Silver Heritage Group is in the process of mixing things up at the executive level. The Australian-listed casino operator has announced that it will soon have a new chief financial officer (CFO) to replace the outgoing Basil Jong and that a member of its board has stepped down, only to already be replaced.
As of November 5, Ben Watiwat will be the company’s new CFO, according to a filing with the Australian Securities Exchange. Jong is leaving “by mutual agreement with the board,” but will stay on for at least three months “to ensure an effective handover.”
Watiwat was previously with SafetyCulture Pty Ltd., a software company out of Australia, where he was the head of finance, as well as the company secretary. He is a certified accountant with a long history of involvement in corporate finance, technology and accounting.
According to Silver Heritage non-executive chairman James Spenceley, “Having worked with Ben for a number of years … I’m delighted he has accepted this role. Ben has significant experience and skills in capital management, compliance, risk, tax and reporting. Ben will be a significant asset for the business going forward.”
On his new assignment, Watiwat stated, “The business has enormous potential and I am looking forward to working with the team to capitalise on the platform they have created.”
Apart from the departure of Jong, non-executive director Robert Benussi has also announced his resignation. Benussi indicated that he was leaving the company to “focus on other interests.”
In an announcement about the resignation, the Silver Heritage board indicated, “During his tenure as director, Mr. Benussi was integral in the guidance of the Company through its recent Capital Raising and Bond restructure.”
Benussi was replaced by Michael Bassett. He joins following his time at the Regal Australian Small Companies Fund, where he worked as a portfolio manager. Before that, he was in charge of the equities division for Credit Suisse Emerging Companies, as well as head of institutional equity sales with Credit Suisse Australia. He has also held high-level positions with Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Asset Management. Currently, he the managing director of a market consultancy business that provides market strategies for the boards and senior management teams of a number of firms.
