2009 GREAT WOMEN OF GAMING
Proven leader

Elaine A. Hodgson

Chief Executive Officer and President
Incredible Technologies

 

Elaine Hodgson left the world of biochemistry for an exciting career in gaming and never looked back. Now, she is the co-owner and founder of Incredible Technologies, which is currently working to get the word out about its first slot machine products.

Hodgson has served as president and CEO of Incredible Technologies since its inception in 1985. The company began as a $150,000 basement start-up and is now the largest U.S. manufacturer of coin-operated amusement games, including the wildly popular Golden Tee® Golf franchise.

Hodgson graduated from Purdue University with a degree in biochemistry and went on to work as an industrial chemist for NASA at the Kennedy Space Center. Later, she moved into game programming at Marvin Glass and Associates, where she worked for a variety of well-known clients including Bally-Midway. She tells the story of the transition lightheartedly. Hodgson went to lunch with her ex-husband and his boss one day: "And the guy gave me a job. So, it was a big decision, because I had my degree in biochemistry and chemistry and I was thinking, why should I do this? I thought I would learn programming and go back to chemistry with it. But once I got in the industry I never wanted to leave it." Hodgson says she found the biochemistry work she was doing quite boring. But gaming, she says, is fun and exciting because of the people and the blend of science and art.

Almost five years ago, Hodgson's company decided to add slot machines to their product line. The funding for the new venture came from the company's own money saved from its coin-op success. Hodgson says she really appreciates the operators in casino gaming: "(They have) a good handle on their business. We're really looking forward to learning from them and understanding what they know."

Hogdson believes she is being recognized as a Rising Star in gaming because of her bravery to lead her company into a new venture during a difficult economic cycle. "It's not very common for a new company to be entering into the manufacturing end, or making slot machines. It's a very big leap; it's a big risk."

Hodgson says: "The Great Women of Gaming award is a great honor. I want to live up, now, to the fact that we were singled out and prove that it wasn't a bad choice."

Times have not always been so great for Hodgson and Incredible Technologies. She recalls one of the most challenging times in her professional life was when she had to lay off employees in the early 1990s. "It's one thing to let someone go because they're not performing; it's another thing to let someone go when they are performing but you can't pay them. It was very emotionally wrenching for me." The company did come out of the tough financial time and Hodgson learned to always try to have something for a rainy day. She says it was also a lesson in perseverance. "You don't know until you do it, who you are in a sense, until you face a crisis, and so I'm proud to say that we did stick it out, and we did persevere and we did everything we could to make it work."

Hodgson's biggest personal challenge has also affected her at work. Hodgson and her ex-husband co-founded Incredible Technologies 25 years ago when they were married. When they later divorced and Hodgson remarried, they made a conscious effort not to let their personal lives impact their company and their employees. It was actually an effort made by three people, since Hodgson's husband also works at Incredible Technologies as the vice president of product development. Hodgson says it's amazing because everybody is working well together now.

Hodgson has three children who she says are her biggest joy and accomplishment. She values time spent with her family and instills the same attitude in her employees. Scott Morrison, vice president of marketing at Incredible Technologies comments, "The family-oriented work environment that Elaine provides, along with her personal empathy and confidence in her staff, serve as a strong motivator for creative thinking and innovation at every level."

An athlete and a risk taker, Hodgson enjoys running, skiing and scuba diving and will be taking to the skies solo this fall when her flying lessons take her to new heights. Hodgson didn't always think she could take on the world and master so many different skills. Her first and only female mentor, her 7th grade math teacher, taught her that women could be more than she had ever imagined. "I had aptitude for math and she made me see that women could be anything; this I was not getting at home."

To aspiring female gaming industry leaders, Hodgson says: "Utilize every talent that you have to get where you're going. Don't have any inhibitions to what you can accomplish, don't be stereotyped into anything. Just don't let anything stop you."

A sense of accomplishment and reaching goals is what drives Hodgson to continually improve personally and professionally. Mainly, she wants the best for her employees. "I really want to give them a company that they really want to work for, and that they want to grow," she says. "It's my family, I feel responsible, I want them to have a good career and a good means to raise their family."

Hodgson hopes to create a good reputation for her company, with good customer service in place, while making casino gaming even more entertaining than it already is. "I'm ambitious and wanting to make a difference in this industry," she says. SKC


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