Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming December 2015 14 Industry profile IAG: Let’s start at the beginning. Tell us a little of your history with gaming over the years. Ken Jolly: I have truly been very fortunate in my career and had a global experience in the gaming industry by working and living in different regions. My career started 36 years ago in New South Wales, Australia, involved in gaming industry technical operations then sales, followed by business development and senior management roles. Over the last 22 years my international market roles have included the General Manager of New Zealand, Vice President of Sales, Service and Marketing in the Americas (North, South America and Canada), General Manager of Sales and Marketing for all of Europe and General Manager of Asia Pacific for another global publically traded gaming machine and products supply company. Before originally joining Shufflemaster I served as the Executive Vice President and General Manager for a global Japanese gaming manufacturer having responsibility for Australia, Asia, Europe and Africa. After joining Shufflemaster as a consultant initially I helped spearhead Shufflemaster’s Asian business through a period of growth and market expansion. In late 2013 Shufflemaster was purchased by Bally Technologies and then a year later by Scientific Games. During these periods I have managed the Asian business as we integrate. IAG: How was the transition from Australia to Macau for you personally? KJ: After eight years abroad and living in New Zealand, USA and London I was asked to develop and manage the business of my then employer Aristocrat in Asia. As the company didn’t have an Asian headquarters or employees living permanently in Asia then, I did this from Australia for the first two years with hundreds of hotel nights and many flights. When it came time to move to Macau it was easy as I had experience living away from Australia and had just spent two years and many nights here. Macau was just another place to call home. I found doing business in Asia similar to the rest of the world, an honest upfront approach rewards you similarly. IAG: Any memorable stories from the early days of Macau? Ken Ken Jolly is Executive Vice President for Shuffle Master and also represents Scientific Games and Bally in Asia – but has been in the slot machine industry working for a variety of companies all over the world for over 35 years. A perennial figure with more than a decade here in Asia under his belt, IAG sat down with Ken for a chat on the industry and also get to get to know the man on a more personal level.