Bachelor’s in Economics from the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM), graduating Magna Cum Laude. She was awarded a scholarship sponsored by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and earned her Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

With over 15 years of professional experience in the banking sector and strategic planning, she held various managerial positions at Banco Popular Dominicano, where she worked successfully for 14 years and was selected in 2011 as part of the High-Potential Management Program. She began her career at the bank as Assistant Manager in the Executive Vice Presidency of Corporate and International Business, where she participated in the team responsible for defining the Long-Term Strategy and business and treasury plans, under the guidance of McKinsey & Company.

In 2003, she was promoted to Division Manager, serving first in the Corporate Credit Workout Division and later in the Investment Banking Division, where she specialized in structuring financing for tourism projects (Project Finance), debt restructuring, and valuations.

In 2008, she was assigned to the Representative Office of BPD Bank, the international subsidiary of Grupo Popular based in New York. During her tenure at BPD Bank, she led the Credit Analysis, Workout, and Risk Monitoring teams and was later appointed General Manager of the Office, responsible for administrative operations and the supervision of the Business, Customer Service, Compliance, and Risk units.

Starting in 2013, she served as Division Manager of Strategic Planning at Banco Popular, where she participated in defining the 2014–2017 Strategic Plan and in internal consulting projects for the Risk and Business divisions. She was also responsible for the analysis and prioritization of technology projects as part of the institution’s budgeting process.

In addition to her extensive experience in the banking and financial sectors, Ms. Fernández has worked as an independent consultant in Strategic Planning and Corporate Valuation for companies in both the real estate and electronic payments sectors, where she performed the following functions:

–           Coordinated the GCS International Strategic Plan 2016–2018.

–           Analyzed and presented financial information to company management, the Finance Committee, and the Board of Directors.

–           Provided direct support to the Finance and Administration departments in the preparation of business cases and financial feasibility analyses.