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INTERVIEWS


Player-led, tech-driven


Aristocrat boss Jamie Odell explains how the company has become the dominant player in Macau BY CHRISTOPHER COTTRELL





Business. “T ere’s such a buzz about this place, there is such energy.” Macau is certainly an exciting place for Aristocrat, were


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the Australian provider of gaming solutions reportedly holds 55 to 60 percent of the market. “We began as a great Australian company and now we


are proud to be exporting a great Australian product. For our success, like all success, fi rst you focus on the markets that matter the most to you and try not to be everything to everyone,” Mr Odell says. In Macau, the group has recently continued to build


up its market share on the back of the strong performance of its “Fa Fa Fa” and “Yellow Dragon” hyperlinks. One of Aristocrat’s most recent achievements was to secure more than 60 percent of the slot installations on the gaming fl oor at Galaxy Macau, which opened in mid-May. “Our Asian-themed games are successful because we


tailor them with the right mathematics and links. We are very proud of our footprint here in Macau and in Singa- pore,” says the former head of Australian and Asia-Pacifi c operations at brewer Foster’s Group Ltd.


Over the hump T e Asia-Pacifi c region is one of the best performing for the gaming supplier. While Aristocrat’s overall profi t declined 53 percent last year, in the Asia-Pacifi c region the company delivered a strong performance, which improved profi t by 28.6 percent. Aristocrat is in the middle of its fi ve-year plan, to be


completed by 2013, to turn around global performance and achieve sustainable profi t growth. T is year the company ex- pects net profi t to be 10 to 20 percent higher than in 2010, a period that represented, according to Mr Odell, “the most diffi cult year in our turnaround”. With more than 50 years of industry experience and


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’m thrilled about this part of the world,” Jamie Odell, the chief executive of Aristocrat Leisure Ltd, tells Macau


more than 2,000 staff globally, Aristocrat is licensed by more than 200 regulators, and its products and services are available in more than 90 countries. It has offi ces in Aus- tralia, the United States, New Zealand, Britain, South Af- rica, Sweden, Argentina and Japan. T e company has been present in Macau since 2006. Mr Odell joined Aristocrat in 2009 and says the secret


of success is to be player-led and technology-driven. “We are really developing our high-tech. T e gaming


industry is relying on new technology like it never has be- fore and there is a lot of investment in it,” he explains. In 2010, Aristocrat’s investment in its future through


design and development rose as a percentage of revenue to 16.0 percent, from 12.5 percent the year before.


Important force Aristocrat’s boss adds however, that good technology must walk side-by-side with great games, specifi cally adapted for each market. “Here in Macau, we have tailored games instead of just


bringing in products made for other markets.” To help the company to beef up its product off ering,


Aristocrat has named Rich Schneider as its new chief prod- uct offi cer. He will lead all aspects of product design, port- folio management and global marketing activities. Mr Schneider, who begins his tenure on July 28, is wide-


ly regarded as an important force in the gaming industry. Most notably, he was executive vice-president of product strategy at


International Game Technology (IGT) and


played a vital role in conceiving what is now known as the Gaming Standards Association. “T e appointment of our chief product offi cer is sig-


nifi cant, and we are fortunate to have attracted someone of Rich’s calibre, and he will play a critical leadership role in the next stage of our turnaround story,” Mr Odell says. “His skill set, knowledge of the industry and years of expe- rience will be tremendous assets.”


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