The list of candidates for the top job in running Tennessee's lottery has been whittled from 15 to three, but lottery officials declined yesterday to say who the finalists are.
One official said Tennesseans could rest assured that the chief executive officer candidates would be well-screened and that the board had no choice but to handle it this way.
Lottery board spokesman Will Pinkston was asked why there will not be an opportunity for a public review of candidates or the board's selection.
''Unfortunately, it's not a realistic approach in hiring a CEO,'' he said.
''There's an agreement when you interview people, or consider people, that their names won't be broadcast openly for the whole world to see, because if they don't get the job, there's the potential to make their lives difficult in their current position,'' he said.
''It's a matter of respect for the candidates going through the process. That said, the board understands the importance of this hire and making sure it is a strong, capable, qualified person with the highest degree of integrity. Any decision they make will be thoroughly vetted. They feel confident they will make the right decision.''
He said the lottery business was ''a very small industry, and most people do not want to be identified as being a candidate if they are not successful in getting this job. It has the potential to make life difficult for them in their current job.''
Meanwhile, state Sen. Steve Cohen, who sponsored legislation creating the lottery, prodded the board to move up its deadline for hiring from Monday, Sept. 15, to Sept. 12 a week from today.
The board also needs to move faster than the March 1 date it set to have a lottery up and running, Cohen said. He prefers a Feb. 14 deadline as a Valentine's Day gift to Tennesseans waiting to play the games. He noted that the state House approved a lottery referendum on Feb. 14, 2001.
Cohen said that changing the deadline to hire a CEO to next Friday would give the new CEO time to attend a lottery trade show in New Orleans that starts Sept. 15. The director could begin face-to-face recruitment of a top-notch staff.
The senator's suggestions were warmly received by the lottery board.
''The board definitely wants to move as fast as possible,'' said Pinkston, adding that Cohen's deadlines appeared possible to meet.
A two-week head start would net the lottery scholarship program an additional $10 million in revenue, Cohen said.
By law, whoever is hired as the CEO must have at least two years of experience as a lottery CEO or COO or at least five years of management experience at a state lottery.
The board's finalists are all either current CEOs or COOs, Pinkston said. The board also hopes to hire someone with experience in starting a lottery.
Whoever is hired will be expected to be in place full time by the end of the month, he said.
For several weeks, members of the board have looked at the top executives of every U.S. lottery, searching for those exhibiting the best financial performance and other factors, Pinkston said. That process netted the board about 15 prospects, he said.
At a closed-door meeting yesterday, the board discussed the finalists and a compensation package, which is expected to include a base salary and performance bonuses.
It only made sense. Rebecca is one of the few lottery CEO's around today who has startup experience, and she has started two (FL and GA). In addition, in both cases, she set new records for per capita sales in the first year of operation.
TELC has said all along that they wanted to play with the big boys and be a success right off the bat. The only real choice then was to approach Rebecca and find out what her price was. Some people may say a guaranteed $350,000 with possibilities of up to $750,000 a year may be too much, but given her experience (including her past leadership of NASPL), TELC quite probably got a bargain.
Plus, it didn't hurt that Rebecca caould see the writing on the wall in GA with HOPE's impending "bankruptcy" and could afford to look for "new challenges".
I certainly wish her and TELC the best. These are exciting times coming up for TN....
Has anyone checked Rebecca Paul's travel schedule for the past week?
Just wondering...."If you can't beat them, join them..."
It only made sense. Rebecca is one of the few lottery CEO's around today who has startup experience, and she has started two (FL and GA). In addition, in both cases, she set new records for per capita sales in the first year of operation.
TELC has said all along that they wanted to play with the big boys and be a success right off the bat. The only real choice then was to approach Rebecca and find out what her price was. Some people may say a guaranteed $350,000 with possibilities of up to $750,000 a year may be too much, but given her experience (including her past leadership of NASPL), TELC quite probably got a bargain.
Plus, it didn't hurt that Rebecca caould see the writing on the wall in GA with HOPE's impending "bankruptcy" and could afford to look for "new challenges".
I certainly wish her and TELC the best. These are exciting times coming up for TN....
I believe Becca also ran the Illinois Lottery.