José Hernandez is a globally recognized expert on corporate misconduct, compliance, and ethical leadership. As an independent advisor to leaders of global companies, José has helped his clients navigate once-in-a-lifetime crises and corporate criminal investigations (and remediation) related to fraud, bribery, and money laundering across five continents. He is a published author, a seasoned CEO, keynote speaker, guest university faculty, investor, and non-executive director.
Born in El Salvador, José started his career at PwC, working in Canada, the United States, Cuba, and the Netherlands. He was a PwC partner working in the Capital Markets and Forensics practice groups.
In 2008, José joined forces with former FBI Director Louis Freeh to establish a new firm focused on corporate investigations and remediation, FGI Europe (now Ortus Strategies AG). His professional practice is dedicated to assisting global organizations as they reset their cultures and business practices, implementing remediation strategies pursuant to criminal and civil proceedings. José’s work ranges from boardroom strategy to implementation of compliance controls to liaison with prosecutors and regulators. In Canada, José served as Independent Expert advising the Board of SNC-Lavalin in the wake of its landmark corruption matter. In Europe, he has served as deputy on a major FCPA monitorship and supported global organizations such as FIFA, Siemens, Telia, Bilfinger, Ahold, Ericsson, and Daimler. His approach to improving organizational conduct and rehabilitation is documented in the book Broken Business: Seven Steps to Reform Good Companies Gone Bad, published by Wiley (2018) and translated into Dutch, German, and Korean. In addition, he has contributed commentary on corporate misconduct to media outlets including BBC, CNBC, and CNN. He teaches at Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam, where he runs a lecture series on Crime, Scandals and Ethics. He has also lectured at research institutions in Canada, Sweden, the UK, El Salvador, and Switzerland. He is faculty for ESG programs with Competent Boards, while also invited as a keynote speaker at leadership, ethics, and compliance events. Dr. Hernandez invests in start-ups and culture initiatives. He advocates for effective higher education of the next generation of leaders and supports efforts to improve mental health in children. He is currently serving as non-executive director at Kelvin Thermal Energy. José works with governments and the accounting profession as a vocal advocate for policies that promote ethical business, protection of whistleblowers, and the fight against dirty money. Since 2016, he has served on the Government of Canada’s Advisory Committee on Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing. In 2021, he testified before British Columbia’s Cullen Commission on money laundering.
He is a member of the President's International Advisory Board at the University of Waterloo and recently rejoined its Advisory Council at the School of Accounting and Finance.
José holds an Honours Bachelor of Mathematics (B.Math) and Master of Accounting (M.Acc) degrees from the University of Waterloo. His doctoral dissertation is titled Principles, Processes, and Practices of Fraud Prevention, leading to a Ph.D. in Economics and Business Administration at VU Amsterdam. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA-CA, Ontario), Certified Public Accountant (CPA, Delaware),and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).