2008 GREAT WOMEN OF GAMING
Proven leader
Cath Burns
Vice President and Managing Director,
Asia Pacific, Bally Technologies Inc.
Growing up in Adelaide, South Australia, Cath Burns had a few people who helped her become the strong woman she is today. “I’ve had a lot of people throughout my career who have helped and guided me, but probably the most significant mentor to me has been my father,” she said. “He’s the sort of person that told me as a child I could do anything as long as I applied myself, and I believed that.”
He has stayed a mentor to her through today. When she started in sales, he taught her to be the best you can, not to wallow over losses, learn from them quickly and move on, as well as being respectful to everybody.
Burns completed her bachelor’s degree at Flinders University in Australia, then went to the U.S. for her master’s at Central Connecticut State University. She returned to Australia and almost immediately began working at IBM as a graduate trainee, where she describes being introduced to gaming as accidental when she was handed the gaming accounts in her first year.
“IBM gave me my first opportunity in gaming, and from there I went to Video Lottery Consultants (VLC), where I met Dick Haddrill, who was at that time CFO of VLC’s parent company and is now CEO of Bally Technologies. I really enjoyed working with Dick and had great respect for him,” she explained. “Several years later, after he joined Bally, he called me and said, ‘I’ve got a couple of fantastic opportunities for you that I think you’ll really like,’ and one of them was here in China.”
She said Haddrill had a vision that she wanted to be a part of, including focusing on technology and expanding the business internationally. Burns eventually decided to join Haddrill’s team at Bally in 2006.
Twelve years later, Burns has certainly made her mark in the industry. She currently serves as vice president and managing director of Bally Technologies’ Asia Pacific operations, where she is responsible for numerous aspects of both gaming and systems operations.
Her biggest professional accomplishment has also been one of her biggest challenges. In just three years at Bally, she took on not just working in a new culture, but also hiring, implementing policies and procedures, managing distributor relationships, public relations, contract negotiations and supervision.
“Coming to a brand new market that has little to no infrastructure, building world-class casinos, and having to hire in the most buoyant labor market in the world was certainly the biggest challenge I’ve ever had in my career,” she commented. “It definitely has been the most rewarding because in the end we made it through, and we not only made it through, we managed to install our product in all of the major properties here and start to build a successful brand throughout the region.”
Despite her huge success at making Bally a major player in the international market, Burns remains humble. “I think most people who know me would know that I do what I say and I do what I mean,” she noted. “All of my professional accomplishments have been the result of a team effort. I like being part of a team and getting the job done. At the end of the day, we’re here for the customer and the shareholder, and any of my professional accomplishments, whether it’s been in sales or building and starting a business, have all been team-based.”
Burns’ nominators spoke volumes about her invaluable contributions to the business. Haddrill said: “[Implementing our casino management system at the Venetian Macau] was a monumental endeavor; yet through Cath’s leadership, this complex installation was nearly flawless.”
“Give us a few Cath Burns and we can win any business battle,” Ramesh Srinivasan, executive vice president of Bally Systems, said.
But there are several other achievements to Burns’ name. After VLC, she saw an opportunity to try something new, and so she became president of Sandals, Sandals, Sandals, a retail shoe business. Putting her mark wherever she goes, she increased its sales by 20 percent. She also wrote a book, though it remains unpublished.
“I’m not a writer but I always wanted to write a book, and when I embarked on it I didn’t realize the commitment and discipline required in such a solitary pursuit,” she noted. “Once I got to the end of it, I was like ‘Wow, what an achievement to actually complete a manuscript.’ It’s one of the things I personally am most proud of.”
In the future, she says she’d like to take a larger role in an operations capacity. “One thing this job in Asia has prepared me for … is being involved at an operational level,” she said. “What I’ve come to realize is that operations is the quiet part of the business, and if you don’t have a solid operational structure, you can’t succeed. It’s the quiet pulse of the company.”
Burns tributes a phrase her grandmother once said as her inspiration: Life isn’t a dress rehearsal. “To me, you only get one chance to be really good every day,” she said.
Copyright 2010, Great Women of Gaming. All rights reserved.
