Scientific Games Corporation last week announced some changes to its executive team. Kevin M. Sheehan, former chief executive officer and president of Norwegian Cruise Line, has joined Scientific Games as the company’s new CEO and president. Additionally, he will serve on the Company’s Board of Directors. Current Scientific Games CEO and President Gavin Isaacs will become vice chairman of the board of directors. Sheehan and Isaacs assumed their new roles immediately.
“Today we are one company with three strong businesses – gaming, lottery and interactive. Our integration is behind us and our business strategies are delivering solid results. With our momentum building, I’m moving from an operational leadership position to a more strategic role, vice chairman of the board of directors. On behalf of my colleagues and the board, we welcome our new CEO and president, Kevin Sheehan. This is the right time to grow our leadership team and have someone of Kevin’s talent, experience, and financial acumen take us to the next phase of growth and innovation,” said Isaacs.
Sheehan joins Scientific Games from Norwegian Cruise Line, where he served as CEO and president for seven years, and led the development and expansion of the company, presiding over strong sales and EBITDA growth and the company’s initial public offering (IPO), one of the most successful IPO’s in 2013. He broadened the company’s reach with new classes of ships including luxury cruising and led the company to industry leading profitably, which strategically positioned the company for continued long term growth. Sheehan oversaw major initiatives including vastly improving on-board service and amenities across the fleet; expanding the line’s European presence; repositioning two of the line’s Hawaii-based ships creating a profitable business model; revitalizing top management with a combination of cruise industry and outside expertise; and using his extensive 30-year background in the business world to help Norwegian post a sharp turnaround in profitability in the midst of a tough economic climate.
During nine years with Cendant Corporation, Sheehan held various senior executive roles including serving as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Cendant Corp’s Vehicle Services Division from January 2003 to May 2005, including global responsibility for Avis Rent A Car, Budget Rent A Car, Budget Truck, PHH Vehicle Management, First Fleet and Wright Express. He also served as the chief financial officer of Cendant Corporation from March 2001 to May 2003.
After leaving Cendant and prior to joining Norwegian Cruise Line, Sheehan worked at Cerberus Capital Management as a senior adviser in the assessment of multi-billion acquisition targets and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, leading the acquisition of Hertz from Ford.
Most recently, Sheehan served as the John J. Phelan, Jr. Distinguished Professor in the Robert B. Willumstad School of Business at Adelphi University.
“This is an exciting time to join Scientific Games,” said Sheehan. “Scientific Games is the worldwide leader in gaming, lottery and interactive innovation and I look forward to building on that momentum to drive continued growth across the company. Scientific Games offers an unrivaled comprehensive suite of products and services for our customers around the world and is well positioned to continue to grow.”
“I am so pleased to welcome Kevin to Scientific Games and that Gavin will continue with the company in his new role. With the company fully integrated, it is the right time to expand our leadership team so we can take full advantage of the new and growing opportunities open to a company with our global scale and broad expertise. Kevin’s intellect and experience will be an invaluable asset as we move forward as one company,” said Ronald O. Perelman, chairman of the board of Scientific Games.
Isaacs helped direct the purchase of Bally Technologies by Scientific Games in 2014, after he engineered the purchase of SHFL Entertainment (Shuffle Master) by Bally. Scientific Games had already completed the purchase of WMS Gaming, another major slot manufacturer.
