ASX-listed Aristocrat Leisure Limited has announced the nomination of prominent Native American Tribal leader Bill G. Lance Jnr as a non-executive director of the Board.
Subject to regulatory approvals, Aristocrat said it will ask shareholders to vote for Lance at the company’s next Annual General Meeting in February, with his nomination seen as an opportunity to further diversify the Board’s experience.
“I am delighted to welcome a Director of Bill’s calibre to the Board,” said Aristocrat Chairman, Neil Chatfield. “His decades of experience as a major gaming operator and a Tribal leader of national standing in the US will bring valuable new perspectives to the Board’s deliberations.
“I’m confident that Bill will further strengthen the customer focus of our organization as a whole. I congratulate Bill on his nomination and look forward to his contribution to Aristocrat.”
Lance was previously the longest-serving Secretary of Commerce for Oklohoma-based Chickasaw Nation, overseeing 7,000 employees and more than 60 gaming, hospitality, retail and media commercial operations.
He was later given the honorary title of the Chickasaw Nation’s Secretary of State as part of a planned succession and continues to represent the Nation on multiple Tribal and other national and state level organisations across the United States, such as on the executive committees of the American Gaming Association and Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, Aristocrat said.
Lance is also a member of the Board of the Chickasaw Foundation and serves on the Board of Directors of the NASDAQ-listed company BancFirst.
