30 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022 Mary has been selected by Business First newspaper as one of the 2022 Most Admired CEOs in Louisville. In listing the criteria for the award, staff members at Business First wrote, “An outstanding CEO is an innovator, standard-bearer, role model and exceptional leader. Their contributions impact the company they head as well as the community in which they serve. A commitment to financial success, quality, workplace wellness, diversity and philanthropy are hallmarks of an exceptional and admired chief executive”. As was said in Mary’s nomination, “The mission of the Kentucky Lottery is to fund scholarships for Kentucky college students attending Kentucky schools in the hope that our best and brightest students will stay right here in the Commonwealth to attend college and start their careers. As Kentucky Lottery President and CEO, Mary Harville is a proud Kentuckian who chose that path and is now making a difference in the lives of others. Mary’s unique leadership style of combining collaboration, connection and compassion, brings our employees, retailers and other stakeholders together to support us in our mission and generate tremendous results”. Mary’s accomplishment will be featured as part of the Most Admired CEOs and Business Impact Awards dinner scheduled for November 17 in Louisville, and she will also be featured in a special section in the November 18 issue of Business First and on their website. But that’s not all! As recognition for her outstanding work in the past two years since assuming the top spot, Mary has been given a contract extension by the Kentucky Lottery Corporation board of directors that will see her continue in her role through the end of 2026. This will ensure the lottery industry as well as the citizens of Kentucky benefit from Mary’s strong leadership through KLC’s 2026 Odyssey project – the corporate-wide initiative to prepare for the next generation of lottery systems and services that will need to be operational by June 2026 – and that we will have her at the helm for consistent guidance as we face the challenges ahead. n We at the Kentucky Lottery are excited about our Odyssey 2026 initiative, which includes acquisition of all major lottery specific systems and services: the central gaming system and retailer equipment, iLottery system, instant ticket printing and cooperative services. These critical systems, equipment and services form the bulk of the functional operational model of the KLC. The Kentucky Lottery was the first lottery in the U.S. to be established as a corporate, quasi-state agency. While still under state oversight, the statutory directive to manage the lottery in an “entrepreneurial” manner has allowed the lottery to take advantage of advancing technology and other opportunities, including the expansion of vending, the implementation of Keno, predictive ordering for instant tickets, and most importantly, the launch of iLottery in 2016 –now the fastest growing internet lottery in the world. Our overall goal is to continue this trajectory while evolving to meet the demands of a rapidly changing market. While current systems are still viable, the lottery is pulling out all stops to push ahead with the Odyssey initiative in the most “entrepreneurial” manner possible. This will ensure we don’t miss a beat, and will have in place the next generation of systems that will allow us to be well-positioned, both in the near future and in the years ahead, to generate more revenues than ever before for scholarships for Kentucky college students. We’ve established a cross-departmental Odyssey 2026 team and within that group, four workgroups have been tasked with conducting detailed analysis of our current processes, documenting the processes and identifying all areas of improvement. We are learning about the retail landscape of the future, what consumers will expect and how they will behave. Wouldn’t we all like to know?! Another team goal is to be thoroughly educated about the universe of available systems and services, as well as innovative solutions under development. We issued an RFI late last year, and the team was emersed in the comprehensive vendor responses and presentations throughout the summer. The team has also taken advantage of educational opportunities offered through PGRI, LaFleurs, NASPL PDS, and the World Lottery Summit in Vancouver. Based on what we’ve learned, we are currently engaging in a gap analysis and compiling a listing of requirements. Much of the journey lies ahead, but we are confident we are headed in the right direction and excited about the opportunities that await – not only for the Kentucky Lottery, but for our players, retailers and all of the Kentucky families and universities that depend on our proceeds. n Mary Harville, president and CEO, Kentucky Lottery Corp, selected as one of the 2022 Most Admired CEOs in Louisville Mary Harville on KYC’s 2026 Odyssey Project
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