María Hernandez

by Heather Locke

Maria Hernandez is Chief Innovation Officer for IBM- Latin America, where she’s a visionary leader and evangelist in driving innovation with IBM’s largest Strategic Outsourcing clients in Latin America, opening doors to new business and increasing client satisfaction through innovative technologies and solutions. Prior to this role, IBM was spearheading the strategy and transformation of IBM’s Business Partners in North America around key growth initiatives such as Cloud Computing, Business Analytics, and Smarter Cities. She has also been a worldwide leader for IBM’s Corporate Strategy team responsible for business development initiatives in the emerging markets. In her 20+ years in the IT industry, Maria has demonstrated her leadership and technical knowledge in a broad spectrum of experiences ranging from sales, marketing, growth businesses, technology research and development.She has expanded her leadership into the entrepreneurial space by launching StartupFlorida as one of the first States to be part of the StartupAmerica initiative bringing together the private sector, incubators, investors, and other organizations to support entrepreneurs who leverage technology to drive innovation. She was also the thought leader and catalyst within the So. Florida entrepreneurial ecosystem to conduct the first IBM Smart Camp event for Healthcare in Miami aimed at identifying early stage entrepreneurs who align to IBM’s Smarter Healthcare vision. Given her entrepreneurial accomplishments, Maria was selected as a core team member of IBM’s Smarter Cities Challenge team in Malaga, Spain working with the City government and other key stakeholders to recommend best practices and ideas to drive economic development and job growth through entrepreneurship. Maria’s entrepreneurial ability coupled with her cross-IBM experience have given her the experience to lead teams and organizations to develop breakthrough ideas, solutions, and technologies across global markets.

Maria is the founder of Madrinas, a first of its kind virtual network and non-profit organization for Corporate Latina leaders with a track record of accomplishments in networking and mentoring. Maria has received recognition for being a Latina role model and is a frequent speaker at women conferences and university events.