Former Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. CEO Jamie Odell has joined Scientific Games as a special advisor to the gaming equipment provider’s chairman and CEO, returning the Australian executive to the casino industry after a three-year hiatus.
Odell, who was credited with growing Aristocrat’s market capitalization from $1.3 billion to $7.5 billion and expanding the company’s presence in the U.S., left the slot machine manufacturer in February 2017. He had served as CEO since 2009.
According to a company statement issued Tuesday, Odell will advise Scientific Games Chairman Ronald Perelman on gaming industry trends and market innovations. He will also work with Scientific Games CEO Barry Cottle to “support current growth strategies across the company.”
Odell said Scientific Games has “an outstanding leadership team that is committed to driving our industry into the future and I will do everything I can to support their current strategies.”
During his time at Aristocrat, the company grew into the No. 3 gaming equipment provider, behind Scientific Games and IGT. In one of his final moves, Aristocrat spent $1.3 billion to buy Video Gaming Technology, a Tennessee-based slot machine maker that provides games to the American Indian casino market.
Odell was also the head of Aristocrat when the company created the “Buffalo” themed slot machine, which celebrated its 10th anniversary at the Global Gaming Expo last year. Slot analysts have rated the Buffalo slot machine as one the most popular games currently on casino floors
Perelman, who is the chairman and CEO of the MacAndrews & Forbes investment company and is a shareholder of cosmetics giant Revlon, is currently No. 149 on the Forbes 400 with a net worth of $9.1 billion.
Perelman said he has “known and watched Jamie’s success for years and I am so glad he has agreed to join us in this new role.” Perelman added that Odell “will significantly enhance our ability to reach new players and markets as well as drive growth across the company.”
Cottle, who became CEO a year ago, said he has “long admired and respected (Odell’s) success and leadership in our industry” He said Odell is “an executive with a proven track record of success and a gaming expert who has driven market leading innovation and player engagement strategies for more than a decade.”
Odell added that it was an “honor to be asked by Ronald to provide advice, and since spending time with Barry I’ve come to recognize that we share common values and beliefs about how to build great businesses.”
Also on Tuesday, Scientific Games said it was increasing its annual production capacity by 21 percent through an expansion of its lottery instant game manufacturing in North America and Europe.
“With the global instant product market surpassing $90 billion in retail sales in 2019 —$50 billion-plus in the U.S. alone — we have identified significant growth opportunities, and we are advancing our manufacturing operations to align with shifts in consumer behavior and our lottery customers’ needs,” said John Schulz, senior vice president of instant products for Scientific Games.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
