Today the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) announces two finalists for the position of Executive Director. Both applicants were selected as finalists after an extensive search that began with close to 75 potential candidates. The finalists are now required to attend an open public meeting to participate in a public interview process conducted by the five gaming commissioners. The public meeting will take place on WEDNESDAY, December 9, 2015, at 10:30am located at 101 Federal Street, 12^th Floor.

In July 2015, the gaming commission designated Commissioner Bruce Stebbins as the hiring manager for the executive director search. Commissioner Stebbins, in conjunction with MGC’s Human Resources Department and MGC senior staff, assessed and reviewed nearly 75 candidates from across the country with varied backgrounds and expertise including  gaming industry, gaming and public sector regulatory experience, private sector management experience and law enforcement.  After a diligent and comprehensive search process, the field was narrowed to two highly-qualified finalists, both of whom have decades of relevant experience. The final candidates will now be presented to all commissioners at Wednesday’s open meeting.

An alphabetical list by last name of finalists with brief biographical information follows:

Edward R. Bedrosian Jr., MBA and JD, has 22 years of experience as a public sector manager.

Mr. Bedrosian has more than two decades of experience as a public sector manager; first, as a Deputy District Attorney in the Middlesex District Attorneys’ Office and, then, as the First Assistant Attorney General in the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.

As First Assistant, Mr. Bedrosian oversaw both the legal and administrative operations of the office.  Mr. Bedrosian was responsible for leading an executive team to plan and implement the office’s $40 million budget, oversee all hiring, manage outside counsel appointments, and execute office priorities. In addition to managing both civil and criminal litigation, Mr. Bedrosian directly supervised the Attorney General’s open meeting division, tobacco enforcement unit, state solicitor’s office and division of gaming enforcement. Mr. Bedrosian advised the Legislature on the regulatory structure for gaming legislation and criminal statutes, worked with the Gaming Commission to implement the early regulatory structure, managed early litigation against the Commission, and created and managed the Attorney General’s Division of Gaming Enforcement.

Prior to his service in the Attorney General’s Office, Mr. Bedrosian was a Deputy District Attorney in the Middlesex District Attorney’s office.  He tried hundreds of cases, including white-collar fraud, narcotics and homicide cases.  He also managed the Special Investigations Unit that focused on organized crime and career criminals.

Mr. Bedrosian currently serves as an Of Counsel member of the national law firm, Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe, LLP.  Mr. Bedrosian graduated from Georgetown University with a B.A cum laude in 1987, from George Washington University in 1991 with a J.D. and from Boston University in 2012 with an M.B.A.

Charles LaBoy, a CPA, has nearly two decades of gaming regulatory oversight experience.

Mr. LaBoy currently serves as the Assistant Director for Gaming at the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency with regulatory oversight of casino operations, electronic gaming device operations and responsible gambling.  His oversight responsibilities cover Maryland’s five operational gaming facilities and oversight of the development of the MGM National Harbor gaming facility.  Mr. LaBoy’s regulatory oversight also includes thirteen instant bingo hall operations and over sixty veteran organizations that operate Instant Ticket Lottery Machines located throughout the state.  Mr. LaBoy is the Chairman of the Maryland Amusement Game Advisory Committee and is the Acting Chairman of the Maryland Alliance for Responsible Gambling.

From 1998-2011, Mr. LaBoy acted in several fiduciary and regulatory capacities within the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission including Chief Fiscal Officer and Deputy Director for Audit and Electronic Security.  During his tenure he oversaw the operations of five pari-mutuel racing facilities, developed and implemented the regulatory framework for the state’s casino gaming facilities and provided regulatory oversight support to the state’s tribal gaming facilities.

About MGC’s Executive Director

The Executive Director is the executive and administrative head of the Commission and is responsible for administering and enforcing the provisions of law relative to the Commission and to each administrative unit thereof. The Executive Director assumes leadership of the Commission staff and is responsible for staffing, establishing, maintaining, and changing administrative units as may be appropriate, subject to the approval of the Commission. The Executive Director plans, directs, executes, and coordinates all administrative activities and assists the Commission in developing the policies and procedures related to the regulation of gaming in Massachusetts.