Light & Wonder promotes from within to name new CPO and EVP
Nathan Drane has been appointed as the New York-listed supplier’s enterprise-wide chief product officer in its latest C-suite reshuffle
Light & Wonder has promoted Nathan Drane to the role of chief product officer (CPO) as well as executive VP (EVP) of the Nevada-headquartered company.
Drane has served as CPO of the firm’s gaming segment since January 2024, having risen through the ranks from the role of senior VP (SVP) of global product management.
In his new position, Drane will be tasked with spearheading a department that focuses on game production across the entire Light & Wonder business. He succeeds former CPO Rich Schneider, who will remain on as a senior adviser.
Drane has been with the supplier since February 2021, when the company was operating under its previous name of Scientific Games before its 2022 rebranding following the divestment of its lottery division.
He brings plenty of industry experience to the post of CPO, with his longest role to date coming in the form of a 12-year spell at Australia-based supplier Aristocrat.
During that period, Drane held several significant positions within the firm, including just over three years as senior manager of product strategy for Aristocrat’s Australia, New Zealand and Asia Pacific segment.
Drane departed Aristocrat in February 2021, leaving as VP of commercial strategy for games sales.
Matt Wilson, Light & Wonder CEO and president, said Drane’s promotion will play a key role in the firm’s short-term and long-term growth.
“I’ve personally worked with Nathan for many years, and I couldn’t be happier for him to share his leadership and vision with the entire enterprise,” Wilson explained.
“He has already been working with many across the business on our cross-platform strategy and has a clear and aggressive content roadmap that will ensure our continued success, positioning us for growth in the near and long term.”
On his new position Drane added: “I couldn’t be more thrilled to take on this role with the company.
“This new centralized content organization formalizes our global strategy of building the world’s best games in every market on every intended platform.
“It provides us an opportunity to make data-driven development and roadmap decisions, gives us new opportunities to grow talent, and drives efficiencies throughout the game-creation process.”
News of Drane’s appointment comes just over a month after Light & Wonder promoted Simon Johnson to be the new CEO of its igaming division.
Johnson succeeds Dylan Slaney in the role, who stepped down from his post in November 2024.
Arnold Ash is EGR’s Executive Recruitment Partner. They support ambitious organisations to identify and attract industry leading executive talent. Find out more here.