SkyCity chairman Chris Moller to retire, be replaced by Rob Campbell

SkyCity Entertainment Group said chair Chris Moller will retire from New Zealand's only listed casino company at the end of this year, and be replaced by its new director Rob Campbell.

"By the time I retire, I will have been a director of the company for nine years and chairman for five years and I consider this to be an appropriate time in the case of SkyCity to invite the board to refresh its leadership," Moller said in a statement to the stock exchange. "I have given the directors six months' notice to allow for an orderly transition and provide continuity of leadership for our new chief executive officer, Graeme Stephens."

SkyCity deputy chair Bruce Carter said Moller had been an "outstanding" chair and guided the company through some of its most important achievements, including the construction of the New Zealand International Convention Centre and the casino licence extension in Auckland, which wouldn't have happened without his leadership.

Campbell, who was appointed as a director of the company on Sunday, will take over from Moller on Jan. 1, 2018. An economist by training, he is currently chair of retirement village operator Summerset Group, and campervan rental company Tourism Holdings, and is a director of commercial property investor Precinct Properties New Zealand - all NZX listed companies. His previous directorships include the Bank of New Zealand, New Zealand Post, Ports of Auckland, Accident Compensation Corporation and Freightways. He was also formerly the chair of the Auckland City Mission Foundation.

Moller said Campbell had an excellent reputation and track record of management and governance of complex companies.

SkyCity is best known for its dominant Auckland casino which sits alongside restaurants, hotels and the iconic Sky Tower, and it's currently developing the country's largest convention centre. It also has a casino in Hamilton, two in Queenstown, and Australian casinos in Darwin and Adelaide.

The shares last traded at $4.25, and have slid 0.9 percent the past year.

(BusinessDesk)