Connie James Rises as Scientific Games’ Chief Financial Officer

Gambling products provider Scientific Games will be making changes to its leaderboard with Connie James joining as a chief financial officer, treasurer, corporate secretary and executive vice president.

Scientific Games Gets an Industry Veteran as a CFO

James isn’t a stranger to the company and the position as she has already worked as chief financial officer of Scientific Games’ gaming division since 2020. She will be officially stepping into her new position on October 15, which is the same date on which Mike Eklund, the company’s current CFO, will be taking his leave.

James spoke on her new position and said that she is thrilled to work with the rest of the leadership team as they “capitalize on high growth opportunities” that are available to them. She believes that Scientific Games has an “enormous potential” and will give her best to guide the company’s financial decisions to fruition.

“Scientific Games is a company with enormous potential as we execute on our strategy to de-lever our balance sheet, invest in growth for the future, and unlock value for our stakeholders,” James said.

The new CFO has 20 years of experience and has taken important roles in Deloitte Australia, Aristocrat Leisure Limited, and Cargill. James will use her vast understanding of finance to the utmost benefit of Scientific Games.

Eklund is proud of his time at the company and is happy to leave the finance team in James’ hands and is sure that she will lead the company to an “exciting future”.

The Company’s CEO Wished Farewells to Eklund and Welcomed James

Scientific Games’ chief executive officer and president, Barry Cottle, spoke on James’ appointment. He revealed that she has helped tremendously get the company’s gaming business through the turbulent COVID-19 times and had an important role in the strategic review and development of Scientific Games’ vision to “become the leading cross-platform global game company.

“As we advance our strategy to become a content-led growth company, we are confident that Connie is the right executive to take the reins to help us achieve our vision and drive long-term shareholder value,” Cottle said.

The CEO also spoke on the upcoming leave of the company’s current CFO Eklund. Cottle said that Eklund has been a great help to the company and helped to establish a “best-in-class finance organization”. According to the CEO, Eklund’s exploits improved substantially the company’s financial success.

Cottle continued by mentioning Eklund’s “critical role” in the company’s strategic review and the planned divestitures of Scientific Games’ Lottery and Sports Betting businesses that helped advance Scientific Games’ offerings. Thanks to those efforts, the company had a record-breaking Q2 and is on the way to having just as good results in Q3. Furthermore, the company is moving rapidly with its divestitures and Cottle is confident that the Scientific Games’ shareholders are going to benefit a lot from it.

Cottle finished by wishing Eklund all the best in his future endeavors.