Scientific Games Friday announced the appointment of Connie James as executive vice president, chief financial officer, and corporate secretary. James had served as chief financial officer of Scientific Games Gaming business since January 2020.
“Since joining Scientific Games, Connie has helped lead the Gaming business through the unprecedented disruptions caused by COVID-19 and played a critical role in our strategic review and developing our vision to become the leading cross-platform global game company,” said Scientific Games President and CEO Barry Cottle in a statement. “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.”
James replaces current Chief Financial Officer Mike Eklund, who is leaving to pursue other opportunities. She will assume her new duties on October 15.
“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 in a statement. “I am excited to work closely with Barry and the rest of our team as we capitalize on high growth opportunities available to us over the coming years.”
In an analyst’s statement, Barry Jonas of Truist Securities wrote that Eklund “played a critical role in the strategic review and planned sales of the Lottery and Sports Betting segments. . . .We generally viewed Mr. Eklund as a high-leverage CFO turning the company into a low-leverage growth story.”
Jonas believes the appointment of James is “a transition from a non-gaming, high-leverage CFO to one with gaming and growth experience (at competitor Aristocrat) makes sense,” he wrote.
“We believe she has the strategic, financial and operational background to succeed in this new role,” Jonas added, “while Scientific Games has a deep bench of supporting staff.”
Cottle noted that Eklund helped Scientific Games become “a best-in-class finance organization,” and was instrumental in improving the company’s financial results. Eklund also played a critical role in the strategic review and divestiture of Scientific Games’ lottery and sports betting businesses.
“We delivered record results in the second quarter, and the business continues to perform well in the third quarter,” Cottle said. “We are moving rapidly as we execute on our strategy and the planned divestitures are well-progressed.”
