Northstar Lottery Group Appoints New Chief Executive Officer

Northstar Lottery Group, a majority-owned subsidiary of GTECH and Lottomatica Group, today announced that Marco Tasso, an experienced leader from Lottomatica’s Italian operations, has been appointed as Northstar’s Chief Executive Officer.

 

As part of as part of a planned succession process, Connie Laverty O’Connor, Northstar’s first CEO who was responsible for launching operations in Illinois, will return to her Chief Marketing Officer role at GTECH. She will continue to help guide Northstar activities as Vice Chairman of the Northstar Board of Directors.

 

In making the announcement, Northstar Chairman and GTECH CEO Jaymin Patel said, “With the appointment of Marco Tasso, we have a proven leader from the world’s largest gaming operator who will work in partnership with the Illinois Lottery to drive their success and build on the progress we have made so far.”  

 

Mr. Patel continued, “I want to thank Connie for her selfless dedication to the success of Northstar. Her ingenuity, hard work and experience have helped make the Illinois Lottery one of the fastest growing lotteries in the United States. When she accepted the appointment as CEO of Northstar, we agreed that it would be for the ramp up period and the start of Northstar operations. To provide continuity, she graciously agreed to stay on longer than we had originally planned despite the personal sacrifice involved.”

 

“I met Connie when I ran the Illinois Lottery in the eighties,” said Illinois Lottery Superintendent Michael Jones. “It was serendipity that she was the CEO of the first private management company in the United States when I was asked to return as Superintendent. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with her and the Northstar team as we attempt to maximize revenue to the state of Illinois in an ethical and socially responsible manner. I’ll never forget the day we spent in Red Bud Illinois awarding the largest prize ever won in the state of Illinois, it was the stuff dreams are made of.”

 

Prior to joining Northstar, Marco Tasso was Vice President of Lottery and Services at Lottomatica where he has worked for the past six years. In his previous roles at Bain and Company and Ernst & Young, Marco worked as a consultant with several clients including Fiat and SEAT Pagine Gialle, Gruppo Coin and Telecom Italia.

 

Commenting on the appointment of Marco Tasso, Mr. Jones continued, “I am particularly pleased that Marco Tasso has taken over the leadership of Northstar.  Lottomatica has become a leader in the industry and a dominant operator in one of the most developed gaming markets in the world through a commitment to continuous innovation. It’s that kind of fresh perspective that Marco brings from his experiences with Lottomatica that I want to instill in the Illinois Lottery.  And, I’d like to add my personal welcome to him and his family to the local community.”

 

The appointment is effective June 1, 2012.