14 // PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL // November/December 2016 Rose J. Hudson President & Chief Executive Officer, Louisiana Lottery Corporation; First Vice President of the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries (NASPL) Celebrating her 10th year as President/ CEO of the Louisiana Lottery Corpora- tion, Rose Hudson continues to grow contributions for K-12 public education, recently earning Public Gaming Research Institute’s 2015 Sharon Sharp “Good Causes” Award for having the highest per- centage increase in net funds transferred to its beneficiary. Ms. Hudson’s tenure coincides with an upward Lottery sales trend, thanks to her deployment of innovative technology which has contributed to the Lottery’s ending 2016 as its best sales year ever. Her diligent pursuit of quality, integ- rity and public trust also led Louisiana to become first lottery in the country to receive industry verification of its quality assurance processes. Joining the Lottery at its inception in 1991 as Executive Resource Director, Ms. Hudson moved on to the Department of Social Services and later to the Depart- ment of Education. She returned to the Lottery in 2000 as Senior Vice President to oversee human resources, statewide events and governmental relations before becoming President in 2006. Creatively, her sixth sense in marketing has helped the Lottery secure award-win- ning partnerships with local companies and celebrities, such as the New Orleans Saints, Troy & Jacob Landry of Swamp People and Tony Chachere’s Creole Sea- soning to develop blockbuster games. Ms. Hudson most recently served as Immedi- ate Past President of the Multi-State Lot- tery Association, (MUSL) where she also chaired its Powerball Game Group. In addition, she currently serves as First Vice Norman Lingle Executive Director of the South Dakota Lottery Norman Lingle was named Execu- tive Director of the South Dakota Lottery in January of 2005 which makes him the longest serving executive director in the Lot- tery’s 29-year history. Mr. Lingle grew up in Pierre, South Dakota and gradu- ated from South Dakota State Univer- sity with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics. He began his working career at the Governor’s Office of Eco- nomic Development where he spent 17 years, rising to the level of program manager for an infrastructure finance program that assisted local govern- ments in preparing for and recruitment of expanding or relocating businesses. His extensive management skills and experience in that role prompted the South Dakota Department of Revenue to recruit him for leading the South Dakota Lottery. As Executive Director of the South Dakota Lottery, Lingle oversees the instant, online and video lottery pro- grams. The video lottery program is the state of South Dakota’s second largest source of revenue behind the state sales tax. During Mr. Lingle’s tenure, the Lottery has contributed over $1.1 bil- lion in net proceeds to the good causes the Lottery supports including educa- tion, property tax relief, and the devel- opment of natural resources. Among his accomplishments at the Lottery, Mr. Lingle has advanced the use of technology throughout the agen- cy; worked with the Lottery Commis- sion for the approval and implementa- tion of line-up games for video lottery; and assisted the Commission in facili- tating and adopting a yearly strategic plan outlining yearly goals and objec- Sue van der Merwe Chief Operating Officer, Tatts Group Lotteries Sue van der Merwe is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Tatts Group Lot- teries and has made a dedicated and out- standing contribution to the lottery indus- try over a period of 26 years and counting. Her lottery industry journey has taken her from Senior Brand Manager at the Golden Casket Lottery through various positions to her current leadership role as Chief Op- erating Officer of Tatts Group’s Lottery Operating Unit. As COO, Sue manages one of the largest and most complex lot- tery operations in the world – one that comprises seven jurisdictions and a suite of leading brands, with both retail and iL- ottery operations. She continues to deliver exceptional results to all the stakeholders in the Australian market. Notable achievements during Sue’s 26 year lottery involvement include a num- ber of major product launches, building a world class player membership and CRM program, introduction of digital lottery play, enhancing the franchise based retail distribution model and store presentation, implementing Responsible Play programs and actively supporting a range of CSR and community related initiatives. Sue is the Chair of the joint pooling Bloc for sev- eral Australian national draw games and has been very influential in building a bal- anced portfolio of games which match the different needs and motivations of players. Sue is a passionate and energetic leader in the lottery industry and she is deeply moti- vated by the game brands which engage mil- lions of players each week, and the commu- nities which benefit from lottery proceeds. Sue has been a strong supporter of the wider industry, as a speaker and contribu- tor at various WLA and APLA events. She also played a key role in organising the 2010 WLA Convention and Trade Show in Brisbane. ■ Continued on page 66 Continued on page 66