Adrienne O'Pray (MBA '92)
Senior Vice President
Customer Relations and Operations
Atlantic Lottery Corporation
Adrienne�s ability to lead and inspire, was far reaching and was well
established at a relatively young age. Even as young graduate from the
University of New Brunswick, Adrienne�s keen sense of the corporate world
resulted in having an article published in the International Journal of Career
Management in the U.K.
As part of her MBA program, Adrienne completed an internship in Poland, which
led to her first post-graduate experience with a clothing manufacturing firm. In
the early 1990s, a job offer from Aliant (then, called NBTel) brought Adrienne
back home to her Atlantic Canadian roots.
Adrienne began her career with Aliant in sales and moved quickly through the
ranks, propelled, in part, by her ability to recognize corporate trends and
institute change. She arrived at a time when the telecommunications industry was
undergoing significant technological change and increased competition and Aliant
was trying to reposition itself with its customers. Over the next few years she
would:
- Play a significant role in the implementation of a new philosophy and
approach to Aliant�s customer service team of 310 employees.
- Realize new service standards and evolve the sales force from a once
reactive equipment provider to a proactive business partner that could add
value for clients, helping them achieve their strategic and business goals.
- Reposition Aliant�s sales and service team to provide 24/7 Service
on Demand and to retain market share of over 80% with a revenue base of
$80 million for southeast New Brunswick.
- Achieved a reduction in overall operating costs of 4-6% annually from
1998 � 2000 while maintaining and improving service levels to customers.
Following the merger of the four Atlantic Canadian telecommunications
companies, Adrienne was asked to join xwave, a division of Aliant and one of the
largest information technology companies in Canada. What they needed was a
growth strategy that would provide technical support to Bell�s residential
Internet customers. Once again, she delivered by:
- Leading the development plan that would evolve xwave�s help desk
business into a world-class customer support center.
- Providing leadership and strategic direction that helped xwave�s Moncton
Contact Centre grow from 150 to more than 500 employees in just two short
years
- Pursuing, and receiving a Contact Centre Operations Performance
Certification in July 2001, just one year into the development plan. xwave
was the second company in Canada to receive such a certification.
- Flawlessly consolidating all Maritime xwave centers without any customer
issues reported throughout the entire transition.
All of these achievements led Adrienne to where she is today, Senior Vice
President, Customer Relations & Operations at Atlantic Lottery Corporation. The
leadership and direction she had shown in other organizations would serve ALC
well.
Adrienne joined ALC in 2003, as a Corporate Strategist. Much like when she
arrived at Aliant, Adrienne found herself working in an industry that was being
challenged and changed by new technology, increased competition and changing
consumer preferences. Adrienne�s first task was to redefine the mission, vision
and corporate strategy to position ALC to respond to these challenges and
position it for future success. In delivering on these commitments, she also:
- Led a worldwide industry scan that helped identify those companies,
suppliers and people who were ready to offer products and services that
would appeal to players, compete for the entertainment dollar, as well as
offer the highest level of integrity and player protection.
- Involved ALC�s leadership in the development of a strategy built around
relevance to both current and future customers, a solid reputation as a
socially responsible gaming provider, and readiness to face the future. This
also led to a complete corporate redesign process that would position ALC to
deliver on the strategy.
- Was instrumental in working with ALC�s Board of Directors to ensure an
understanding of the future opportunities for ALC and successfully had the
vision and recommendations adopted by the Board and ALC�s shareholders: no
small feat when you need to satisfy four provincial governments with varied
needs and unique circumstances.
Other Community Activities:
- Mount Saint Vincent University Board of Governors, 2005 � present
- Mount Saint Vincent University � Member of the Capital Committee, 2005
and the Human Resources and Governance Committee, 2006
- Greater Moncton Advisory Committee on Public Safety, 1998
- Member of the United Way Board of Directors, 1996
- Member of the Board of Directors and Program Advisor Junior Achievement,
1993 � 1997
- Speaking engagements for the Saint John Rotary, Charlottetown Chamber of
Commerce and various ALC sponsored events
