Israel Hernandez

Israel Hernandez is Head of International Corporate Affairs for HNA Group, a global company focused on aviation, tourism, and logistics. Mr. Hernandez’s public sector experience focuses on international trade and business development. He held several high-ranking positions at the U.S. Department of Commerce, including Senior Advisor to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, acting Under Secretary for International Trade, and was confirmed by the Senate as Assistant Secretary for International Trade. Mr. Hernandez also served in the White House as a Deputy Assistant to the President from 2001 to 2005. Mr. Hernandez is an accomplished counselor and strategist, who has successfully led international multi-stakeholder initiatives across the public and private sectors. Prior to joining HNA Group, he was Head of Communications and Marketing at Afero, an Internet of Things (IoT) services platform company, where he oversaw the corporate communications strategy. Prior to Afero, Mr. Hernandez served as a senior member of the international corporate communications team at Facebook, working closely with the marketing, sales, legal, and policy teams to develop effective strategies to achieve key company benchmarks and seamlessly execute high profile announcements. Earlier in his career, Mr. Hernandez served as Chief of Staff at TPG Capital, where he was responsible for strengthening and preserving relationships with TPG Partners, LP investors, portfolio companies, media, and other key stakeholders, as well as driving new and innovative initiatives for the firm. Mr. Hernandez also served as a Director at Brunswick Group, managing reputational challenges and overall corporate positioning for his clients around the world. Mr. Hernandez is on the Board of Directors of Subiendo, an academy program in partnership with the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, designed to prepare first generation students enter college. He is also on the Advisory Committee of the Meridian International Center, a nonpartisan, nonprofit, global leadership organization that brings the diplomatic corps, government officials and the global private sector for international collaboration across sectors. Mr. Hernandez graduated with a B.A. degree with a double major in Philosophy and Political Science from the University of Texas at Austin and a M.P.A. from the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. Mr. Hernandez resides in New York City.