He has demonstrated accomplishments in leading large teams to deliver transformational change and continuous improvement initiatives that created value and drove customer, consumer and player engagement. In recent news, global leading slot-machine manufacturer and game-content supplier Aristocrat Leisure Limited announced that Hector Fernandez, previously CEO of Aristocrat Gaming, has resigned to the position to lead the upcoming combination of IGT and Everi as CEO. Craig Toner (formerly Chief Financial Officer & Executive Vice President of Operations, Aristocrat Gaming) has been appointed to replace Fernandez, effective immediately and subject to the receipt of necessary regulatory pre-approvals.
Toner comes to the CEO role after more than seven years with Aristocrat in both Australia and the U.S. He was promoted through different business finance and operations leadership roles in Sydney, before being appointed Chief Financial Officer & Executive Vice President of Operations for Aristocrat Gaming and relocating to Las Vegas three years ago.
This executive spent almost 20 years in senior commercial, strategy and operational roles at Lion Ltd, one of Australia and New Zealand’s largest alcohol and beverages businesses. Toner is a CPA, with a Bachelor of Management Studies, Accounting and Finance.
As for Fernandez, he joined Aristocrat as Chief Financial Officer of the Americas Gaming business unit in 2018, before being appointed CEO of Aristocrat Gaming in 2022. He quickly took the company to the highest levels, advancing both in the quantity and quality of products as well as in revenue. This is demonstrated by the company’s numbers for the first half of this year: the Aristocrat Enterprise drove 16% NPATA growth, and the Gaming Business unit delivered USD 1 billion profit, underpinned by 20 of the top 25 premium lease games, a market leading 1.4x house performance, and being named ‘Land-based Supplier of the Year’ in different awards ceremonies.
Commenting on Toner’s designation, Trevor Croker, CEO and Managing Director at Aristocrat, said: “Craig has been a key part of the global Aristocrat Gaming leadership team that has delivered strong growth and transformational change over recent years. He has also worked closely with our Board and Executive Steering Committee on a number of major strategic and operational priorities. He is also people oriented, highly collaborative and impactful. We are delighted to be able to elevate a proven and capable leader of Craig’s caliber to this role, demonstrating again the depth of talent we have built at Aristocrat.”
Croker also stated: “Craig will ensure a seamless leadership transition, maintaining a relentless customer focus, and continuing to execute our plans. Aristocrat Gaming today is a global team with extraordinary resilience, depth and momentum, and I have every confidence that Craig will continue to build on this going forward, with the support of the many talented leaders across our global business. We thank Hector sincerely for his commitment and recognize his contribution to our business over the last six years.”
