Jorge Fernandez
Jorge Fernandez joined Pendleton Atlanta after serving as Vice President of Global Commerce for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, where he led its Global Commerce economic development team for more than a dozen years and worked to grow metro Atlanta’s reputation as a top competitor.
He was responsible for Foreign Direct Investment, international corporate recruitment, and connecting Metro Atlanta companies and institutions with international business growth opportunities.
Prior to joining the Chamber, Fernandez served as international and alliance Vice President for Delta Air Lines at its world headquarters in Atlanta. His responsibilities included international operations and sales outside of the United States, developing Delta’s alliance strategy, managing the SkyTeam global alliance, and overseeing codeshare relationships with partner airlines around the globe. He also developed the airline’s regional strategy for operations and administration in the company’s Latin American and Caribbean service area.
Prior to joining Delta, he served as senior political-military analyst at Veridian Engineering where he led the company’s efforts in implementing strategic plans for federal agencies and institutions that respond to overseas crises. He also served in the United States Air Force for more than 20 years, as a command pilot, strategic planner, and international affairs advisor. And he held various diplomatic posts, including leading air base access rights negotiations for a U.S. Air Force aviation hub and directing mediation between nation states.
He is a native of Havana, Cuba, and, in addition to English, is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.
Fernandez holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of Puerto Rico and a master’s degree in international marketing from Texas Christian University.
He is a National Defense Fellow in Brazilian Studies from the University of Miami’s Graduate School of International Studies and completed Thunderbird’s Executive Education Program for International Business in Phoenix, AZ. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Department of State Foreign Service Institute and the Brazilian Air Force Senior Officer Course. He taught U.S. market practices at China Jiliang University in Hangzhou, China.
In 2009, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue named Fernandez “International Person of the Year.” And in 2010, the Atlanta Business Chronicle honored Fernandez as one of Atlanta’s International Who’s Who.
In 2015, on behalf of the Chamber, he accepted the Presidential E-Award for Export Excellence. Fernandez is a member of the board of the U.S. Panama Business Council SE, the Advisory Council for the Center for International Business Education and Research at Georgia State University, the Asian Studies Advisory Board at Kennesaw State University, the Atlanta Convention and Visitors’ Bureau, and the Atlanta Ballet Advisory Committee.