Art Macias

Biography: Art Macias, Executive Director of the Arizona Lottery

Executive Director Art Macias was appointed Executive Director of the Arizona Lottery in November 2005 by Governor Janet Napolitano. Prior to this appointment, he had served as the Governor’s Director of the Arizona Department of Weights and Measures since July 2003.

As director of the Lottery, Mr. Macias heads an agency that operates entirely from the revenue it generates; it receives no General Fund dollars from the State. Since July 1981, the Arizona Lottery has returned more than $1.8 billion in net profit to the state. Proceeds from sales of Lottery tickets fund a wide variety of public projects and programs including arts, wildlife, parks, public transportation, roads and historic preservation in cities and towns throughout all 15 counties in Arizona.

As director of the Arizona Department of Weights and Measures, Mr. Macias led a regulatory agency that oversees more than half the commercial transactions conducted within the state of Arizona. He played an active role in fuel supply issues, providing Governor Napolitano with key information during the 2003 Kinder Morgan pipeline break. He targeted moving scams, enabling the agency to save over 50 Arizona families more than $80,000 in fiscal 2005. With consumers facing the high cost of gas, Macias responded to Gov. Napolitano’s call to step up enforcement at gas pumps statewide.

Macias contributed to the agency’s role as a national leader among consumer protection agencies. He implemented Internet-based initiatives to assist consumers and industry, including an online licensing and payment system, complaint reporting, resource guides, compliance tracking, and piloted a wireless component for inspectors to enter and access data in real-time. The U.S. EPA recognized the department’s Air and Fuel Quality program with a 2005 Environmental Award.

Prior to joining state government, Macias served for seven years as the Director of the Community and Economic Development Department of the City of Douglas on the U.S.-Mexico border in southeastern Arizona. Since that position gave him responsibility for leading the area’s economic development efforts, Mr. Macias’ binational and bicultural background aided in coordinating communications and leading projects that spanned the international border between the U.S. and Mexico.

Mr. Macias received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Brandeis University. He completed a French Master’s in International Management from the Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales (ESSEC) in Paris, France as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar.

He serves as the Vice Chairman of the Border Trade Alliance (BTA), a non-profit organization that advocates on behalf of policies and initiatives designed to improve border affairs and trade relations among the NAFTA nations. He is also active as a member of the Arizona-Mexico Commission and sits on the board of directors of the Arizona Latino Research Enterprise (ALRE).

New Arizona Lottery Director Named
ARIZONA, USA (November 1, 2005) -- Department of Weight and Measures director Art Macias has reportedly been tapped by Governor Napolitano to serve as the director of the Arizona Lottery.................................Subscribers