Dianne Thompson is used to heavy duty challenges.
She spent six years at Swedish toolmaker Sandvik in Halesowen, rising to the position of managing director, she turned around the Signet Group after the Ratner debacle - it was her decision to scrap the brand - and now she has been charged with building the Camelot bid for the next National Lottery licence.
Given that Camelot is up against the "dream team" of Branson and Gates at the People's Lottery, it is going to take a clever marketing strategy to win.
Ms Thompson is anything but daunted. "We are not focusing on them, we are making sure we have the best bid," she said firmly.
Camelot has linked up with the Post Office and its considerable retailing advantages for the battle.
"We believe we have the best technology and Camelot has done tryouts with a host of new IT suppliers," said Ms Thompson who has been commercial operations director at Camelot for three years.
Her appointment as chief executive designate earlier this month coincided with her third anniversary.
One of her major responsibilities has been marketing - ensuring the Lottery brand, recognised by 95 per cent of the population, remains popular. Camelot's marketing team is working on new games, and technologies to take advantage of the Internet and mobile telephony.
Over the past three years Ms Thompson has made two or three major changes.
The slogan "It could be You" became "Maybe, just maybe" and Camelot launched Thunderball and the Millennium game. The operator also tried out its first major consumer programme called Winning Wallets.
"Lotteries all start off on a real high, so over time you have got to keep refreshing players' interest with new games and developments," Ms Thompson said.
She shrugged off media criticism of the Thunderball game and the declining numbers of players, pointing out that 68 per cent of the adult population still plays the main lottery on a regular basis, the highest percentage in the world.
"The Wednesday draw has achieved its target, likewise Thunderball with pounds 4.5 million in weekly sales is on track," she said.
"People understand the chances of winning are very slim - one in 14 million - so you have to give players reason for staying in the game."
An average week sees pounds 93 million in sales.
Before the Millennium Dome became everyone's favourite whipping boy, that unenviable position was held by Camelot. Lottery grants were ridiculed and its directors attacked for their fat cat salaries and bonuses.
Camelot is tackling such criticism by introducing a new pay scheme which sees directors' packages reduced and their special bonuses abolished. The company also stresses that it is on target to pay out pounds 10 billion to good causes - pounds 1 billion more than initially forecast.
Ms Thompson's new salary package as chief executive will be pounds 330,000.
"I'm thrilled to get the chance to run one of the best Lotteries in the world," she said. "I'm also getting a pay rise so I'm not doing too badly out of it.
"My job is different to that of previous chief executive Tim Holley. He was one of five people who left very good, very secure jobs to start up a company to win the Lottery bid, and agree to stay at least three years and achieve targets - for which they got a one-off bonus. It was one hell of a risk.
"It's a different job for me as the risks are not the same. My pay rise depends on winning the licence, so its an added incentive."
Ms Thompson is hardly averse to taking risks. She says of her tough judgment over the Ratner brand "it was pretty touch and go".
"It was the hardest decision I had to make - we had to close shops and lose several hundred jobs - but it was a classic PR case study."
Her only regret about leaving Signet to join Camelot was that she had to stop playing the Lottery - she had won three pounds 10 prizes.
"But I still get a buzz going into the pub and hearing people talking about what they would do if they won the Lottery.
"It's pounds 1 to dream," she said, which actually sounds a better slogan than "Maybe, just maybe".
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