Emerging Leaders

The Advantage of Authenticity

Vik Shrestha, Chief Commercial Officer, SB22

Vik Shrestha has paved his way through the gaming industry with a focus on building new business verticals and organizations for established technology companies. When he first joined the industry over eight years ago, however, he quickly learned just how much there was to learn.

With his first role in business development, he refused to limit himself to that sector alone, instead gaining an education on how various other departments functioned. In learning types of issues and their causes, he was able to not only understand the customer’s product, but the challenges they faced, as well.

Shrestha then moved on to a sales management role and was fortunate enough to be embraced by generous customers who dedicated their time to helping him understand the operator side of the business. His propensity for asking questions, for welcoming new challenges, and for approaching learning opportunities with a voracious drive had served him well in his start down the senior management road. But as his career grew and his experiences broadened, he found himself changing his approach entirely.

Whereas he had once honed his concentration on achieving the highest level of results as the most productive individual contributor, he now shifted his focus to helping others build their own successes. The result? He reaped even more success himself in his senior management roles while building strong industry relationships.

Shrestha has been inspired and mentored by multiple industry peers, but his ultimate adviser and motivator has always been his wife, whose sage advice has guided him through career changes and moments of self-doubt.

“I take her advice and she is right 100 percent of the time,” he says. “Just don’t let her know that.”

He deeply enjoys what he does, finding the process of building new business verticals and organizations to be rewarding in its challenge. He looks back on his career with gratitude that he was able to accomplish such feats for multiple companies, proud of the teams he led and what they achieved. Based in Las Vegas, Shrestha now acts as chief commercial officer for software development company SB22, which is building innovative technology for the digital gaming industry. He has been at the forefront of the rising legalized sports betting industry since the repeal of the federal wagering ban, and has solidified a plethora of key partnerships.

Intent on cultivating an innovative culture, Shrestha is ardent about developing diverse and all-encompassing high-performance organizations. Although proud of his accomplishments, he is prouder still of his mentees and the levels of success they have attained. In keeping an eye on industry trends, he’s noticing substantial opportunities for young industry professionals in sports betting and iGaming, and is excited to see the level of talent being drawn to the gaming industry. He is looking forward to the next 18 months, during which he will do what he enjoys most, secure partnerships, as he builds the U.S. organization.

For today’s young professionals, Shrestha offers sound advice.

“It’s important to be authentic to yourself,” he says. “If a company doesn’t appreciate you for who you are, you’re not in the right place and it isn’t worth trying to climb that corporate ladder. When you’re in the right place, your opinion is valued and career growth comes with it.”

—Marie Casias is manager of marketing and administration for The Innovation Group.

Gaming by Accident

Steve Iverson, Attorney

In his final year at South Dakota State University, Steve Iverson was unsure of what his future held. Unlike some others, he had not quite nailed down what he wanted to do when he graduated; however, that all changed when he took one class—Federal Indian Law. A native of South Dakota, Iverson was very familiar with Indian Country, given the large Native American population and volume of reservations in the state. That one class shifted his focus; he now wanted to go to law school and work primarily on Indian policy, which in a backwards way ultimately led him to the gaming industry.

After several years in private practice following law school, Iverson decided to go back to school and get his LLM, or masters of law, and eventually joined the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC). By default, Iverson became entrenched in the gaming industry even if that was not what he set out to do. During his time with the NIGC, he was able to establish himself as a staple within the organization and work prominently on several of the hot topic issues that are always present for the NIGC.

When looking back at his tenure as a lawyer, Iverson believes taking that leap to get his LLM in Indian law had the largest impact on his career. This leap opened a lot of professional doors and has since allowed him to pursue his passions.

One of those passions is the environment, as well as Indian law, which eventually led to his jump from the NIGC to the U.S. Department of the Interior, where he is able to practice in both fields. Though today he no longer works in the gaming industry, Iverson fully credits his team and the great work they did as to why he was able to win this 40 under 40 award during his time there.

“It is always important to surround yourself with the right people, and having the right mentors is particularly important,” he states. “Having supervisors who have a good balance of structure and creativity can be vital to growth in not only one’s career but also in personal life.”

Though Iverson fully admits that he has much to learn, he is able to offer great advice to those up-and-coming professionals in the industry. Simply stated, “put in the time, work hard, stay inquisitive, and don’t be afraid to say that you don’t know the answer.”

This tried-and-true method has worked well for Iverson over the years, and is something to which he credits his level of success.

He also says, “To those attorneys out there, it is inevitable that you will develop an area of expertise, but it’s important to do it in an area you are passionate about.” Becoming an expert has opened the doors for him, which has led him to where he is today.

—Chris Irwin is vice president, Native American and interactive services for The Innovation Group.