Aristocrat has announced the departure of its Chief Technology Officer, Andy Hendrickson, to a competitor.
In a short update, the company confirmed that Hendrickson, who assumed the role as Aristocrat’s CTO in July 2021, will join the yet-to-be-named rival organisation once he has served a six-month notice period.
Commenting on the news, Aristocrat’s CEO and Managing Director, Trevor Croker, said: “We thank Andy for his contribution to our business over the last four years and look forward to announcing his successor in due course.”
Prior to joining Aristocrat, Hendrickson served as the CTO of Prysm Collective, a virtual production technology company, and the video game studio Activision.
He also acts as a Member At Large for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Aristocrat’s Light & Wonder legal tussle
Hendrickson’s exit from Aristocrat comes amid the firm’s ongoing legal battle with Light & Wonder.
Aristocrat alleges that Light & Wonder’s Dragon Train game infringes on the intellectual property tied to its Dragon Link title.
Additionally, Aristocrat claims that Dragon Train’s former lead developer, Emma Charles, who previously worked for Aristocrat, was “intimately familiar with the maths models” of Dragon Link.
In September, Light & Wonder were forced to remove the gaming machines in question in the US after Aristocrat were granted an injunction by the Nevada courts, pending the final ruling on the case.
Aristocrat requested a similar injunction be put in place in Australia, however, this was rejected by the court in Australia. As a result, Dragon Train slot machines remain in circulation across the country.
Light & Wonder President and CEO Matt Wilson previously revealed that the firm is closing in on the creation of Dragon Train 2.0 machines.
He said: “The original game clearly had strong market demand. The issue centred on a narrow part of the game, and we’re actively working on variations for our portfolio.”
Entain hit by key exits
Aristocrat is not the only organisation experiencing a shake-up at board level in recent weeks.
Last month, Entain announced the immediate departure of its CEO Gavin Isaacs.
Isaacs stepped down by “mutual agreement” from his role after just five months after assuming the role in September 2024.
As she did following the departure of previous CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen in December 2023, current non-Executive Chair Stella David has stepped into the role of interim CEO as Entain begins the search for Isaacs’ replacement.
Elsewhere, Entain’s Australian and New Zealand businesses were also hit by key departures in the same month.
Entain Australia’s Chief Financial Officer, Lachlan Fitt, and Cameron Rodger, Managing Director of Entain NZ, have also departed their respective roles.
