Recent $100 million capital raise helps Sightline also recruit talented Chief Marketing Officer, Chief People Officer and Chief of Staff executives
LAS VEGAS, NV – April 19, 2021 – Sightline Payments, a dynamic Financial Technology company that is enabling the next generation of cashless, mobile and omni-channel payment solutions for the gaming, lottery, sports betting, entertainment and hospitality ecosystems, today announced it has appointed five new executives to its senior leadership team.
John Gronen joins Sightline as Chief Financial Officer of the rapidly growing FinTech provider, while Jennifer Carleton will serve as the Company’s Chief Legal Officer. Through its recent $100 million funding round announced on April 1, Sightline Payments has also appointed Muriel Lotto as Chief Marketing Officer, while Katrina Sevier will serve as its Chief People Officer and Felicia Gassen will be Chief of Staff. The executive appointments strengthen Sightline Payments’ leadership as the company scales to support rapid growth and customer demand.
“We are pleased to welcome John, Jennifer, Muriel, Felicia and Katrina to Sightline Payments. The collective expertise and proven track record that they bring from working with some of the world’s most recognized companies will play an instrumental role in managing the company’s hyper-growth and expansion,” said Joe Pappano, CEO of Sightline Payments. “In the near- and long-term, we plan to invest significant capital in recruiting diverse and expert talent to drive key Sightline priorities around market growth and innovation. Our goal is to have the most talented and diverse team in the gaming and payments industries.”
John Gronen, Chief Financial Officer
John Gronen has been appointed CFO for Sightline where he will oversee all finance operations including banking, treasury, budgeting, and reporting. His experience delivers deep value to the Company having recently served as CFO for payments processor VPay, Inc. and head of operations for VCE, a subsidiary of EMC, Cisco Systems and VMWare. Previously he held senior finance and accounting roles with Technisource, Alltel and Delta Trust and Bank.
John will also play key roles for Sightline in M&A and fundraising in support of the Company’s high-octane organic and inorganic growth strategies.
Jennifer Carleton, Chief Legal Officer
Jennifer Carleton joins Sightline having spent her entire legal career in the gaming sector. She was in-house counsel for an Indian casino and for the last 14 years an adviser to some of the premier public and private gaming and investment companies in the world.
Working in gaming for the past two decades has enabled Jennifer to develop a unique expertise in payments, mobile, internet and sports gaming, as well as an insider’s familiarity with the unique issues that arise when technology and regulation intersect. Jennifer is helping to establish an advanced Indian law and advanced gaming curriculum at the UNLV Boyd School of Law through her teaching at the law school and her work with the Dean’s Advisory Council.
Jennifer also dedicates a substantial amount of time to professional development and corporate philanthropy within her community. She is currently the chair of the Tyler Robinson Foundation, the charitable arm of the Grammy-winning band Imagine Dragons, dedicated to raising funds for pediatric cancer families.
Muriel Lotto, Chief Marketing Officer
Muriel Lotto brings over 25 years in International Marketing to her new role as Sightline Payments’ Chief Marketing Officer. Muriel has worked in France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and in the United States at leading companies including Nestle, Unilever, Royal & SunAlliance, Bupa and Western Union.
Muriel will lead transformative marketing strategies across audience definition and targeting, customer journeys, messaging, and media mix optimization. In her role, she will drive brand awareness and commercial results through public relations, creative, and advertising partners.
Katrina Sevier, Chief People Officer
Katrina Sevier brings expertise around the ever-changing organizational landscape of culture and talent. Katrina will be tasked with growing Sightline Payments’ team, which will double in size this year.
Prior to Sightline Payments, Katrina led comprehensive talent strategies delivering growth and implementing change across global organizations in the financial services, technology, media, and advertising industries including Western Union and IPG Mediabrands.
A steadfast believer that the employee and customer experiences are connected, Katrina will build and implement the company’s talent plan to support business growth.
Felicia Gassen, Chief of Staff
Felicia Gassen has been appointed Chief of Staff to CEO Joe Pappano and the executive leadership team. She is the former Executive Director of Global Gaming Women where she managed the executive board of directors, committees, sponsorship, and global membership. Previously her work included the management of research, grants and education programs in the fields of bioengineering, biotechnology, and bioinformatics. Felicia strongly believes in collaboration, amplifying voices and building connections with people across disciplines. Felicia attended both the University of California, Berkeley and University of Nevada, Las Vegas and holds a BFA in Fine Art and Art History.
For Executive Leadership headshots, please visit: https://sightlinepayments.com/leadership/
About Sightline Payments
Sightline Payments (“Sightline” or the “Company”), is a dynamic Financial Technology (FinTech) company that is enabling the next generation of cashless, mobile and omni-channel payment solutions for the gaming, lottery, sports betting, entertainment and hospitality ecosystems. The Company has more than 1.5 million enrolled Play+ accounts across its current portfolio of more than 70 programs in 39 States, and is poised to build on this presence, commensurate with the expansion visible in the underlying markets it serves. One of the key segments the Company serves is online gaming (both sports betting and iGaming), which is expected to build from $3 billion in total revenue to $22 billion over the next five years. In addition, the Company’s digital payment solutions directly address the wider gaming industry’s opportunity to transform traditional gaming floors into cashless ecosystems, a $90 billion revenue market serving over 100 million customers annually. Sightline is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Learn more at https://sightlinepayments.com.
