Fornaro Leaving IGT to Join Coupang
IGT’s Chief Financial Officer Alberto Fornaro has announced that he will be stepping down from his position in the new year. Fornaro will remain in his current role until January 31st, 2020. After that, Timothy Rishton will act as interim CFO, while IGT search for a permanent successor to Fornaro.
Fornaro is set to swap his role at IGT for a new one with Coupang in Seoul, South Korea. ©Sunyu Kim
Rishton Will Stand in as CFO
As well as being the leading iGaming firm’s Chief Financial Officer, Alberto Fornaro is also IGT’s Executive Vice President. After eight years, he has now decided to part company with IGT in order to seek new professional opportunities. The move is a radical one, as he has decided to take up a new role with e-commerce firm Coupang in Seoul, South Korea.
“It has been a great honor to serve as IGT CFO and to participate in the company’s success during the last eight years. 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”– Alberto Fornaro, CFO, IGT
In Fornaro’s absence, Timothy Rishton will stand in as CFO temporarily. This arrangement will ensure that the transition from one Chief Financial Officer to the next is as smooth as possible. The decision to appoint Rishton in the interim position was made unanimously by IGT’s board of directors. IGT is currently working with a “leading executive search firm” in a global search to find the best candidate to fill the role on a permanent basis.
IGT will be in safe hands while Timothy Rishton temporarily takes the CFO reigns. He has been with the company since 1995, when it was known as GTECH. After joining as a Cost Accounting Supervisor, he rose through the ranks of the firm’s accounting department. In 2010 he was appointed as IGT’s Chief Accounting Officer, the role he currently holds nearly a decade later. Over the course of a 24-year career at IGT, Rishton has also served as Vice President of Finance, Deputy Corporate Controller and Director of Accounting.
“I would like to thank Alberto, both personally and on behalf of the IGT Board of Directors, for his leadership and outstanding contribution during the last eight years as CFO of first GTECH and later IGT. 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. We look forward to an orderly and seamless transition of his responsibilities, and wish him well in his future endeavors”– Marco Sala, CEO, IGT
At the beginning of the year, there were also some important personnel changes to IGT’s leadership team. It expanded its senior leadership team by appointing three new executive roles. Bob Vincent was made Chairperson of IGT Global Solutions Corporation. Wendy Montgomery was named as Senior Vice President of Global Brand, Marketing and Communications, while Scott Gunn was named as Senior Vice President of Corporate Public Affairs.
A New Role at Coupang
Fornaro will be taking on a new position at Coupang, a South Korean e-commerce platform. Coupang is the largest online retailer in South Korea, taking in more than $4 billion in annual revenue. The company’s rise has been rapid, having only been founded in 2010 by Bom Kim, a Harvard graduate. The company is a keen rival to Amazon, offering a service that delivers millions of products to customers every day. According to the company itself, it is able to deliver 99.6% of orders within a 24-hour period. South Korea’s e-commerce market is set to be the third largest in the world by 2021, just behind China and the US.
“Alberto brings a wealth of experience and financial acumen that will be an asset to Coupang. He is a hands-on leader who shares our mission of making life exponentially better for our Customers. Alberto’s experience will help us continue to expand our products and services while further lowering prices for our Customers.”– Bom Kim, Founder & CEO, Coupang
Fornaro will bring over 25 years of experience to his new role. He will be taking over from Richard Song, who is retiring. Fornaro has been the Chief Financial Officer for IGT for 8 years, and for the last 6 years he has also been the company’s Executive Vice President. Fornaro’s work has taken him around the world, including to Seoul. Before IGT, he was CFO and President EMEA at Doosan Infracore Construction Equipment for two and a half years.
Fornaro explained why he was looking forward to joining Coupang early next year.
“I am glad to join this innovative company. It’s an exciting time to be part of Coupang. The company is growing rapidly because it provides customers with an exceptional experience. Coupang’s e-commerce platform is making millions of items available for delivery within hours and launching new services like Dawn Delivery and Rocket Fresh to make life easier. I look forward to helping the company succeed.”
