Hector Fernandez

Hector Fernandez

Chief Investment Officer and Partner

Summary

Hector has focused on investing and finance in multiple industries for over two decades, combining leadership roles in asset management, investment banking, and corporate finance, as well as serving as a Director on several Boards of Directors. Serving as a trusted advisor in M&A and capital markets, an executive leader for complex private and public firms, and investor in a wide range of business models provides Hector with a comprehensive toolkit to invest capital across cycles and industries, while ensuring risk discipline for long-term returns.

Experience

Before joining Paralign, Hector served as the Divisional CFO for Wealth Management and Investment Services at U.S. Bank, a segment which partners with leading investment managers and institutional capital providers for the 5th largest bank in the country. Prior to that, he held similar roles in corporate finance at Optum and Cargill. While at Cargill, Hector was the President of Risk Management and co-led the divestiture of several private equity and hedge fund units. During his tenure, Hector also led Cargill’s finance team that had oversight of the Company’s ESOP, which was originally established in the early 1990s to provide equity to Cargill employees as the Company became the largest private company in the country. Previously, Hector was a member of the Consumer Group at Harris Williams, a leading middle market investment bank, and Technology, Media, and Telecom Group within the Investment Bank at JP Morgan in the New York office. Hector started his career investing in corporate credit across institutional investment grade and high yield for the firm now known as Nuveen Asset Management.

Education & Credentials

Hector earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Science from Northwestern College. He has served on the Board of Directors for CarVal Investors, a global private equity firm and hedge fund, as well as the National Futures Association (designated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a registered futures association). He also graduated from executive programs at Harvard Business School and INSEAD and in the past held FINRA 63 and 7 licenses.

Personal

Hector is based in Minneapolis where he loves spending time with his wife and three young children. While he no longer competes in triathlons, he still enjoys running and biking, and even more so playing futbol/soccer with the family. He is currently a Fellow at the Economic Club of New York and serves on the Board of Hope Academy, which serves K-12 students in the inner-city.