"Scientific Games will continue its momentum"

Earlier this month, Scientific Games announced Kevin M. Sheehan was joining the company as its new CEO and President, with Gavin Isaacs becoming Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors. In an exclusive interview with Yogonet, Mr. Sheehan said both him and Mr. Isaacs "believe that a strong company culture is key to long-term success."

Being named CEO at gaming giant Scientific Games, what does it mean for you?

It is truly an honor and privilege to be given the kind of responsibility that comes with leading such a large, diverse, and growing company. Scientific Games has three strong businesses and its momentum is building, having delivered three consecutive quarters of growth in revenue, operating income, and cash flow. I am joining at a very exciting time for the business and for our industry as we go into trade show season with G2E, NASPL, and ICE Totally Gaming 2017 on the horizon. I’m looking forward to leveraging my extensive experience to propel Scientific Games into its next phase of growth and development.

What can we expect to see under your leadership?

We will focus on driving innovation, creating the world’s best gaming and lottery experiences, taking good care of our customers and enhancing our culture. Customer service and employee engagement have always been my key areas of focus.

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When the customers and employees feel valued, listened to, and understand that you are doing everything possible to help them, everything else eventually falls into place and the company will continue to drive value for all of its shareholders

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What will be your greatest challenge?

My top priorities will be 1) delving deep into the business and into the industry so I quickly get up-to-speed and 2) earning the trust of our passionate employees. I’m very fortunate to have a strong leadership team in place at Scientific Games, and I will rely on their expertise and insights over the next several months as we focus on successful showings at our most important trade events: the Global Gaming Expo in September and NASPL in early October and finishing 2016 strong. I also will be reaching out to our employees to leverage their expertise, share my vision for our next phase of growth, and focus on building an inspired culture that makes Scientific Games the best place, bar none, to work in the industry.

What would you say you have in common with former CEO Gavin Isaacs and what makes you different from him?

I feel very fortunate that Gavin Isaacs is stepping into a strategic leadership role as Vice Chairman of our Board of Directors and serves as an advisor to me and a liaison with our global customers.

Gavin and I are both passionate about doing everything we can to help our customers and our employees succeed. We both believe in Scientific Games’ long-term mission and believe that a strong company culture is key to long-term success. And we are both laser-focused on driving innovation, inspiring imagination, and empowering our customers through the world’s best gaming and lottery experiences.

When it comes to how we are different, I would say he is Australian and I’m Irish, so we may root for different football teams!

Based on the recently announced Q2 financial results, what is the next step for Scientific Games? How are you planning to build on Isaacs success?

Gavin certainly built momentum for Scientific Games, delivering three straight quarters of growth in revenue, operating income, and cash flow.

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I’ll build on our success by establishing a vision for our next phase of growth and development, engaging our passionate employees, delivering improved results, paying down debt, and focusing on driving innovation and executing fiscal discipline

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What will be your focus for the coming months?

Over the next few months, my focus will be on spending time with our teams and our customers to learn how I can best support and accelerate their success. I’ll immerse myself in the business and in the industry. I look forward to attending G2E, NASPL, and the ICE Totally Gaming Show in London in early 2017 – this will afford me the perfect opportunity to meet and talk with many of our customers and employees.

I’m confident that Scientific Games will continue its momentum, and I look forward to leading this next stage of our growth.