Penn National hires Barclays equity research analyst as new EVP, CFO

Penn National Gaming announced Monday that David Williams has stepped down as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer as of December 31, 2020. Taking his place will be Felicia Hendrix, who will be joining Penn National as EVP and CFO on March 2.

Hendrix will be reporting directly to Penn National’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Jay Snowden. Most recently, she was a Managing Director and Equity Research Analyst at Barclays, covering the gaming, lodging and leisure industries and had been consistently recognized in the Institutional Investor All Americas Research Team polls. 

Williams, who has agreed to stay with the company in a temporary advisory role to help ensure a smooth transition, said of his planned departure: “To say my relatively brief tenure at Penn National was a roller coaster ride would be an understatement. We went from the excitement of announcing our new partnership with Barstool Sports to the temporary shutdown of all of our operating assets in my first two months on the job. I am very proud of the way our Company responded to the unprecedented challenges the pandemic presented, and the role I played in helping to raise more than $1 billion in new equity to be able to weather the storm. While I am grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of the incredible team at Penn, the challenges of continuing to work remotely from the West Coast and the potential strain of a relocation of my family during the ongoing pandemic has led me to this difficult decision.”

Snowden commented: “I want to express my sincere appreciation to Dave for his dedication and support of our Company over the past year. He was quickly thrown into the fire, and I’m grateful for the way he stepped up and helped us navigate our way through the shutdowns of our casinos, ensuing companywide furloughs, and successful capital raises. We wish him all the very best in his future pursuits.”

“Fortunately, we have someone of Felicia’s caliber and exhaustive experience on Wall Street as an equity research analyst -- who happens to have covered Penn for the last two decades -- to step in as our new CFO,” continued Snowden. “I have long admired Felicia and her deep knowledge of the gaming industry, impressive work ethic, sharp wit and attention to detail. I’m confident she’ll be able to hit the ground running in her new role, and we couldn’t be happier to have her officially join our Penn National Gaming family.”

Hendrix's varied coverage universe spanned companies with market caps ranging from $2.5 billion to $45 billion and comprised differing revenue bases, cost structures, leverage levels and management depth. Prior to joining Barclays, she was a Managing Director at Lehman Brothers. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Virginia and an M.B.A from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.