Coonan to face pressure to jump after steading the ship at Crown

But Ms Coonan’s nine-year stint as a Crown director – during a period of corporate governance dysfunction and in which the company’s casinos were infiltrated by criminals and money launderers – means some investors will also see her eventual departure as necessary.

Jason Beddow, managing director of the $6 billion fund manager Argo Investments which is Crown’s eleventh largest shareholder, said Ms Coonan will “probably” also need to leave once she has installed a new CEO and new directors.

“But short term, you can’t have no one there,” Mr Beddow said. “She’s clearly been involved with the regulators, and clearly they’re comfortable that she’s there now.”

Head of research at the proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), Vas Kolesnikoff, said Ms Coonan was the “default choice” for someone to steady the ship at Crown, but her long history on the board would become a problem for some shareholders.

“Being there for such a long time, people will be saying: you would have been aware of all these governance issues, so what did you do about it?” Mr Kolesnikoff said.

“That will be a problematic issue to deal with. At some point in time there will have to be a rotation as new senior directors come in.”

A decisive factor in how Crown’s new board will take shape is the future of major shareholder James Packer’s 37 per cent stake.

Mr Packer’s private company Consolidated Press Holdings ended its board representation last week after Commissioner Bergin identified how the billionaire’s influence over Crown had “disastrous consequences for the company”.

But NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority chair Philip Crawford told this masthead on Friday he was concerned that Mr Packer could use his dominant shareholding to shape or influence the board by voting for or against directors at annual general meetings.

Announcing the executive changes on Monday morning, Ms Coonan said she would “continue to lead on implementation of Crown’s ambitious reform program” while searching for a replacement CEO.

“The board is determined to maintain the momentum as Crown takes significant steps to improve our governance, compliance and culture,” Ms Coonan said in a statement.

Mr Barton, who was on a $3 million a year salary, said in a statement: “I am absolutely certain the business is now on the right path as it works to restore confidence in its operations.”

Last week high-profile director Andrew Demetriou and two board representatives of Mr Packer – Michael Johnston and Guy Jalland – all resigned. Mr Demetriou and Mr Jalland also came in for heavy criticism in Commissioner Bergin’s report.

The report was the result of an explosive 18-month public inquiry into the group, that was triggered by a series of reports by the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and 60 Minutes.