For those who like to play the odds, the Illinois Lottery has a new private manager, Allwyn, which opened its first U.S.-based office in Chicago.
The U.K. firm, which runs Great Britain’s National Lottery, is committed to giving back — which extends to the new U.S. subsidiary. Allwyn aims to generate over $1 billion a year for schools and community projects by the end of its 10-year contract.
Allwyn has a proven record in this regard. Over the past decade, the group grew national lottery sales in the U.K. by more than 40 percent. That success allowed Allwyn to give an average of around £30 million to good causes — every week.
Allwyn’s workforce embraces philanthropy, too: Employees get two volunteer days annually, with further time available if their volunteering is linked to their personal development.
Recently, we caught up with Penny Rovner, Service Delivery Manager, who took time to describe their plans for leading the Chicago team.
YEAR FOUNDED: 2017
EMPLOYEES: 75
WHAT THEY DO: Allwyn’s Chicago-based subsidiary will run the Illinois Lottery.
WHO FOR: Government agencies that oversee lotteries.
CHICAGO OFFICE: In the Loop.
IDEAL CANDIDATES: Eager learners who thrive in a results-driven environment and enjoy customer service.
Penny Rovner, Service Delivery Manager
Rovner heads up thought leadership for the Allwyn IT team. She establishes and maintains long-term business relationships with suppliers and ensures that technical, contractual and supplier-related business issues get resolved quickly.
BEYOND WORK: She loves to cook and is a huge Cubs fan.
Describe what your team is responsible for doing.
Rovner: The service delivery team is responsible for ensuring that all gaming and end-user systems are available with the highest level of quality from a networking, testing and change management perspective.
Should any issues occur, then my support teams own the resolution and ensure that our third parties are driving a solution to the satisfaction of the business and/or internal user community.
Tell us a little bit about your professional background.
Rovner: For the majority of my career, I have been in IT leadership roles. As a part of many of my roles, I have built teams of both internal and external resources. This enabled me to leverage my strengths. I successfully built many high-performing teams that delivered amazing results and influenced key decisions across the business. To this day, I thoroughly enjoy the excitement of integrating new technologies into the current landscape and streamlining business processes.
For leaders wanting to build a tech company where women flourish, how do you promote and retain women?
Rovner: To achieve any goal, it must be measured and have management support. Another must is to build programs to position and prepare women for opportunities. This programming should include mentoring, sponsors and advocacy.
Mentoring women through challenges has helped me learn new lessons to grow in my own leadership. I learn just as much from mentees as they learn from me.”
One of my passions is supporting women by helping them find success and reaching their potential. So I’ve taken an active role in mentorship throughout my career. One new manager I mentored was able to leverage our conversations to build her confidence and influence with her new team. This mentee has flourished in her leadership role and is now viewed as a strong developer of people — someone who drives results for her organization.
Mentoring women through challenges has helped me learn new lessons to grow in my own leadership. I learn just as much from mentees as they learn from me.
If a team member came to you and said they were burnt out, what would you do?
Rovner: This is a very individual issue. I would first talk to them to understand what is going on. There can be factors other than workload that cause burnout. After I have a better picture, I’d work with them to take the appropriate actions. This could be helping with prioritization, reassignment of work, removing obstacles or giving them time off.
Camelot is hiring. What’s a must-have for job candidates?
Rovner: I look for potential hires to demonstrate initiative to learn and master new skills and to build business acumen and client relationships. I also always look for a good cultural fit. Will they work well in our environment? Will they work well with the team and clients? Are they collaborative?
On a lighter note, I understand you’re a Cubs fan and a cook. How do those passions affect your work?
Rovner: It took 108 years for the Cubs to achieve their goal of winning the 2016 World Series, and it takes time to perfect a recipe using the best ingredients. I see leadership the same way: It takes time, patience, feedback and coaching to help develop a team of great leaders.
.jpeg)
