Aristocrat Leisure Appoints Dafne Guisard as Chief Executive-Elect

Aristocrat Leisure said in a November 12, 2026 announcement that Chief Executive and Managing Director Trevor Croker intends to retire in April 2027. The board appointed Dafne Guisard CEO-elect, with her succession expected that month following a comprehensive transition and subject to any necessary regulatory pre-approvals.

Guisard will relocate from Aristocrat’s London office to Las Vegas for the role. Croker will remain with the company and support her for 12 months from the announcement, while the board’s decision followed a process that used external advice and considered internal and external candidates.

An Internal Candidate With Operating and Digital Experience

Guisard joined Aristocrat’s executive team in February 2026 as Chief Commercial Officer for EMEA, with profit-and-loss accountability across all of the region’s verticals and membership of its executive steering committee. She later added leadership of Product Madness, the social-casino business whose fiscal 2025 revenue Aristocrat reported at more than US$1 billion.

Before Aristocrat, she was Entain’s Chief Operations Officer from January 2025 to February 2026, running operations across more than 30 regulated markets and leading over 2,500 people across six divisions. Those responsibilities spanned strategy, customer operations, customer service, operational excellence, iGaming product management and procurement.

Her earlier career combined consumer strategy and technology. At Kraft Heinz from January 2022 to December 2024, she served as Chief Strategy, Transformation and Digital Officer and led a global digital organization covering product, engineering, data, artificial intelligence and design. She also spent nine years in executive commercial and finance roles at Anheuser-Busch InBev and holds an MBA and a Master of Science from MIT, along with a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Brazil’s Instituto Tecnologico de Aeronautica.

Chairman Neil Chatfield said the board valued Guisard’s record of delivering growth and transformation, global experience, product and technology skills, and leadership impact. He also explained the appeal of an internal appointment: “The Board has also had regard to the benefits of an internal appointment, including performance continuity and scope for a seamless transition.”

Croker’s Tenure and the Terms of Succession

Croker will have spent more than a decade as CEO and 18 years in senior leadership when he retires. Chatfield said Aristocrat’s market capitalization grew fourfold to almost $40 billion during Croker’s CEO tenure, and credited his leadership with strengthening the company’s culture and safer-play efforts. Croker also served as chair of the American Gaming Association during that period.

Guisard’s agreed terms provide total fixed cash remuneration of US$1.05 million when she starts as CEO. Her fiscal 2027 short-term incentive target is 1.5 times that amount, divided equally between cash and deferred equity, with a maximum of twice the target. Her long-term incentive comprises annual performance share rights allocations at three times fixed remuneration, up to a maximum of one times the target.

She must give six months’ notice if she resigns, while Aristocrat must give 12 months’ notice when terminating her employment other than for cause. The contract also includes 12 months’ fixed remuneration as severance and 12-month non-compete and non-solicitation provisions after her employment ends.

The succession plan therefore combines an internal appointment with a defined period of support from Croker. Its expected completion remains conditional on the regulatory pre-approvals required before Guisard can take up the role in Las Vegas.