Gtech S.p.A. has reorganized its Americas management team to meet its customers’ growing needs for an integrated offering across multiple gaming channels, including lottery, Vlt, commercial casino, and interactive gaming. It has also created a new Lottery Management Services structure to meet lotteries’ increasing needs for greater efficiency and reliable profits through private or outsourced management services provided by Gtech.
The new management team, which reports to Gtech Americas President and Ceo Jaymin B. Patel, reflects Gtech’s Customer First objectives by anticipating opportunities to help customers build their player bases due to rapid changes in the Americas gaming landscape. Those changes include the growth of regulated interactive gaming, accelerating use of mobile technology, and the convergence between land-based and interactive gaming technologies. The Americas region continues to work hand-in-hand with Gtech’s centralized Products and Services team for all marketing and technology support.
The reorganized Americas management team includes:
• Alan Eland, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, North America. After almost three decades with Gtech, Alan has announced his decision to retire from the Company effective January 1, 2015. For the remainder of this year, Alan will manage Gtech’s relationships with the California Lottery, Texas Lottery, and oversee a portfolio of Canadian jurisdictions and Western Region states. Alan will also continue to manage Gtech’s printing and Client Services operations.
• Jay Gendron, Senior Vice President, United States. Jay, who has 20 years of experience managing Gtech’s Lottery and Gaming sales and operational activities across 13 states in the U.S. Eastern region, will be responsible for preparing U.S. customers for the next phase in the lottery industry’s evolution as technology and gaming channels converge.
• Victor Duarte, Senior Vice President, North American Commercial Gaming. In addition to his current role as Senior Vice President of Gaming and Content, Victor will be responsible for leading sales activities with our Commercial and Tribal Casino customers in North America. His experience and knowledge of the commercial gaming market will ensure that casino customers can retain and attract players by offering the most compelling gaming experiences and game content.
• Matteo Monteverdi, Senior Vice President, Americas Interactive. In addition to his current role as Senior Vice President, iGaming, Matteo will work with Americas gaming customers to leverage the latest technological and regulatory developments to build a foundation of sustainable and effective interactive gaming programs.
• Connie Laverty O’Connor, Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer. Connie will continue to be a liaison with Gtech customers, dedicated to helping deliver their business plans and execution strategies. During the next several months, Connie will transition from the role of interim Ceo of Gtech Indiana and focus on significant customer and industry initiatives, and multi-jurisdictional opportunities.
In addition, the Lottery Management Services team has been created to leverage Gtech’s operational expertise and best practices drawn from its experience as a private manager/outsourced operator in Illinois, Indiana, and New Jersey. Marco Tasso, Senior Vice President, Lottery Management Services, will lead this new team, and will have overall Profit and Loss responsibility for all Lottery Management Services contracts in North America. During his time at Lottomatica, Tasso was instrumental in the brand transformation and impressive revenue growth of Italy’s Scratch and Win, the world’s largest instant ticket business.
The following leaders have also been appointed to the new Lottery Management Services structure:
• Scott Howarth, Vice President, Lottery Management Services, will be responsible for shared best practices in areas such as organizational development, product innovation, retail optimization, business process execution, and facilitating the annual business planning process.
• Tim Simonson, Chief Executive Officer, Northstar Lottery Group, will be responsible for managing the business relationship with the Illinois Lottery and delivering the business plan.
• Colin Hadden, Vice President and General Manager, GTECH Indiana, will bring his extensive customer relations and operational experience to the Hoosier Lottery to help drive its growth plan.
• Russ Knapp, Vice President and General Manager, Northstar New Jersey, will be responsible for meeting the expectations of the New Jersey Lottery and delivering Northstar’s business plan.
“As the gaming, technological, and regulatory landscape continues to evolve in the Americas, Gtech has assembled a team of experienced leaders to help our customers successfully take their critical next steps in this evolution,” said Jaymin B. Patel, President and Ceo, Gtech Americas. “This new management structure will ensure that our customers are armed with the knowledge and innovation they need to build sustainable operations and responsibly grow revenues”.