Gaming equipment giant International Game Technology said Monday Alberto Fornaro would depart as the company’s chief financial officer on Jan. 31.
The company, which has corporate offices in Rome, London and Las Vegas, said it has hired “a leading executive search firm” and has “initiated a global search” for a permanent CFO. IGT Chief Accounting Officer Timothy Rishton will serve as CFO on an interim basis.
Fornaro had been CFO for eight years, including four years with GTech Holdings, which acquired IGT in 2015 in a $6.5 billion merger and assumed the company’s name. Rishton has been with IGT and GTech since 1995, most recently serving as a senior vice president.
The announcement was made after the markets closed Monday. Shares of IGT were down 37 cents or 2.49% to closed at $14.48 on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares were off another 2% in after-hours trading following the news.
Analysts were surprised by news of change in CFOs.
“We do not believe Mr. Fornaro’s departure is related to any disagreements internally,” SunTrust Bank gaming analyst Barry Jonas told investors in a Monday afternoon research note. “Importantly, we don’t think IGT’s current guidance is at risk and we do not expect any major strategic shifts.”
In a statement, IGT said Fornaro resigned to pursue other professional opportunities.
“Alberto played a significant role in improving our financial and operational performance, including helping to secure large, strategically important contracts for the next several years,” IGT CEO Marco Sala said in a statement. “We look forward to an orderly and seamless transition of his responsibilities and wish him well in his future endeavors.”
Fornaro’s departure comes nearly three weeks after the company said its third quarter revenue declined less than 1% to $1.15 billion and cash flow fell 8.1% to $407 million.
#exclusive – IGT CFO Fornaro to depart on Jan. 31, Rishton to assume job in the interim. –@howardstutz, CDC Gaming Reports. https://t.co/rABSeXBgEa @IGTNews #CDCgaming
— CDC Gaming Reports (@CDCNewswire) December 3, 2019
“While IGT’s balance sheet is in good shape, shares remain at depressed levels,” Jonas said. “This suggests Mr. Fornaro sees more upside in his next opportunity, which we expect to hear more details about shortly. We would expect Mr. Fornaro’s new role to be in an unrelated industry.”
In the statement, Fornaro said, “With the recent completion of important refinancing activity and a strong finance organization in place, it is the right time for me to move on to a new challenge.”
Rishton has held a series of roles with IGT-GTech, including vice president of finance, assistant corporate controller and director of accounting.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
