Drawing on the depth of its executive management team, Shuffle
Master, Inc. (NASDAQ Global Select Market: SHFL) announced today the
promotions of David Lopez, Roger Snow and Jerry Smith to Executive Vice
Presidents of the Company.
In addition to these promotions, and in keeping with corporate best
practices, the Company announced that its Board of Directors has decided
to separate the roles of Chairman of the Board from that of Chief
Executive Officer and has elected Philip Peckman, a current independent
director, as its new non-executive Chairman.
Finally, Shuffle Master also announced that in order to streamline its
domestic operations and improve efficiencies, the Company is
consolidating the Shuffle Master Americas division with its Corporate
group, both of which are headquartered in Las Vegas.
Mark Yoseloff, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, commented, "I am pleased
that during these tough economic times for our industry, Shuffle Master
continues to grow and prosper because of our suite of innovative
products which provide both revenue enhancement and operating cost
efficiencies for our casino customers. Phil’s strong business experience
and new role will bring broader perspective to our business, while the
promotion of these three seasoned executives will greatly strengthen our
senior management team. These changes will allow me to continue to focus
on our overall business strategy.”
"We have indicated for some time our plan to strengthen our executive
depth and operational focus. Roger, David and Jerry have all been with
Shuffle Master for a number of years and have been important
contributors to the Company’s dramatic growth. Their strategic planning,
operations, development, and managerial experience within the company
make them uniquely suited to take on this new responsibility. I am proud
of these talented examples of one of our greatest strengths; namely, our
human capital, and look forward to working with this dynamic team on a
senior executive level,” Yoseloff concluded.
Peckman has been a member of Shuffle Master’s Board of Directors since
June 2007. He is an attorney and certified public accountant and
presently serves as Chairman of the Board’s audit committee. Peckman is
the Chief Executive Officer of Peckman Outdoor Media. Prior to this
Peckman served as President and Chief Executive Officer of The Greenspun
Corporation, a company with interests in real estate, media,
communications, travel and tourism, gaming and technology. Peckman
retired from this post in 2006.
Lopez began his career with Shuffle Master in 1998 as a Marketing
Analyst and has since been promoted six times, most recently serving as
President of Shuffle Master Americas. During his ten year tenure, Lopez
has played an important role in Shuffle Master’s overall growth. Lopez
was responsible for managing much of the sales growth and profitability
of the business, while building a strong team of leaders to drive
continued market success. In his expanded corporate role, he will be
assuming many of the responsibilities previously handled by Paul Meyer,
former President and Chief Operating Officer. His primary focus will be
on sales, product management and operations.
Snow began his career with Shuffle Master in 2000 as Table Games Product
Manager. In addition to running the product line, Snow oversaw the
development of the Company’s proprietary table games. Snow has developed
some of the most popular games in the market, including Four Card
Poker®, Crazy 4 Poker® and Dragon Bonus®. Snow’s games represent over
1,200 tables in casinos around the world. Snow has held three other
positions in the company. With this promotion, he will take over
chairing the Company’s Corporate Products Group, the committee
responsible for the Company’s product strategy. In addition, he will
oversee worldwide marketing.
Smith started with Shuffle Master in 2001 and most recently served as
Senior Vice President and General Counsel. During his tenure with the
Company, he has played a major role in the Company’s acquisitions and
other important legal transactions. Smith will continue to serve as the
Company’s General Counsel, responsible for the Company’s legal,
compliance and corporate affairs. He will also now serve as Corporate
Secretary.
Smith, Lopez and Snow will continue to report directly to Yoseloff and
will maintain their current responsibilities in addition to overseeing
corporate strategic goals and objectives.
About Shuffle Master, Inc.
Shuffle Master, Inc. is a gaming supply company specializing in
providing its casino customers with improved profitability, productivity
and security, as well as popular and cutting-edge gaming entertainment
content, through value-add products in four distinct categories: Utility
products which includes automatic card shuffler, roulette chip sorters
and intelligent table system modules, Proprietary Table Games which
include live table game tournaments, Electronic Table Systems which
include various e-Table game platforms, and Electronic Gaming Machines
which include traditional video slot machines for select markets and
wireless gaming solutions. The Company is included in the S&P Smallcap
600 Index. Information about the Company and its products can be found
on the Internet at www.shufflemaster.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements that are based on
management’s current beliefs and expectations about future events, as
well as on assumptions made by and information available to management.
The Company considers such statements to be made under the safe harbor
created by the federal securities laws to which it is subject, and
assumes no obligation to update or supplement such statements.
Forward-looking statements reflect and are subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from
expectations. Risk factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from expectations include, but are not limited to, the
following: we may be unable to repurchase our contingent convertible
senior notes; our intellectual property or products may be infringed,
misappropriated, invalid, or unenforceable, or subject to claims of
infringement, invalidity or unenforceability, or insufficient to cover
competitors' products; the gaming industry is highly regulated and we
must adhere to various regulations and maintain our licenses to continue
our operations; the search for and possible transition to a new chief
executive officer, and the search for and the transition to a new chief
financial officer, could be disruptive to our business or simply
unsuccessful; our ability to implement our five-point strategic plan
successfully is subject to many factors, some of which are beyond our
control; litigation may subject us to significant legal expenses,
damages and liability; our products currently in development may not
achieve commercial success; we compete in a single industry, and our
business would suffer if our products become obsolete or demand for them
decreases; any disruption in our manufacturing processes or significant
increases in manufacturing costs could adversely affect our business;
our gaming operations, particularly our Utility, Proprietary Table
Games, Electronic Table Systems and Electronic Gaming Machines, may
experience losses due to technical difficulties or fraudulent
activities; we operate in a very competitive business environment; we
are dependent on the success of our customers and are subject to
industry fluctuations; risks that impact our customers may impact us;
certain market risks may affect our business, results of operations and
prospects; a downturn in general economic conditions or in the gaming
industry or a reduction in demand for gaming may adversely affect our
results of operations; economic, political and other risks associated
with our international sales and operations could adversely affect our
operating results; changes in gaming regulations or laws; we are exposed
to foreign currency risk; we could face considerable business and
financial risk in implementing acquisitions; if our products contain
defects, our reputation could be harmed and our results of operations
adversely affected; we may be unable to adequately comply with public
reporting requirements; our continued compliance with our financial
covenants in our revolving credit facility is subject to many factors,
some of which are beyond our control; the restrictive covenants in the
agreement governing our revolving credit facility may limit our ability
to finance future operations or capital needs or engage in other
business activities that may be in our interest; our available cash and
access to additional capital may be limited by our substantial leverage;
and our business is subject to quarterly fluctuation. Additional
information on these and other risk factors that could potentially
affect the Company’s financial results may be found in documents filed
by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including
the Company’s current reports on Form 8-K, quarterly reports on Form
10-Q and annual report on Form 10-K and registration statement on Form
S-1, filed on June 27, 2008, as amended.