Donald Stanford joined GTECH Corp., the lottery giant headquartered in downtown Providence, as manager of software development in 1979. Over a 23-year career at GTECH, Stanford ascended through the ranks, eventually holding every technical leadership position in the company. He has also been active in the community, and is currently a board member of the Business Innovation Factory. In 1999, the NAACP honored him with the Hon. Thurgood Marshall award for community service.

After six years of retirement, Stanford is preparing to return to GTECH as interim chief technology officer. He talked to Providence Business News recently about returning to GTECH, how the telecoms are impeding innovation, and what’s next for Rhode Island’s economy.

PBN: You are returning to GTECH as the company’s interim chief technology officer in September. What is it like being the CTO for a big firm like GTECH?

STANFORD: Well, after being away for the past six years it is challenging to jump back in and get caught up, especially in light of other activities that I have been engaged in. At the same time, I have been involved with the company in an adviser role and have followed the company closely. I also have many friends who still work there, so my taking on greater responsibilities will be fairly seamless. I have also received numerous assurances of support for the work that I will be engaged in for the next year or so. I will be focusing on the initiatives that I think will provide the most return on investment in the technology and delivery areas.

PBN: You have spent more than a quarter-century working in the lottery industry, a period of huge growth for gaming nationally. Where do you see the world of lotteries headed over the next 25 years?

STANFORD: Lotteries continue to be a vitally important mechanism for governments around the world that provide supplemental funding for charitable and education initiatives. As such, we can expect to see lotteries evolve driven by technological innovation so that they continue to remain relevant to consumers, especially as the consumer demographic changes from aging baby boomers to the next generation.

PBN: You’re also involved in a startup, mPayUSA, which is working to bring to the U.S. a secure mobile-payments technology that was originally launched in Poland. How does it work?

STANFORD: mPayUSA is the Americas territory partner for mPay International (MPI), located in Warsaw. The mPay system allows the implementation of secure, fast and customer-friendly cell phone payment services over any cellular provider’s system, with a special emphasis on GSM systems. It can operate over any phone and requires minimal learning curve on the part of the consumer. It supports peer-to-peer payments, consumer-to-business … payments, as well as payments over the Internet. At this time, mPayUSA and MPI are in the process of finalizing an agreement for deployment in Guatemala in conjunction with a local partner and mPayUSA is in discussions with a financial institution in a Caribbean jurisdiction that cannot be disclosed yet.

PBN: Mobile-payment systems have taken off much more quickly in Asia than here in the U.S. Why do you think that is? Do you think it will eventually spread here, as well?

STANFORD: The U.S. cellular carriers have, to a large degree, inhibited the growth of large-scale consumer applications by virtue of their fragmented technology, archaic business practices and desire to have exclusive service offerings and locked in handsets. In Asia and Europe, the model is much more conducive to offering services that operate over all carriers and all phones which help those services achieve critical mass. Until the U.S. carriers adopt this attitude, there will continue to be a less than healthy environment here for universal cell phone applications and services.

PBN: There’s a lot of hand-wringing right now about the future of Rhode Island’s economy. As chair of the Business Innovation Factory, you have a unique vantage point from which to observe trends – what do you think lies ahead for the state when it comes to economic development?

STANFORD: These are challenging times for economic development in light of our current economic realities. However, Rhode Island must continue to invest in developing a public education system that will provide the skills needed for our future work force if we are to become an economy that is relevant in knowledge-centric businesses that continue to grow and add value in the global economy. In addition, we need to continue to foster the research collaboration between our local companies and entrepreneurs and Rhode Island’s world class universities and colleges so that we can seed and grow Rhode Island’s next generation of economic and business successes.

For more information, read Stanford’s biography from the Business Innovation Factory, or visit GTECH.

Correction: Sept. 18, 2008
The original version of this article misspelled Mr. Stanford's last name; it has been corrected. We regret the error.