Steve Wynn resigns as CEO and chairman of Wynn Resorts because of sexual misconduct
Facing allegations of decades of sexual misconduct, Steve Wynn has resigned as chief executive officer and chairman of Wynn Resorts, in an announcement made by the company on Tuesday.
Wynn was accused by dozens of current and former employees of "a decades-long pattern of sexual misconduct’. Photo: CNN.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Wynn was accused by dozens of current and former employees of "a decades-long pattern of sexual misconduct’. He was also alleged to have paid a $7.5 million financial settlement to a manicurist who accused Wynn of pressuring her to have sex with him.
"It is with a collective heavy heart, that the board of directors of Wynn Resorts today accepted the resignation of our founder, CEO and friend Steve Wynn," said Boone Wayson non-executive director of the board of Wynn Resorts in the statement.
"Steve Wynn is an industry giant. He is a philanthropist and a beloved leader and visionary. He played the pivotal role in transforming Las Vegas into the entertainment destination it is today. He also assembled a world-class team of executives that will continue to meet the high standards of excellence that Steve Wynn created, and the Wynn brand has come to represent."
The statement also quoted Wynn saying: “In the last couple of weeks, I have found myself the focus of an avalanche of negative publicity. As I have reflected upon the environment this has created — one in which a rush to judgment takes precedence over everything else, including the facts — I have reached the conclusion I cannot continue to be effective in my current roles.”
The board has appointed the current company's president, Matt Maddox to be the CEO and formed a special committee to investigate the allegations, said the statement.