PENN Entertainment has announced the appointment of three new independent directors — Heather Ace, Jeffrey Fox, and Fabio Schiavolin — to its Board of Directors, effective immediately.
In connection with the appointments, PENN has also entered into a cooperation agreement with activist investor HG Vora Capital Management and certain of its affiliates, collectively referred to as HG Vora.
HG Vora had been locked in a proxy battle with the casino operator for months after building a stake and outlining plans to nominate directors to PENN’s board. It owns a 4.7% stake in PENN, according to data compiled by LSEG.
HG Vora had previously expressed concerns about the company’s stock performance and how management allocates capital.
The cooperation agreement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on a Form 8-K. It contains customary voting, standstill, and other provisions that will remain in effect through the 2027 Annual Meeting of Shareholders.
“On behalf of the Board, we are pleased to welcome Heather, Jeff, and Fabio, highly accomplished individuals who each bring deeply relevant experience,” said David Handler, chair of PENN’s Board.
Board appointees
Heather Ace serves as executive vice president and chief human resources officer of Qualcomm Incorporated. She previously was the chief human resources officer at Dexcom.
Earlier roles include executive vice president of global HR at Orexigen Therapeutics and business integration leader for Royal Philips’ HealthTech acquisition of Volcano Corporation. She also served as executive vice president of global HR at Volcano Corporation and held HR executive positions at Life Technologies.
Ace was a partner at Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich, now DLA Piper, where she practiced litigation and employment law with a focus on mergers and acquisitions. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Law & Society from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a J.D. from Santa Clara School of Law.
Jeffrey Fox is CEO and founder of Circumference Group, where he oversees management and business strategy. He most recently served as president and chief executive officer of Endurance International Group Holdings, Inc.
Before that, Fox was president and CEO of Convergys Corporation and held multiple positions at Alltel Corporation. He began his career in investment banking at Merrill Lynch and Stephens. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Duke University.
Fabio Schiavolin is the former CEO of Snaitech S.p.A., a public company in Italy dedicated to the gaming and entertainment sector. During his tenure, he participated in Snaitech’s merger with Playtech plc, a gaming technology company operating in more than 17 countries.
Prior to Snaitech, Schiavolin founded Cogetech, an Italian gaming machine operator that merged with Snai in 2015 to form Snaitech. He began his career at Cirsa. He received his master’s degree in business administration from Università di Bologna.
PENN Entertainment operates in 28 jurisdictions across North America, managing a portfolio of casinos, racetracks, online sports betting, and iCasino offerings. Its operations include a fully integrated proprietary digital sports betting and iCasino platform and an in-house iCasino content studio. PENN also operates the PENN Play customer loyalty program, which serves more than 33 million members.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2026/02/26/117789-penn-welcomes-three-new-directors-strikes-agreement-with-activist-investor-hg-vora
