New chief for Scientific Games
News on 3 May 2018
News on 3 May 2018
Online and land gambling provider group Scientific Games announced new executive appointments Wednesday, naming Barry Cottle, currently CEO of SG Interactive, as the company’s new President and CEO, effective June 1, 2018.
Cottle will replace current President and CEO Kevin Sheehan who will remain with the company as a senior advisor.
The company also announced that Tim Bucher, previously SVP and GM of the Consumer Solutions Group at Seagate Technology, has been named EVP and Chief Product Officer across all Scientific Games’ business divisions.
“I’m proud of what we have accomplished over the past two years. Our company is stronger than ever and growing across all our divisions. With the acquisition of NYX and the rapid growth of our entire interactive business, Scientific Games is poised to lead the future as the entire gaming industry transitions to new digital and mobile platforms,” said Sheehan in a press statement.
“I want to thank the Scientific Games executive team, my friends and colleagues at MacAndrews & Forbes and all of our employees for their hard work and commitment. Barry has been a great partner, and I look forward to supporting his efforts to lead Scientific Games into the digital future.”
Cottle responded, saying: “Innovation is the cornerstone of our strategy at Scientific Games. Across all our business units and platforms, we are relentless in our efforts to drive greater efficiency and adaptability to take advantage of new and growing markets. Scientific Games’ expertise and passion for innovation is an invaluable asset, as we continue to build cutting-edge technology to enhance the player experience for both retail and digital platforms.
“Kevin took over after the successful integration of Bally and WMS and, as one company, moved Scientific Games forward and helped in driving growth across all our business units. I want to thank him for his strong leadership and tireless efforts that led to the company’s success over the last two years and I look forward to continuing to work with him as a senior advisor to the company.”
Scientific Games chairman Ronald O. Perelman said: “Under Barry’s leadership, SG Interactive, now SG Social and SG Digital with the NYX acquisition, has become the market leader in free-to-play and online gaming and is perfectly positioned to capitalize on new markets opening up to legalized online gaming, lottery and sports betting around the world, including the United States.”
Cottle joined Scientific Games as Chief Executive, SG Interactive, in August 2015 to lead the strategy and growth plans of the Interactive group. In just over two years, he led the team to double revenue growth and Scientific Games’ efforts to enter Sports Betting and iLottery through the acquisition of NYX/OpenBet.
Before Scientific Games, Cottle served as Vice Chairman of Deluxe Entertainment where he helped drive digital innovation including Deluxe’s launch of Virtual Reality. Prior to that, he has held executive leadership roles at Zynga, Electronic Arts Inc., The Walt Disney Company and Palm Computing, Inc., helping lead these organisations to rapid growth in mobile and online markets by providing leading-edge products.
Scientific Games also announced the appointment of Tim Bucher as EVP and Chief Product Officer across all business divisions. Bucher is a Silicon Valley veteran who has created several successful companies which have either been taken public or acquired by tech giants including Apple, Microsoft, Dell, and Seagate Technology over the last 3 decades.
He has served in executive product roles directly for Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Michael Dell learning from those iconic entrepreneurs how to innovate and grow businesses. Specialising in consumer software, hardware, and user experiences, he holds over 40 patents in networking technology, user interface design, computer and processor design as well as graphics and multimedia technologies.
Most recently Bucher served as the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Seagate Technology’s $1.4 billion global consumer business developing innovative solutions to break Seagate into new markets including mobile, drone, and gaming.
