Emerging Leaders

Designing Her Life

JoyceLynn Lagula, Principal Creative Director, Campbell House

During her fourth year of architecture school at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, JoyceLynn Lagula served an internship in Las Vegas. The experience turned out to be a game changer.

“That was really my first glimpse into the hospitality realm, and I loved it,” she says. “Being able to be a part of designing casinos, nightclubs and restaurants was exciting.”

After graduation in 2006, Lagula spent six years in the employ of Las Vegas-based Steelman Partners, run by Paul Steelman. “There was a method to Paul’s madness that has shaped the way I see design and approach every project I’ve worked on,” she says.

Lagula took a position with Campbell House in February as principal creative director. In her role, she oversees a team of designers, while cultivating client relationships.

Architecture is a collaborative process, and that collaboration became a challenge during the Covid-19 pandemic. Presenting designs shifted from in-person to a computer screen. “We have had to be more descriptive, more communicative with our thoughts and be creative with sharing that information,” Lagula says.

Just before the pandemic, Lagula became paralyzed and diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome. She spent two months in the hospital and in a rehab facility to gain strength and learn how to walk and use her hands again.

“It was the scariest time in my life,” she says. “To this day, I am still dealing with my health challenges. Yet, I refuse to let it pull me down.”

Lagula has had other obstacles to overcome, especially as a woman minority in a predominantly male field. “My approach has always been to deal with these situations with grace and kindness. Many times, I have had to shift my thinking and continue to press what I feel is the right solution. At the end of the day, I have the confidence that my talent and skill will help me overcome anything.”

Mentors help. Lagula counts Steelman as an important mentor early on.

“His approach to dynamic gaming and hospitality design has been a huge influence. He would urge me to keep my perspective on the overall design—the bigger picture. I have done that to this day.”

Another important mentor: Brett Ewing, principal at the Cuningham Group.

“One of the key lessons he taught me was understanding how designs become reality and the knowledge that strength in design comes from the details,” says Lagula, who devotes spare time to her fiancé, family and friends.

Beth Campbell, CEO of Campbell House, pushed Lagula to consider the business side of the field and the importance of client relationships.

“She has been a big supporter of my career, and helped me realize my strengths and how to work on my weaknesses.”

Casino resorts of the last 10 years focused on the overall experience from dining to entertainment, connected by gaming. Properties are designed accordingly. The next 10 years will continue to integrate recreational activity into this approach, says Lagula, who has advice for future architects.

“Learning never stops when it comes to design. Our field is continuously evolving, and if you are humble enough, empathetic enough, and listen enough, the creative possibilities are endless.”

—Bill Sokolic

Hunting for Trends

Rick Eckert, Managing Director of Slot Performance & Analytics, Eilers & Krejcik Gaming

As the gaming industry’s reliance on analytical insights and market research intelligence continues to grow, Rick Eckert is at the forefront of identifying game performance trends. As the managing director of slot performance and analytics at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, Eckert manages the largest independent centralized slot performance database in the world and helps operators and suppliers alike identify growth opportunities and emerging trends.

Eckert’s gaming industry career began in 2010, when he participated in a career development program at FireKeepers Casino in Battle Creek, Michigan while pursuing his bachelor’s degree in hospitality business management at Michigan State University.

His knack for slot performance analysis showed early on, and helped Eckert land a more permanent role on FireKeepers’ Slot Operations team. In 2011, Eckert relocated from Michigan to Las Vegas, working as a front office agent at Las Vegas Sands before moving back into gaming and joining MGM Resorts as a slot operations analyst.

Eckert’s time at MGM was pivotal in building the technical and managerial skills necessary to become an Emerging Leader. During his tenure at MGM, Eckert completed a nine-month leadership program intended to coach young professionals in management-level positions. He also created SQL workshops with peers at other MGM properties.

“These workshops allowed us all to accelerate our learning in one of the most important aspects of our jobs and created friendships that have lasted since,” says Eckert.

Eckert credits part of his success to these friendships, and advises other young professionals to focus on quality, not quantity, when networking.

“Seek out real, meaningful connections, whether that connection is just someone to speak to about industry topics, participating in groups and workshops, or just staying in contact with someone to speak about life in general.”

After two years at MGM Resorts, Eckert joined the slot analytics team at Wynn Resorts, first as a senior analyst and then a manager. In his first full year in a managerial role, Eckert won Manager of the Year.

In developing his award-winning managerial style, Eckert leaned on his experience with mentors Richard Luthy and Debi Nutton.

“Rick Luthy, my first boss in Las Vegas, really pushed me to learn the industry, and Debi Nutton pushed me to learn the human side of operations,” he says.

Eckert helps develop the next generation of young professionals by training analysts within his organization and by mentoring current students at his alma mater.

“I have always found training and mentoring to be rewarding, and I enjoy sharing the things I have learned along the way, whether it be a technical skill or other aspects of the industry.”

Looking to the future, Eckert has already planned to expand his expertise in the gaming industry beyond slot machines, and feels well-positioned in his current role at Eilers & Krejcik to do so. Eckert is now growing his role at EKG as the lead on a new Online Game Performance Database. This new database product, OGPD, focuses on the online real-money casino industry and will provide insights and analysis to operators and suppliers equally. The inaugural report was published in June, with growth expectations matching the current industry-leading land-based performance database.

—Chloe Paul is manager, data analytics for The Innovation Group.

Rain Dancer

Malou Neguembor, Director of Casino Operations, MegaRush Casino

Malou Neguembor suffers from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes defective collagen, a glue that keeps the body parts working together. The syndrome results in hypermobility, subluxations and bouts of excruciating pain.

“I was told that I would never be able to work,” Neguembor says. “I clearly did not listen to that… instead, my life motto became ‘Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, but about learning to dance in the rain.’”

In other words, Neguembor does not let Ehlers-Danlos rule her life.

“There are days when the pain is quite bad, and yes, it is then hard to focus at work, but I more than make up for that on the good days,” she says.

Neguembor has enjoyed a career in gaming after leaving her native Sweden. Her husband entered the industry first, landing a position in Malta, where the warm weather was better for Neguembor’s condition. But she also secured a job as a customer service agent for the Kindred Group.

She joined MegaLotto in 2019 as head of customer relations management. In October 2020, the company pivoted to MegaRush online casino.

“Our ambition is to create great entertainment in online casino with customer experience, automation and gamification at heart,” she says. “And we did it all with a small and fully remote team.”

As director of casino operations in such an environment, Neguembor does just about every task.

“My job can entail everything from commercial agreements to integrations and building automations, copywriting, CRM execution, and even cover the chat for support,” she says.

Covid-19 proved a benefit, thanks to working from home. Pre-Covid, Neguembor struggled a lot with work-life balance and was often stressed, especially with three children. Since Covid, she works from home in Spain, and is expecting a fourth child with no worries.

“I will continue to work mainly from home and keep a great work-life balance,” she says. “I used to ‘live to work’ and give way too much, ending up overworked. I changed my mindset, stopped stressing and trying to do too much. I now ‘work to live’ and perform better than ever.”

Covid aside, Neguembor owes much to Cristina Niculae (now CEO at Interactive Gaming Group). “She was the first one I truly admired and was a mentor and inspiration. She really gave me much freedom to develop under her leadership and helped me grow,” says Neguembor, who enjoys baking and gardening.

She has lots of friendly advice to others entering the field:

• Don’t be afraid to question and challenge what you do not understand or don’t agree with. “The best way to learn and grow is sometimes to see things from another perspective.”

• Don’t just do tasks because you are asked to do them. Make sure you understand why the task needs to be done.

• Never say how high to jump. “When my managers have asked me to ‘jump,’ my first question is always ‘why?’”

—Bill Sokolic