Original article was published in the Chicago Business Journal
From the Tampa Bay Business Journal.
Growing up in the mountains of Medellin, Colombia, hard work, education and service were instilled in Monica Hernandez at a very young age.
After her mother decided to send her to public school in a “good part” of the city — and near a private university — Hernandez said that move led to obtaining a scholarship at that university, which allowed her to pursue an engineering degree for free.
“My family couldn’t afford it [without the scholarship],” Hernandez said. “It was truly life-changing for me and the reason I got interested in technology in the first place,”
After earning engineering degrees in Colombia and later in Texas, Hernandez began her career in the U.S. at Oracle Consulting.
“Here I was advising corporate America … thinking I’m living the American dream, but I don’t want to forget where I came from,” Hernandez said. “So that’s where the idea of starting my company came from. [Making] sure that I leverage opportunities in the U.S. while also leveraging the talent that we have in Colombia.”
In 2013, Hernandez founded MAS Global, a consulting services company specializing in digital and data services that merges Hernandez’s expertise in the U.S. market with software development, cloud, artificial intelligence and Latin talent. Ten years in, the team has expanded to close to 200 members — 70% of whom are based in Latin America — and is committed to innovation, empowering communities and shaping the tech industry’s future.
She spoke with the Business Journal about MAS Global’s focus in 2025, AI and purpose-driven entrepreneurship. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
How have MAS Global’s services and deliverables as a consulting firm evolved over the past 11 years?
It’s definitely changed a lot. We started as a software development company and then as we evolved as a company, there have been waves of innovation. The first big one was the cloud. But in the last three years, there’s been a huge wave of innovation with data and AI. We are all in helping our clients because it aligns with our mission, innovation and impact. There’s no better way right now to innovate than to truly leverage the data that companies have to use AI to help them grow and drive efficiencies.
Can you tell me a little bit more about the company’s broader initiatives? I know your company name is part of that.
The company is called MAS because I wanted it to be more than just a business. We started a foundation called MAS Future to create more stories like mine. We’ve been training people on data, AI and software engineering for free. The same scholarship I received, which we have now created in our company, will sponsor 100% of tuition for software engineering students. We also support foundations in the U.S. to encourage more Latinos to take part in computer science degrees.
Last month, in Colombia, our experts on data and AI trained about 1,000 students in low-income neighborhoods. The idea that there’s an option in entrepreneurship or technology can truly change someone’s future, and that’s why I’ve been a lot more vocal about sharing my story. To say we are one of the top 500 Latino-owned companies in the U.S. matters. It really does represent what women and Latinos can truly offer.
The pandemic occurred about halfway through your company’s lifetime. Did it shift anything?
Covid actually had a really positive impact on our company and was our best year. We grew over 30% in business. Some companies [before the pandemic] in the U.S. were very fixed on the idea that they needed software engineering, cloud data and in-house talent right next to them. But the pandemic forced them to open their mind to outsourcing to Latin America because now everybody’s working remotely anyway, and It’s about half the cost of the U.S. with a vast talent pool and in the same time zone. I’m happy to share that we have multiple Fortune 500 companies in our portfolio stemming from that growth.
You talked about how technology and innovation enable business growth. Going into 2025, AI seems to be at the core of MAS’s offerings. What is your vision for the new year?
We definitely want to be the go-to partner for helping companies with their data and AI initiatives. We’re well positioned to help companies build those custom AI native solutions, especially in the industry that we specialize in; with finance and manufacturing, especially finance, I see a lot of potential. Our clients are very interested in how we can help with investments, asset management, and overall financial services. Our goal is to be the go-to partner for our clients in the U.S., especially because every business is a technology business in today’s digital economy. And I will say that every business will be a data and AI-driven business in the future.
How do you advise your clients to be proactive and not just reactive with AI?
I advise my clients and companies to have an AI strategy and get on AI policies. Otherwise, you might be at risk because information might be out there, and you need to protect your data. I also believe AI agents are going to be embedded in every process. They’re not only automated but also drive some intelligence in organizations. We’re living through the era of insights, which creates opportunities. More importantly, we need to know how we help companies use AI agents to automate internet processes. How do we help them drive value from their own data? There are use cases all across industries, from preventing fraud to more personalized customer service to self-marketing and generating content market research. It’s a very exciting time for MAS Global on this subject.
How have you seen the Tampa Bay region evolve, and what excites you about remaining headquartered here?
When I got here 10 years ago, technology was not really significant. I mainly wanted to be close to Latin America, where our teams are, but now, seeing more people moving from California and New York is promising. Some of our clients have thousands of [their] people in technology centers here and I see more clients excited about what Tampa and Florida as a state have to offer. We’ve been growing our team here as well. It’s exciting for [regional] companies to know that they don’t have to go too far to benefit from our services, that we’re right here at home and that we’re ready to help.
Up close
- Education: The Universidad EAFIT: bachelor in software engineering; The University of Texas at Arlington: master’s in computer science and engineering
- Lives: Oldsmar
- Mission: “We want to help companies think of innovative ways to grow their efficiencies and use technology to help them achieve their strategy, but in a way where we can impact more women and Latinos like me.”
- Reading: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t by Jim C. Collins
- Watching: “What’s Next? The Future with Bill Gates” on Netflix
- Listening to: MASImpact with Monica Hernandez (shameless plug)
- Go to for dinner: Amarit Thai Restaurant (Palm Harbor), Casa Cami (Rocky Point)
- Unwinding with the family: Paddleboarding, kayaking, watching sunsets