The year-long remake of the Wynn Resorts Ltd. board of directors continued Friday with the announced departure of longtime member Alvin Shoemaker.
In a brief filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said Shoemaker, a veteran financial executive and former chairman of First Boston Inc., decided to retire as of Dec. 31. Wynn said the size of the board would be reduced to nine directors.
The board now has six new members – including three women – and a new chairman in gaming veteran Phil Satre, who took over last month. Of the nine Wynn board members, four are women.
Wynn Resorts began its board shake-up in the spring after company founder Steve Wynn resigned his positions as chairman and CEO and sold all his stock following allegations of sexual harassment and sexual misconduct.
Elaine Wynn, the ex-wife of Steve Wynn, became the company’s largest shareholder with 9.9 percent and actively sought changes to the company. The effort led to the resignation of two long-time board members, including one she actively campaigned against.
Elaine Wynn lost her seat on the Wynn Resorts board in 2015 after the board declined to nominate her and shareholders didn’t support her campaign to be reinstated. After Satre was named to the board in August, Elaine Wynn agreed to enter a “Standstill Period” that ends in 2020 or, if Satre were to leave as chairman.
The changes come as the company seeks to retain its gaming license in Massachusetts for the $2.5 billion Encore Boston Harbor that is expected to this spring in Everett,.
On Thursday, a Nevada judge said she would hear arguments in early January about whether to continue blocking release of a Massachusetts Gaming Commission report into allegations of sexual misconduct against Steve Wynn.
Satre, the former chairman and CEO of Harrah’s Entertainment, has taken a hands-on approach in the Massachusetts matter. He told the Las Vegas Review-Journal Tuesday the board and company CEO Matt Maddox would present the company’s case for suitability to Massachusetts regulators.
“I’m delighted with the changes and the evolution that we’re experiencing at the company,” Satre said told the Review-Journal.
Maddox and former Wall Street banker Richard Byrne were appointed to the Wynn board in August.
In April the company added three women to its board – former White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers, three-time CEO Betsy Atkins, and Kestrel Advisors CEO Winifred “Wendy” Webb – who joined current board member Pat Mulroy, making Wynn among the top 40 S&P 500 companies for female board representation.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
