Executive Profile: Twyla Meredith, Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation

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Executive Profile: Twyla Meredith
President and CEO of Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation


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Twyla Meredith was named President and CEO of the Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation in early December 2009, but she was acting head of the organization for 14 months before that. "It's like living with somebody for 10 years and then finally getting married," says Meredith. "There's a different feeling. I'm able to move freer and put some of my ideas in place here, in consultation with the board and the government. I can put some appointments on the executive committee."

As it tries to keep gaming relevant in the 21st century, the Saskatchewan government chose someone from within Saskatchewan's gaming industry to lead it. Presidents of the Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation tend to come from Saskatchewan's business community but Meredith has been in the gaming industry since Saskatchewan's two casinos, Casino Regina and Casino Moosejaw, were built. "I've been in gaming for 15 years," says Meredith. "I was one of the first hires they made at the SGC when they were trying to get gaming set up. I worked for about six months on the set up. I'm an accountant by trade. I was working at the Department of Justice at the time and they seconded me over to get the financial side of the corporation set up." Meredith was recognized this year as a Fellow of the Certified Management Accountants. She is also the first female president of the Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation.

Saskatchewan's gaming governance is complex compared to jurisdictions like Ontario where gaming is run by a single large organization. "For a small province, we probably have the most entities involved in gaming," says Meredith. "There's us, the Indian Gaming Authority, and the Liquor and Gaming Authority, who run the Video Lottery Terminals in the province. The Saskatchewan Lottery people run the lottery." This wide landscape is a unique challenge for Meredith as she strives to keep Saskatchewan Gaming growing.

"We've come from over a decade of double digit revenue growth," says Meredith. "We've seen a slowing of that, starting this past year. Last year we still grew at 4% revenue. This is the opportunity to step back and review our operations. Now over the course of the next couple years, I see us taking that step back and preserving our net income."

Meredith has a few other priorities at this important juncture. "The first priority is making sure we're an employer of choice," says Meredith. "This is a business with a high turnover rate. We have a target of trying to obtain a 50% aboriginal workforce. We're a bit of a training ground. We're fortunate out here in the west that we have fairly low unemployment here. We haven't had a single layoff at Saskatchewan Gaming. We're still in recruitment mode."

Another focus is community involvement. "Working in a relatively small community, a small province, it's important that we be viewed as a responsible corporation," says Meredith. "Not just responsible gaming, but a good corporate citizen. We give 1% back to the communities. We want to be viewed as a positive to the community, not a negative." This extends to scholarships, hundreds of thousands of dollars in charitable donations, as well as local community events. 25% of Saskatchewan Gaming's net profit flows to a First Nations fund.

Looking to the future, Meredith sees change coming for the industry. "The province has said no further gaming growth," says Meredith. "It's a challenge to maintain the expectation of net income without having to expand gaming. It could be internet gaming on the horizon. That's probably the future of this industry.”

By Sam White