- The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business
MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS
In her current role at GGW, Bates leads the organisation’s strategic direction, ensuring it remains focused on empowering women through education, mentoring and connection. She is committed to making the industry more inclusive and supportive for women at all stages of their careers. Since taking on the role in early 2024, she has helped GGW expand its reach, now supporting over 9,000 members globally, with growing communities across the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.
Bates has also led the development of new initiatives, including the One Up One Down mentorship platform. Designed to connect mentors and mentees based on shared goals and skillsets, the platform aims to remove barriers and create accessible, tailored opportunities for women to grow.
EMPLOYMENT
After graduating from Ohio State, she was planning to move to New York to take a job in retail fashion. But before making the move, she visited a friend in Las Vegas and changed plans. She met with a recruitment agency and was offered a job at Konami Gaming as an executive coordinator. This role was acquired in July 2006 and lasted six months.
Later, Bates transitioned into sales. She started as a Senior Systems Sales Coordinator and, after a little over a year, worked her way up through account management roles across southern Nevada, Arizona and California, the most notable of which was as Senior Accounts Executive, Southern California & Arizona; a role she held for just shy of eight and a half years.
She eventually rose to the role of Vice President of Game Sales, overseeing national accounts, driving revenue strategy and managing a high-performing team. She took this role in 2020 and held it until July 2023.
Now, as President of GGW, she continues to lead by example, creating spaces for women across the industry to learn and develop their careers.
She is also the VP of Sales at Light & Wonder. She took this role in August 2024.
