Mark Michalko

Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director

Mark Michalko, a gaming industry veteran who brings more than four decades of experience in both US lottery and international gaming, serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the NC Lottery.

Michalko's broad experience includes executive management roles in both world-class gaming operators and global technology supplier companies across various segments of the gaming industry. Having led gaming businesses based in the US, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Michalko brings best practices from around the world to North Carolina's lottery.

Before joining the NC Lottery in March 2018, Michalko worked in London where he served as Vice President and Managing Director of International Game Technology's operations in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, following five years in Macau as head of IGT's business in Asia. Prior to that, he was based in Hong Kong where he led Intralot's expansion in Asia.

Michalko's lottery experience began in 1980 as Legal Counsel for the Ohio Lottery. In 1985, he was selected as the founding Executive Director of the California State Lottery and led the organization to record revenue and profitability in its first year. He later served as the founding CEO of a publicly listed company that operated the first national draw lottery in the Philippines. He was inducted into the Lottery Industry Hall of Fame in 2019.

Under Michalko’s leadership, the NCEL has achieved record sales and returns to Education. Annual sales grew by 121% to $5.37 Billion in FY 2024 from $2.42 Billion the year before Michalko joined the Lottery and net revenue to Education grew to more than $1 Billion, up from $622 million in the same period. The NCEL also obtained recertification at the highest level for responsible gaming from the World Lottery Association and was recognized by the Triangle Business Journal as a ‘Best Place to Work” for two consecutive years. Also, in FY 24, the NC General Assembly gave the NCEL additional responsibility to serve as regulator of Sports Betting. Operations began ahead of schedule and produced $2.75 Billion in paid sports wagering in just the first 6 months.

Michalko, an Ohio native, received a Bachelor's degree in Government and Political Science from John Carroll University and a Juris Doctorate from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. He lives in Chapel Hill with his wife, Kimberly. The couple have two adult sons.

Terri Avery

Chief Sales Officer

Terri has more than 29 years of lottery sales experience and 16 years in Lottery Sales management. Prior to joining the NC Lottery in 2006, she worked for the Georgia Lottery Corporation. Her career began in Hospitality Management.

She oversees a team of 109 employees, in all six NC Lottery regional offices, as well as Lottery Warehouse operations. Since joining the N.C. Education Lottery, she has identified growth opportunities in the field with retailers, implemented sales policies, and changes in operations that have optimized productivity.

She is dedicated to customer service and has received training in “Priority One” Management Training, Hilton Corporation “Yes, I Can” Management Training, Holiday Inn Management Training, and Quality Service training from the Disney Institute. In addition, she has completed North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries‘ Leadership Training and CAI Management courses.

Terri studied business programs for 2 years at Macon State College (UGA) in Macon, GA.

Greg Bowers

Chief Financial Officer

Greg Bowers has decades of experience in the lottery industry. Before joining the NC Education Lottery in June of 2023, he worked with the Ohio Lottery for more than 30 years. While serving as Finance Director in Ohio, his office won the Government Finance Officers Association’s Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting every year.

Bowers is responsible for over 70 lottery employees in the areas of financial reporting, budgeting, cash management, retailer collections, prize award payments, retailer contracts, fraud prevention, and the security and integrity of all lottery drawings and operations.

Bowers holds a Bachelor’s degree from Cleveland State University and a Master of Business Administration from Ashland University.

Sterl Carpenter

Chief Regulatory Officer

Sterl Carpenter, a veteran gaming professional with more than 30 years of experience, leads the gaming compliance and sports betting division of the N.C. State Lottery Commission.

Prior to joining the commission in August 2023, Carpenter held the position of Sports Wagering Operations Manager for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. While at the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, he served as Sports Wagering Operations Manager, Regulatory Compliance Manager, and Gaming Agents Supervisor. He played an instrumental role in standing up sports wagering for the Bay State beginning in August 2022.

Prior to that Mr. Carpenter worked for more than 20 years at Foxwoods Resort and Casino. There he held positions of Race Book Writer, Table Games Dealer, Floor Supervisor, Assistant Pit Manager, and Assistant Casino Shift Manager.

Carpenter holds a Bachelor’s degree in Quantitative Economics from the University of Rhode Island.

Terri Rose

Chief Brand Officer

Terri Rose has more than 30 years of experience in the Marketing, Brand Management and Public Relations fields. Before joining the lottery, Rose successfully led marketing, advertising and branding for the Virginia Lottery from 2016 through 2022.

In 2023, Terri established the first Women in Lottery Leadership State Chapter here in North Carolina, working with the Global WILL program to develop professional development and continuing education for NCEL employees.

She was Director of Communications and Curiosity at the Science Museum of Virginia from 2002 to 2016 where she worked on developing the brand, visitor experiences and leveraging technology to deliver science education virtually.

Her experience ranges from brand management, marketing and advertising strategy, and event management with partners such as the Washington Redskins and NASCAR as well as traveling exhibitions such as the Body Worlds exhibition and IMAX.

Rose earned her Master of Mass Communication from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from the University of Virginia.

Randy Spielman

Chief Product Officer

Randy Spielman has over 16 years of experience in the lottery industry and is responsible for all game development efforts as well as digital platforms and programs at the lottery. He has been responsible for significant product and program launches at the lottery during his time, including the digital instant games in November of 2023. Spielman joined the NC Lottery in June of 2007 as a Financial Analyst and has worked in a number of product development roles prior to his current position.

He also worked as the Director of Customer Success for Pollard Banknote, an scratch-off ticket printer and lottery service and technology provider, where he was responsible for working with their key accounts to optimize their scratch-off game portfolios. Prior to joining the lottery, Spielman worked as an analyst and in Business Development in the telecommunications industry in Colorado and Arizona. He split his time in the telecom industry between Qwest Communications and a startup company focused on hosted voice over IP phone systems for small and medium sized businesses

He holds a Finance degree from Arizona State University in Tempe.

William Traurig

Chief Legal Officer

William “Billy” Traurig has over 30 years of business, finance, and legal experience. He oversees the lottery’s legal team as well as supplier diversity and outreach.

Before joining the lottery, Traurig served in a variety of roles for the Carolina Hurricanes Hockey Club and PNC Arena (now Lenovo Center), starting as Director of Finance in 1999 and ending as senior vice president and general counsel from 2012 to April 2020, when he joined the lottery.

Traurig received his law degree from NC Central School of Law, where he graduated magna cum laude and served as managing editor of the Law Review, and his Master’s in Business Administration with a concentration in accounting from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts where he also earned his Bachelor of Arts degree.

He has served on several boards including as a former chair of the NC Travel and Tourism Coalition.

George Walker

Chief Technology Officer

George Walker serves as the lottery Chief Information Officer with more than 27 years of experience in the information technology field. He joined the lottery at start-up in 2006 in its MIS and Gaming System division and served as director of MIS for eight years.

During his career, Walker has built expertise in multiple areas of IT including Project Management, Cyber Security, Software development, Systems Engineering, Business Intelligence, Voice and Data Network Architecture.

He worked previously in IT positions for major organizations, including JPMorgan Chase and Roche Pharmaceuticals.

A native of New Jersey, Walker graduated from DeVry University and lives in Wake County. He enjoys traveling, hiking, camping, and all things automotive.