JESSICA POWELL RESUME
Marketing executive with 20+ years shaping high‑growth digital brands across sports, gaming, and entertainment. Known for unifying brand strategy, product marketing, and creative excellence to drive user acquisition, deepen engagement, and build culturally resonant consumer experiences. Led multimillion‑dollar growth engines for iLottery, iCasino, and sports betting platforms, translating complex product innovation into simple, compelling narratives that scale. A decisive, people‑first leader who builds high‑performing teams, elevates brand presence, and delivers integrated marketing systems that accelerate revenue and strengthen market position.
STRATEGIC PLANNING - Financial forecasting, consumer research, product road mapping, and go-to-market strategies.
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT - Opportunity identification, proposal generation, contract negotiation, and relationship management.
TEAM LEADERSHIP - Talent recruitment, cultural leadership, performance improvement, and priority determination.
SUPERPOWERS - Motivating a team around a common goal, and ability to hold Balancing Stick yoga pose for two minutes.
EXPERIENCE
2020 to present
Head of Player Marketing
As a senior member of the executive leadership team, established revenue targets and wrote annual strategic plans, earning over $1 billion gross gaming revenue in FY25. New approach to strategic planning and client management led to 36% GGR increase YOY and 69% market share of the $12 billion U.S. iLottery industry. Thought leadership and sales efforts led to extensions with North Carolina Education Lottery and new contract with the West Virginia Lottery.
Founded the Ignite Player Marketing division of NPi, offering a suite of analytics, acquisition, retention, creative, and content management services that delivered over $2 million in incremental fees annually. Hired a team of analysts, growth and performance marketers, brand strategists, designers, writers, and UX professionals to generate profitable online player experiences for Play Alberta, New Hampshire Lottery, North Carolina Education Lottery, and the West Virginia Lottery.
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Player-first marketing strategies drove +$3 billion in GGR and 731,000 FTDs amongst NPi’s five iCasino, iLottery, and sports betting brands
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Acquisition program increased First Time Depositors 35% and 25% increase in app downloads YOY while reducing CPAs 26%
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Retention/VIP service and bonus strategy delivered a $7:$1 ROI
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Ignite Player Marketing won EGR’s Acquisition and Retention Partner of the Year award in 2022
2024 to present
Author
Author of More Than Luck: Defeating the Five Saboteurs of Lottery Growth, a first‑of‑its‑kind strategy book for the U.S. lottery industry. Synthesized three decades of leadership experience and insights from 20+ industry executives into a practical framework that helps organizations overcome internal barriers, modernize operations, and drive responsible, sustainable growth. Recognized as a thought leader and frequent speaker at major industry conferences.
Mighty Forces Consulting
2019 to 2020
Fractional Chief Marketing Officer
BETCONSTRUCT US - Led the go-to-market strategy to introduce BetConstruct to the U.S., including brand and product positioning, sales enablement initiatives, development of website architecture and social media content.
THE GUESTBOOK - Built cross-functional marketing and business development team for SAAS cash back rewards and loyalty program. Scaled-up SAAS subscriptions by 50% by multi-channel marketing strategy, increasing marketing qualified leads 27% and reduced churn by 15%. Conducted user research to develop personas, value proposition and new brand positioning while developing go to market roadmaps for new product launches. Implemented lead generation and content marketing strategy that increased MQLs 27% and sales 50%. Responsible for delivering monthly financial analysis and KPI report.
bRIGHTsTAR LOTTERY (formerly igt)
2011-2018
Vice President of Marketing & Player Insights, 2015 to 2018
Led repositioning IGT’s 80 lottery products based on lifecycle and user segment. Created RFP responses and sales enablement materials for all products. Responsible for research program delivering over 30 product development, player insight, and customer satisfaction studies a year. Directed company-wide brand evolution, establishing the “Modernizing Play” positioning and establishing a thought leadership program, increasing IGT’s revenue by 27% to $4.83 billion and lifting brand valuation to $1.3 billion.
Vice President of Marketing & Product Innovation / Hoosier Lottery, 2013 to 2015
Wrote annual business plan, owned all consumer engagement strategies, and was accountable for delivering 9% CAGR in FY14 with a reduced annual marketing investment. Created product roadmaps and marketing strategies to attract millennials to lottery games, increasing new players by 12%, and led brand transformation, increasing brand equity by 10 points in nine months. As a part of the privatization team, built a 30-member group responsible for product development, research, advertising, promotions, field marketing, interactive, and public relations.
Vice President of Marketing & Product Innovation / Illinois Lottery, Chicago, 2011 to 2013
Directed a 20-member team, responsible for product development, advertising, promotions, interactive marketing, and public relations that achieved 15 consecutive record-breaking months, totaling over $2 billion in sales. Worked collaboratively with the operations and technology teams to launch the first legal e-commerce website for the purchase of lottery tickets online.
DAVID&GOLIATH
ADVERTISING
2008-2011
BBDO
ADVERTISING
2005-2008
DDB WORLDWIDE
2002-2005
MCCANN
2002-2005
LEO BURNETT
1998-2000
Account Director & Business Development Director | Monte Carlo Resort, New York-New York Hotel & Casino, California Lottery
Repositioned Monte Carlo Resort & Casino as “Unpretentiously Luxurious” to differentiate the intimate, yet moderately-priced hotel from other mid-tier options. Redesigned montecarlo.com to increase user engagement and optimize cross-sell opportunities via contextual recommendations, social media feeds, and video. Initiated brand orientation program that educated all 2,000+ employees on their roles in helping guests “Feel Rich” during their stay. Managed California State Lottery account to support for all 50+ games with an annual budget of $35 million and acted as brand steward, integrating efforts with five other marketing firms.
Vice President, Business Development Director
Responsible for prospecting and acquiring new business for BBDO. Served as the “agency’s agency” by developing and executing marketing and public relations programs. Wrote all RFP responses – over 45 in a three-year period and responsible for coordinating every facet of the pitch presentations.
Account Supervisor | New York Lottery and Subaru
Supervised agency staff and daily operations for the $75 million New York Lottery account including integrated advertising programs and events for instant games, Mega Millions, Take 5 and the launch of video lottery terminals.
Account Supervisor | Cathay Pacific Airways and Mexico Board of Tourism
Managed North American marketing efforts for Hong Kong and Mexico-based hospitality accounts, totaling $22 million in billings.
Account Executive | Walt Disney World and Disney Cruise Line
Oversaw strategic development, creative execution, and production for all CRM lead-generation programs.
CORE COMPETENCIES
SPEAKER - Noted public speaker and media spokesperson. Presented at events such as the LaFleur’s and NASPL Lottery conferences and featured speaker for the Advertising Education Foundation. Media spokesperson for Hoosier Lottery.
INFLUENCER - Quoted as an industry expert in publications such as Advertising Age, Public Gaming International, and DMNews.
USER - Hubspot certified, Salesforce, Google Analytics certified, Hootsuite certified, Power BI, Wrike, Asana, MailChimp, SurveyMonkey, AskSuzy, and all Microsoft Office products
AUTHOR - Created influential books, white papers, and articles designed to inspire:
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“More Than Luck: Defeating the Five Saboteurs of Lottery Growth,” book, available on Amazon, 2024
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“Are Eye-Popping Jackpots Causing Player Fatigue,” whitepaper, January 2023
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“Understanding the Potential iLottery Player,” whitepaper, August 2022
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“Five Tips for Avoiding the Player Acquisition Doldrums,” EGR article, December 2021
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“Understanding Boutique Aficionados: Harnessing Actionable Insights,” whitepaper, December 2019
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“The Non-Player Point of View: Can Barriers Become Breakthroughs?” whitepaper, January 2018
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“Changing Hearts & Minds: A New Model for Data and Insight Integration,” Public Gaming Magazine, April 2014
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“Finding Opportunity in Troubled Times,” Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association’s Marketing Review, April 2009
EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS/GIES SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
MBA Program, expected graduation 2027
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Chicago Management Institute
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY
Bachelor of Science