HARRISBURG, Pa. -- State Revenue Secretary Dan Meuser has appointed Silvan "Sil" Lutkewitte III, an entrepreneur with experience in business finance and building strategic partnerships, as the Pennsylvania Lottery executive director. Lutkewitte recently served as a manager with Allentown, Pa.-based Lehigh Gas Partners LP, which has more than 250 gas stations in Pennsylvania, 57 of which are licensed lottery retailers.
"Sil brings broad experience in business growth, retail operations and contract negotiation to this leadership role, as well as a deep understanding of the legislative and regulatory processes that govern the Lottery," said Meuser.
Lutkewitte, 50, most recently served as the chairman of the Pennsylvania Independent Regulatory Review Commission, of which he has been a member since he was appointed in 2009. In this role, he reviewed regulations for consistency with legislative intent and facilitated public review and comment on administrative actions.
For more than 20 years, Lutkewitte worked in various capacities in the retail gasoline and convenience store business.
"Gas stations and convenience stores make up approximately 43% of Lottery's more than 9,100 retailers, and we know through the PMA process there is room for improvement in supporting these kinds of businesses from an operational and merchandising standpoint," said Meuser. "Sil has a data-driven approach to business operations, and I'm confident in his ability to diagnose opportunities to standardize best practices across retailers and maximize sales."
Lutkewitte also spent part of his career building research and development partnerships among investors, universities, government agencies and biotech and pharmaceutical companies, employing an education and early career in finance to grow financially secure business ventures that develop techniques to fight disease.
"Sil has invaluable experience brokering deals, bringing new partners together and negotiating contracts. We are fortunate that the Lottery can now benefit from that experience. He will be influential in growing the Lottery retail base by fostering relationships with new corporate accounts, and his business acumen will complement the commonwealth's procurement processes well, to ensure we get the greatest possible value out of contracts with advertising partners, Lottery suppliers and other vendors," Meuser said.
Lutkewitte assumed his role as lottery director on Jan. 13. He was appointed executive director after a review process that considered current Pennsylvania Lottery employees and lottery industry experts for the position.
The Pennsylvania Lottery remains the only state lottery that designates all its proceeds to programs that benefit older residents. Since its inception in 1971, it has contributed nearly $23.7 billion to programs that include property tax and rent rebates; free transit and reduced-fare shared rides; the low-cost prescription drug programs PACE and PACENET; long-term living services; and the 52 Area Agencies on Aging, including full-time and part-time senior centers throughout the state.
In Nov. 2013, Governor Sam Brownback named Terry Presta, former CEO of Presto Convenience Stores, as the new executive director of the Kansas Lottery.
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