INTERBLOCK
Best person for the job
Interblock’s newly appointed president EMEA, Marco Herrera speaks to Casino International about his appointment, plans for the business, and more
Casino International: You’re a gaming executive with an impressive resumé – what was it about this opportunity with Interblock that appealed to you? Marco Herrera: I did have some really interesting offers, some of them were in the online space, in sports betting, very interesting opportunities. But the Interblock story for me goes further back; I always admired the product when I was working at other companies, I was always trying to emulate their products as they really are top of the class. Plus there was the potential to work with John Connelly again, who I know from working together for a long time at Bally Technologies, as it was then. That was very appealing. Then when you factor in the recent acquisition of the company by Oaktree, the timing was right, and I really enjoyed talking to them when the conversation started. They gave me a hands-on but relaxed feeling, and the interviews went very well, and it came together very quickly in the end. I signed the contract within weeks of the conversation
started, and as a result I have moved back to Europe [Marco spent many years in Nice, Amsterdam and Barcelona in previous positions]. The move back to Europe was actually also a strong
factor; I lived in Las Vegas for 25 years, was back there for a year, my wife moved back there with me… but we really love the European lifestyle and that was an influence on the final decision. I hope that I have established a reputation; I’ve tried to
conduct business fairly, to run the company in the proper manner, build teams that last. When I left Scientific Games I felt that I was leaving something permanent there, it was a great team and I didn’t feel like my absence would affect its function. It makes me proud to look back in terms of what I have accomplished in this way. Customers have been very positive with my appointment here, people I know have reached out and I have already started visiting customers. This business is all about the people; we forge relationships that last a lifetime and create something that brings both a sense of accomplishment and pleasure.
CI: What are the key things that you bring to Interblock – and what are your objectives for EMEA? MH: I think I bring the relationships in the European and African markets, South Africa notably, as I spent 15 years in EMEA previously. But I also bring a different aspect of things; I’m a seasoned businessman with a lot of experience in running a business, not just the financial side but HR, Legal, Product Development, all the other departments; I’ve been doing that for almost four decades now. On top of that I bring my technology background, which is something that wasn’t necessarily here. Even though we have R&D here, great leaders in technology terms, at the president level, top executive level, it’s not something that a lot of companies have. I have insight into the technology so I can jump in wherever I am needed and contribute at a deep level. My first priorities will be to get some more people into the
sales team and bring that back, I’m in the middle of that right now. But I will be wherever I am needed – my job is to identify what needs improving and figure out how to do it. I have to support John Connelly in the US because they have expanded so quickly that they’re always in need of support. It’s our role to support all of our offices globally. I’ll also be bringing customers to the table. There are
markets where we have not really penetrated at all, and we could – take France for example, it may take us some time to get back in because we have competitors doing really well there, but it’s about strategically figuring out what we need to do to grow country by country, product by product and figure out how we can be better all around the world.
“This business is all about the people; we forge relationships that last a lifetime and create something that brings both a sense of accomplishment and pleasure”
38 SEPTEMBER 2022
CI: Have there been any changes with the Interblock structure, for your customers? Is Slovenia still the headquarters? The company has evolved so much in the last ten years it is almost unrecognisable! MH: What John Connelly has done in the US is absolutely amazing – and it was definitely another factor in my decision to join the company. I remember in 2017-18, touring Vegas casinos and there was not much of an ETG presence at that time. He’s been working hard to get Interblock everywhere in the US, the growth there has been phenomenal; as things tend to happen maybe a lot of the focus was on the US and less on Europe. The HQ still remains in Slovenia and I doubt that will ever move given how many people are working in research and development here, and production, and the knowledge that exists within the company here in Slovenia. The way we are going to run Interblock is more global, and
my being here is to help bridge that gap from a Europe-centric company to a more globally-visioned organisation and to create a strong connection with the US corporate office. Our structure, with Oaktree being in California, means we may get more direction in terms of what we do from the US but all of it
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