After accepting an offer from Apollo Global Management in December 2024 to become CEO of gaming equipment giant IGT, Hector Fernadez went on vacation.
He had no choice. Aristocrat Gaming, where he had been CEO, exercised a 12-month non-compete clause, keeping Fernandez on the sidelines until last month.
Fernandez, who spent more than six years with the Australian gaming equipment company’s Americas Division, resigned and monitored the progress of Apollo’s $6.3 billion acquisition of IGT and Everi Holdings from afar. The lengthy approval process concluded at the end of June with the merger of companies under the IGT name.
For Fernandez, 46, it was a new experience watching from the sidelines.
