# Héctor Cárdenas

> Héctor Cárdenas is the Mexico City-based CEO and cofounder of Conekta. An engineer educated at the University of Waterloo, he returned to Mexico in 2011 and built the company with Cristina Randall and Leo Fischer after early experiments in business discovery and online storefronts. His work centers on payment infrastructure suited to Mexican merchants and customers, including the OXXO Pay partnership and subsequent emphasis on payment processing and fraud prevention.

- **Role:** CEO & Co-Founder at Conekta
- **Organizations:** Conekta, Endeavor, Asociación de Agregadores de Medios de Pago (ASAMEP; past leadership)
- **Nationality:** Mexican
- **Education:** Undergraduate degree in Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, Endeavor - Scaling Entrepreneurial Ventures (executive program), Harvard Business School, Endeavor Innovation & Growth Program (executive program), Stanford Graduate School of Business
- **Known for:** Cofounded Conekta with Cristina Randall and Leo Fischer., Helped build a payment platform integrating cards, cash and bank transfers for Mexican merchants., Developed the FEMSA/OXXO relationship behind OXXO Pay.

## Career timeline

- **2006–2011** — Studied mechatronics engineering at the University of Waterloo in Canada.
- **2010** — Met future cofounders Cristina Randall and Leo Fischer at Waterloo.
- **2011** — Returned to Mexico on September 28; began the entrepreneurial venture that became Conekta, initially a business directory.
- **2012** — Moved through online storefront software and toward payment infrastructure.
- **2013** — Cárdenas dates Conekta’s first processed payment to February 2013 in his LAVCA interview.
- **2016** — Conekta raised a US$6.6 million Series A involving FEMSA Comercio, VARIV Capital, Jaguar Ventures and Conconi Growth Partners.
- **2018** — Recognized as an Endeavor Entrepreneur.
- **2019** — Completed the Endeavor Scaling Entrepreneurial Ventures program at Harvard Business School.
- **2022** — Completed the Endeavor Innovation & Growth Program at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
- **2023** — Shared Mexico market-entry practices with twenty-five entrepreneurs at Endeavor Argentina.
- **2024** — Announced Conekta’s independent strategy alongside the agreement to sell OXXO Pay-enabling assets to Digital@FEMSA.
- **2025** — Announced participation in a FinTech México Festival payment-infrastructure panel with Jose V. Gedeon of Cobre.
- **2026** — Conekta announced CNBV authorization as a direct non-bank acquirer in September; Cárdenas spoke about merchant inclusion and fraud cooperation at Mexico Digital Summit in October.

## Achievements

- Cofounded Conekta with Cristina Randall and Leo Fischer.
- Helped build a payment platform integrating cards, cash and bank transfers for Mexican merchants.
- Developed the FEMSA/OXXO relationship behind OXXO Pay.
- Recognized as an Endeavor Entrepreneur in 2018.
- Led Conekta during its September 2026 announcement of direct non-bank acquiring authorization.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — DPL News reported October 6 remarks at Mexico Digital Summit advocating cooperation against fraud and describing an ambition to eliminate merchant chargebacks.
- **2026-09** — Conekta announced CNBV authorization to operate as a direct non-bank acquirer; its announcement reported more than 428 million cumulative transactions, over US$15 billion processed and more than 8,000 merchants.
- **2026-08** — Participated in a Fintech Summit Americas and Token Americas panel on trust infrastructure, fraud, identity and compliance, reported August 15 by Frecuencia Money.
- **2025-02** — Announced a FinTech México Festival 2025 panel on payment infrastructure with Jose V. Gedeon of Cobre.
- **2024-04** — Conekta and Digital@FEMSA announced an agreement for the sale of assets enabling OXXO Pay; Cárdenas outlined Conekta’s continued independent strategy.

## Links

- Website: https://www.conekta.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cardenashector/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/hectorcardenas

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/hector-cardenas
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-07