Aristocrat Technologies President of Americas Hector Fernandez gained an understanding of the U.S. Census during a college internship one summer for the National Center for Health Statistics. Data from the census served as a resource for his paper on access to healthcare for Latino citizens.
Fast forward to last year, when Fernandez first took on the role of top executive for the Australia-based gaming equipment provider’s operations in the U.S., Canada, and Latin America.
Visiting with company employees, he was struck by the number of Hispanic staff members working at the company’s slot machine manufacturing facility who came out to meet him. Fernandez is a naturalized U.S. citizen who arrived in America from Guatemala with his family when he was a year old.
“I realized that I wasn’t just a role model for my children, but for the broader Latino community,” Fernandez said. “It’s an incredible responsibility, but also an opportunity.”
Fernandez, as part of Aristocrat’s community relations charitable program, is appearing in a 30-second promotional spot that is currently running on Las Vegas’ public television network. The commercial is part of an effort to promote participation in the current U.S. Census.
The promotion has also been shared with Aristocrat’s employees throughout the U.S.
“I thought this type of message would be important to Aristocrat’s core values,” Fernandez said. “It’s about sending a message to our employees, and to Las Vegas, about being a good corporate citizen.”
Since June 12, the video has appeared on Vegas PBS more than 300 times, although not during children’s programming.
In the video, filmed in the showroom of the company’s Las Vegas headquarters, Fernandez looks directly at the camera.
“The 2020 census provides financial support to our schools, jobs for workers, veterans benefits, and so much more,” Fernandez said in the spot. “So what does a technology company have to do with the census? Because we all care about our future.”
Fernandez is proud of statistics showing Nevada leading the nationally expected response rate, beating the projected numbers with the highest percentage points across the nation.
While Aristocrat can’t enforce that its workers participate in the census, Fernandez said there is an educational process involved in understanding that the numbers dictate Congressional representation and the dispersal of federal tax monies.
“If you don’t participate in the census, you can hurt your community,” he said.
Fernandez is clearly proud of his naturalized citizenship, which he obtained when he was 19. Education was long instilled by his parents. He earned an MBA and a degree in finance from the University of Southern California.
He joined Aristocrat in 2018 as CFO of the Americas division after previously holding a public accounting position with Deloitte and finance positions with such firms as Western Digital, Amgen, Cydcor, and Procter & Gamble.
The technology field as a whole, Fernandez said, has lagged in minority representation, something he hopes to see change. He said the biotech and digital sectors have many similarities to the gaming industry, where innovation and technological advancements are often highlighted.
Fernandez still speaks fluent Spanish and has traveled widely.
Ironically, he became president of the Americas division shortly before July 4th last year.
Fernandez said the bulk of Aristocrat’s U.S. staff is back at work, but many employees from the corporate headquarters are still telecommuting from home.
As for the census video, Fernandez said he shot the spot in three takes, but only because the jackpot meters on Aristocrat slot machines on display in the showroom “kept going off.”
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgaming.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
