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EMERGING LEADERS Strength in Self Meghan Sleik Director of Partnership Marketing & Communications, Aristocrat Gaming s the director of partnership marketing & communications at Aristocrat, Meghan Sleik develops and executes marketing partnerships and sponsorship opportunities with both casino customers and non-casino brands. The position at Aristocrat is a natural fit for Sleik, given her extensive background in gaming and hospitality-related public relations. Sleik studied public relations at Quinnipiac University prior to accepting a public relations role with MGM. Her responsibilities at MGM included managing major television and motion picture film shoots as well as media for national events. Sleik has also served in public relations roles for the Wynn Las Vegas and R&R Partners, a Las Vegas-based advertising, marketing, public relations and public affairs firm. Key accomplishments thus far in her career include securing a first-of-its-kind landbased supplier marketing partnership between Aristocrat Gaming and the Las Vegas Raiders and leading the public relations strategy for the first LGBTQ commercial for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Seeing the commercial air, Sleik says she “felt so fulfilled in giving recognition to underrepresented groups in tourism, and showcasing some of the most amazing moments that have and will continue to happen in Las Vegas.” While Sleik’s background is now rich with industry experience and accomplishments, this was not always the case. However, Sleik did not let inexperience keep her from speaking up or providing insight, and she credits this candid style in helping her develop a leadership brand that is uniquely “her.” To Sleik, “experience” is more than what one can list on a resume. “Some of the most insightful experience I have that makes me who I am as a leader really has nothing to do with work,” she says, and she advises up-and-coming leaders to tap into their own untraditional experiences to develop their authentic leadership style. Sleik found that the
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Global Gaming Business JUNE 2021
Career Validation Mike Nguyen Director of Engineering, JCM Global n his spare time, Mike Nguyen fiddles with cars, appliances and electronics. When he’s working at JCM, he also fiddles, but with a little more tech savvy. “I’ve always liked to tinker with electronic devices to understand how things work internally,” says Nguyen, a Vietnam native who emigrated with his family to the U.S. at 10. Gravitating towards computer science as a major at Cal State Northridge seemed a logical choice. So did obtaining employment with JCM Global in 2008—known as JCM America then— as a software developer. “Computer science allows me to continuously learn new ways to improve existing solutions and create new technologies,” Nguyen says. What sold Nguyen on JCM was the chance to work on a bill validator, of all devices. “I was curious how the bill validator was able to use LED sensors to identify and validate currencies worldwide. This job allows me to learn a lot more about electronic devices and algorithms,” he says. His initial work focused on gaming and vending, before a promotion to lead a small team working on high-end banking products for ATMs using neural networks, then considered cutting edge. “JCM promoted me to software engineering manager, where I helped transition a system product and multiple thermal printer products from an acquired company to our Las Vegas office,” Nguyen says. He also put together another team to design and develop a system to integrate with the firm’s
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company culture at Aristocrat aligns well with her views on experience, and credits that working environment with transforming her into the leader and marketer she is today. She encourages other young professionals to search for the right place for them, and once found, go all in and be unapologetically themselves. Looking toward the future, Sleik is excited to expand the Aristocrat marketing team and help the company bring more world-class games to their customers. She also sees unique opportunities in the gaming industry through the fusion of gaming and technology. “The innovation and evolution of hardware, game content and more is a complete game-changer as it relates to what it means to work in technology. I would encourage emerging leaders to expand their thinking as it relates to how they define what it means to work in tech,” says Sleik. Although ambitiously engaged in her career, Sleik finds time to help other young professionals develop the leadership skills that led to her success. She serves as an alumni resource to students at Quinnipiac University, plays an active role in the Aristocrat Future Leaders (AFL) rotational program for recent college graduates, and recently joined Global Gaming Women. —Chloe Paul is manager, data analytics for The Innovation Group.
