John Alexander at the NSW Crown inquiry this week.
"James has always been strong with his views,but they rarely led to direct actions in terms of personnel doing specific things,"Mr Alexander said.
The ILGA inquiry,which has the same powers as a royal commission,was launched to examine reports byThe Age,Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes aboutCrown’s relationships with organised crime-linked "junket" operators and the risks it exposed its staff to in China.
Commissioner Patricia Bergin,SC,will report on whether Crown should be able to keep the licence for its new Barangaroo casino,which is set to open in December.
The inquiry on Friday was told of an email Mr Packer sent to Mr Alexander in November 2018 - eight months after he stood down from the Crown board - questioning why Mr Alexander was"on a world trip looking at restaurants",and whether"we"needed to implement a travel ban for Crown executives.
When Mr Alexander told Mr Packer he needed the board to back him with his own cost-cutting measures,Mr Packer responded:'I’m over being captain good guy to everyone,go hard my good friend you have my blessing".
In another email Mr Packer asked Mr Alexander to review Crown financial forecasts and ensure they were correct.
Under questioning Mr Alexander agreed that Mr Packer was providing some"indirect"instruction to him in the emails,but denied Mr Packer was keeping close control over management from outside the company.