading casino operator Caesars Entertainment Corp made an announcement this Thursday that the company has recently hired two senior executives. The US-based casino operator states that this is being done in order to boost the growth of the company, as well as to diversify the operations beyond gaming.
This Thursday the company announced that they have appointed Marco Roca, as the new President, Global Development. He was the former International Executive Vice President of Hard Rock, which makes him well-prepared for his new position in the company since he also boasts more than 30 years of hotel and gaming development experience. The other new addition is Michael Daly, who is enlisted as the new Vice President of Strategy and Mergers & Acquisitions. Prior to this, he was the Executive of GE Capital.
Joining the company, Marco Roca will report to the President and Chief Executive Mark Frissora, while his new colleague Michael Daly is going to report to the company’s Chief Financial Officer Eric Hession. In a press release, the company said that both appointments are subject to customary gaming regulatory approvals. Frissora said that this new direction the company is headed on is specifically designed to give a chance to new growth channels and broaden the company’s horizons. As part of the domestic and international expansion initiatives, Caesars aims to develop non-gaming operations as well.
In a prepared statement, the Chief Executive of Caesars said that the company should take full advantage of their significantly reduced balance sheet leverage as well as the strong free cash flow profile, and boost the growth of the company as a whole. The new additions of Marco Roca and Michael Daly will give a breath of fresh air to the corporation and attract more attention to the domestic and international network expansion which Caesars is planning to do.
Marco Roca will take care of all activities related to the pursuit and execution of new markets, as well as further developing projects within the already existing property footprint of the company. He will also strive to increase the productivity of less utilized assets located in markets with high priority, such as Las Vegas. The ever-changing industry makes it necessary for everyone to be as flexible as possible and diversify their assets and ventures. Caesars is now poised to expand in both the core gaming and the hospitality business as well as into adjacent businesses.
In January 2015 the main unit of Caesars filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and is expected to emerge from it by the end of this year. Ever since 2008, the company has struggled with money. Back then there was a leveraged buyout, amounting to US$30 billion, which was led by private equity companies Apollo Global Management LLC and TPG Capital Management LLP.
