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IGT and Everi will soon be united under the leadership of Hector Fernandez, who had been serving as CEO of rival slots manufacturer Aristocrat Gaming. Fernandez has been named the future CEO of the new company that will emerge out of the merger.
Apollo Global Management (AGM), the holding company formed to acquire IGT and Everi, selected Fernandez for CEO.
AGM Partner Daniel Cohen said his company is “thrilled” to hire Fernandez.
Hector brings an impressive track record of successfully scaling operations and strengthening customer relationships while being a champion for strong values. Hector shares our vision to lead this talented global workforce and will foster a people-first culture across the combined enterprise.
AGM Partner Daniel Cohen
Fernandez boasts finance expertise in addition to gaming
IGT and Everi are major players in the U.S. retail slots market, both of which have successfully made the leap to become suppliers of online casinos as well.
AGM says it believes Fernandez is the right pick to lead the combined company because of his experience “both inside and outside of the gaming industry” and his success in the technology and gaming sectors.
AGM noted Fernandez’s success at Aristocrat gaming, saying, “he devised and led a number of strategic initiatives that enabled gains in market share across multiple verticals while delivering strong revenue growth and increased profitability.
Specifically, Aristocrat Gaming saw solid profit growth in its North American and rest-of-world markets from FY2023 to FY 2024:
- North America: Revenue and profit rose 6.1% and 8.6%, respectively.
- Rest of world: Revenue dipped 1.8% but profit rose 5.5%.
How will IGT-Everi iGaming be impacted by new CEO?
If Fernandez’s focus at Aristocrat is any indication of how he’ll lead the company resulting from the IGT-Everi merger, game development will be an emphasis, along with moving well-known IGT and Everi land-based slots to iGaming platforms.
In October, Fernandez sat down with CNBC’s Contessa Brewer to talk about Aristocrat’s success. When asked what he attributed Aristocrat’s growth to creating games that gamblers and company client’s love. He noted:
The number one thing that matters is all-around D&D and R&D, in creating game content that the players want to play, and more important creating strong partnerships with our customers to ensure that any time they put our games on the floor, they know they’re going to work.
Fernandez went on to say it was important for Aristocrat to include in its iGaming offerings games that gamblers have played at retail locations.
The North American consumer has a strong affinity for the brands that they’ve played on the floor that we’ve brought to real life [in] a digital setting.
Additionally, the former Aristocrat CEO said his company kept a “really strong lens” on unregulated gaming.
Finance experience dominates Fernandez’s background
While Fernandez’s most recent job at Aristocrat was CEO of Aristocrat Gaming, finance dominates his background. He started at Aristocrat as CFO of the company’s Americas operations.
Before that, he served in finance roles at Western Digital, Cydcor, Amgen, and Procter & Gamble. He started his career at Deloitte as a senior auditor. Additionally, he has a Master of Business Administration in finance and marketing.
As the IGT-Everi venture scales and expands, Fernandez’s significant finance background should help the company take a balanced approach to growth.
