Inside Asian Gaming

AUGUST 2018 INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 49 for me it is delivering for our customers. I know that sounds clichéd but it is the truth. Your reputation is on the line and the company’s reputation is on the line when something is not going well or something’s not performing or there’s a problem with your products. For me it’s about keeping customers satisfied and doing the best for both Scientific Games and the customers to create a win-win. Not letting them down is definitely something that drives me. OG: What is the most challenging part of your job? MR: The most challenging part of the job would definitely be time management because there are only so many hours in the day. I look after a wide region with Cambodia, Vietnam, Saipan, Laos, some of Macau and Korea. I cross over a fair amount of regions and many, many customers so it’s making sure that I’m in contact with them as much as possible and allocating my time efficiently. OG: After visiting so many countries, do you have a favorite among them? MR: When I first came to Asia five years ago I went on a trip with one of my colleagues around each of the markets just to get an understanding. Singapore is fantastic INDUSTRY PROFILE but still by far my favorite place would be Korea. Korea is just a fantastic place to visit. The people are so friendly and you know the food is amazing. It’s such a clean, respectful culture. It’s definitely one of my favorite places in Asia that I’ve visited. OG: Do cultural differences impact your way of dealing with customers? Is there a different Matthew in each county you visit? MR: That’s a very good question because what anyone should do when they go to another country is try and respect the culture and their ways of doing things. A lot of our customers are great in that they understand we may not know about their traditions or their culture in terms of doing business. By the same token you should be checking it out before you go and visit. You know, in Korea there is a little bit of a difference in how they do business there and it does help if you try to learn a couple of words to adapt slightly to the environment. One of the biggest things is not dictating to customers but listening to them and providing solutions rather than telling them what they should be doing. OG: What do you like to do when you are not working? MR: My fiancée and I love to travel around on weekends when we don’t have time to go to another country. We love travelling overseas but what we do like to do is visit Macau, Hong Kong, some of the islands or explore Shenzhen, which is a city that’s changed so much over the last 10 years. And even Zhuhai, we just love trying different types of foods and getting out of the house. “Singapore is fantastic but still by far my favorite place would be Korea. Korea is just a fantastic place to visit. The people are so friendly and you know the food is amazing.”