By the FL Innovation News editorial team · Entrepreneurship
Tech CEO Connects LATAM Talent With U.S Market
When she was 15 years old, Monica Hernandez made a pivotal decision that would lay the foundation for her life’s work and career.
Her mother gave her the choice of having the traditional Quinceanera celebration, a right of passage for a young female Latina, or getting a computer as a birthday gift. Without hesitation, Hernandez chose the computer.
Hernandez was born to parents who didn’t finish high school and grew up in a low-income area of Medellín, Colombia. Hernandez’ parents viewed education as a necessity and a means of improving their daughter’s quality of life, and they did everything to ensure she’d have a good one. Hernandez’s hard work paid off and through her academic excellence, she received a scholarship to EAFIT University, a top university in the country. She would graduate with a degree in Systems Engineering.
During her academic career, Hernandez landed a prestigious and coveted internship, due in part to her impressive grade point average or “GPA.” She was immediately offered a software engineer and team manager position and remained there for six months before the company went bankrupt. Hernandez quickly moved to another tech company and learned about Oracle products. After completing her Masters’ degree, she landed a job with Oracle, working as a consultant leading global teams and advising clients how best to use Oracle’s applications in their business.
Hernandez’s talent and hard work didn’t go unnoticed. She witnessed the challenges of offshore models and how they would impact technology projects. Monica realized that with her background and expertise in this field, she could connect LATAM talent to U.S. companies cost-effectively without compromising quality—and within the same time zone.
She was tasked with traveling all over the U.S. and Europe and was the lead on large global projects. But with a young daughter, Monica realized the demanding workload and constant travel wasn’t practical. Yet, she still desired to do “more” in the industry. So, while working in Dallas, she started her software development, data, and AI services firm, which she named MAS Global Consulting, which means “More” in Spanish.
Hernandez moved to Milwaukee to be closer to one of her major clients and positioned MAS Global as a U.S-based partner building bridges to elite tech talent in Colombia and helping companies solve the challenges of offshore models with a same-time zone delivery model that also brings cultural affinities and the scale of world-class tech skills in LATAM. Two years later, Fueled by a desire to be closer to the Hispanic and Latino community as well as her native Colombia, Hernandez left Milwaukee and relocated to Tampa, Florida.
“I felt it was important to be closer to our new LATAM nearshore hub in Medellín, Colombia, which is my hometown,” said Monica Hernandez. “And I also felt the need to give back to the community that I came from and help other Latinos and women build a future in tech.”
Today, MAS Global is in its 11th year and provides services to North American midsize and Fortune 500 companies. The self-funded, woman-owned and Latin-owned company has hundreds of team members and a full-service nearshore hub in Colombia. Inc. Magazine named it one of the fastest-growing companies for five years in a row.
Bloomberg added Hernandez to its 100 Most Influential Latinos list alongside her fellow Colombian, Emmy-nominated Actress and Producer Sofia Vergara. And the HIspanic IT Executive Council (HITEC) recognized her as a Top 100 Hispanic in the Tech Industry.
Not content to rest on her laurels, Hernandez started her MAS Future Foundation five years ago with the aim of giving back to Colombia and helping one million women and Latinos access tech skills and opportunities. Hernandez may be a long way from that 15-year-old girl who chose a computer over an extravagant birthday celebration, but she still has the same drive and focus that will propel MAS Global to the next level.
