Class of 2019 Lottery Industry Hall of Fame Members
Induction Ceremonies
The four Hall of Fame inductees were honored at the two biggest industry conference/trade shows. May Scheve Reardon and Mark Michalko were honored at the NASPL This is Winning! Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas, Wednesday September 18th, 2019. Younes El Mechrafi and Olli Sarekoski will be honored at the at a time and venue that is convenient for them, possibly the WLA/EL Marketing Seminar in London early February 2020.
please scroll down to read all of the biographies.
Younes El MechrafiChief Executive Officer, la Marocaine des Jeux et des Sports (MDJS)
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Younes El Mechrafi
Chief Executive Officer, la Marocaine des Jeux et des Sports (MDJS) Younes El Mechrafi was appointed CEO of la Marocaine des Jeux et des Sports (MDJS), a state lottery that finances the Moroccan sports, in 2009. Beyond the financing of the Moroccan sports through the National Fund for Sport Development (FNDS), MDJS actively contributes to the promotion of the practice and values of sport as levers of inclusion and development by supporting numerous associations and projects in various disciplines with special attention to the disabled, women, and youth. Holder of a master's degree in Computer Science Applied to Business Management, and a high degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Lille, Younes El Mechrafi began his career as a researcher professor in a Scientific Research National Center unit at the University of Valenciennes in France. Back in Rabat, he held various positions, including managing director of SOMAV, a company operating in the agro-industry sector, and CEO of Concis, a computer engineering services company, mainly operating for the account of ministries and public bodies. In 2003, Younes El Mechrafi was appointed special advisor to the minister of justice in charge of new technologies and modernization, and in 2006 he joined ONA group, the biggest private group in Morocco, as general manager of a Computer Services and Engineering Company, Archos Conseil. In addition to his responsibilities as CEO of MDJS, Mr. El Mechrafi is actively involved with international lottery authorities. Since March 2014, he is General Secretary of the African Lotteries Association (ALA) and he is member of the World Lottery Association executive committee since June 2014. In January 2015, he was elected as member of the executive committee, and secretary of GLMS (Global Lottery Monitoring System). As part of his mission at the WLA, which contributes to the dissemination of good practices within the profession, he was appointed chairman of the WLA audit committee in November 2018. Since 2016, he is also Vice-President of the Mohammed VI Sports Champions Foundation. Following his election in March 2019 as President of the Moroccan Association for company sport in Morocco (APSEM), Younes El Mechrafi was elected Vice-President of the World Federation for Company Sport in Athens on June 08, 2019. On June 2019, during the annual Women In Africa (WIA) Initiative Summit, a leading platform dedicated to the economic development and support of leading and high potential African women, Younes El Mechrafi received the AMOYA ( African Man of the Year Award) for his commitment to the empowerment of women and their inclusion in the sport’s world and to the promotion of sport values. |
Mark Michalko Executive Director
North Carolina Education Lottery |
Mark Michalko
Executive Director North Carolina Education Lottery Mark Michalko’s service in the global gaming industry spans more than four decades. Mark began his Lottery career in 1977 as a Legal Intern at the Ohio Lottery. He became General Counsel in 1980 and served in that capacity until May 1985, when he was selected by the Governor of California to serve as Founding Executive Director of the California State Lottery. Under his leadership, the CSL generated first-year revenue of $2.25 million, prompting the highly respected “Field Poll” to comment on the Lottery’s success by stating: “In the history of American marketing, no other service or product, government or private, has ever come close to having as many as 70 percent of such a large population of people pay money to voluntarily participate in such a short period of time.” In late 1987, Mark joined two other Lottery industry veterans to co-found Gamma International Ltd., a pioneer in then-nascent Native American gaming industry. In his role as President of Gamma, Mark helped drive regulatory change and technology innovation, paving the way for growth in this segment of gaming, through introduction of Mega-Bingo™, a nationwide game offering million-dollar jackpots. Five years later, Mark assumed his first international role, as Managing Director of Philippine Gaming Management Corporation (PGMC) in Manila, guiding PGMC’s operations in launching the first on-line lottery in the Philippines. In 1994, Mark was appointed as President and CEO of California-based International Lottery & Totalizator Systems, Inc. (ILTS). In his twelve years in this role, he led the company’s expansion to serve lottery and racing organizations in 22 countries on 5 continents. Mark became President of Intralot Asia-Pacific, headquartered in Hong Kong, in 2006, directing the company’s lottery growth and expansion across the region. In 2012, Mark was recruited to join IGT as Director of Commercial Gaming for Asia. In this role, Mark managed the organization’s full P+L and directed all sales and business development activities across the continent while overseeing offices in Macau, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Manila. He devised and championed a new strategic plan, including development of Asia ‘market-attuned’ products while introducing revised commercial models to increase IGT’s market share. Under Mark’s leadership, IGT Asia achieved record EBITDA in 2016. Following his success in Asia, Mark became IGT’s Vice President and Managing Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa and moved to London, where he headed IGT’s commercial gaming business serving B2B customers in more than 50 countries. Mark returned to the U.S. and his lottery roots in early 2018 as Executive Director of the North Carolina Education Lottery. In Fiscal Year 2019, he led the NCEL to record sales of $2.86 Billion, an increase of $254 million or 9.8% over the prior year and record net revenue of $709 million, a $39 million or 5.8% increase over fiscal 2018 in funds raised for public education. As a long-time leader, Mark continues to make important contributions to the international lottery and gaming industries. |
May Scheve Reardon Executive Director
Missouri Lottery |
May Scheve Reardon
Executive Director, Missouri Lottery Prior to entering the Lottery industry, May Scheve served in a leadership role on the Joint Committee on Gaming and Wagering and the Ways and Means Committee in the Missouri House of Representatives from 1990-2002. In her Lottery career, May has held numerous top industry leadership positions including serving as President of NASPL and MUSL. While NASPL President May:
Additionally, May helped launch and grow the Lottery industry’s Women’s Initiative In Lottery Leadership (WILL) program to support advancement of women into top positons of Lottery management, leadership and responsibility. Further diversified the Missouri Lottery; doubling the percentage of minority employees working at the Missouri Lottery and increasing the number of women in leadership roles. May was the youngest woman elected to the Missouri General Assembly. She went on to serve as a Missouri State Representative for twelve years, Chair of the Democratic Party for two years and then the first woman to run the Missouri Lottery. |
Olli Sarekoski Chief Executive Officer, Veikkaus
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Olli Sarekoski
Chief Executive Officer, Veikkaus On January 1, 2017, the gaming operations of Fintoto, RAY, and Veikkaus merged to form a new gaming company which is called Veikkaus. The political process for effecting this merger was launched in December 2014. The analysis of the process was begun in spring 2015 and the new Veikkaus finally started its operations on 1 January 2017. As executive vice president of Veikkaus, Olli Sarekoski spearheaded the merger and the subsequent integration of the three companies. Veikkaus now has more than 2 million Finnish loyal customers, and employs nearly 2,000 people. Olli Sarekoski was appointed to his current position of CEO of Veikkaus prior to the launch, assumed those responsibilities on January 1, 2017, and continues to lead Veikkaus in this period of change and growth. Curriculum Vitae • Veikkaus Oy, Executive Vice President 2010-2016 • Veikkaus Oy, Senior Vice President, Business and Strategy 2008– 2010 • Veikkaus Oy, Vice President, Strategy and Planning 2003–2008 • Nordic Frontier Program 2006 Working History • The Finnish Sport Television, CEO 2001–2003 • The Finnish Sport Television, Vice President, Public Relations and Administration 2000–2001 • Prime Minister’s Office, Special Adviser to Minister 1999–2000 • European Parliament, Head of Office 1996– 1999 • University of Vaasa, M.Sc. (Econ.) 1995 • Finnish Youth Cooperation – Allianssi, Secretary General 1994–1996 • Finnish Youth Exchange, CEO 1994–1996 Language skills • Fluent in English • Spanish • Swedish • Olli Sarekoski is married with two children. |