# Henry Fernandez

> Henry A. Fernandez is the New York-based chairman and CEO of MSCI. He began heading the MSCI business in 1996, became CEO in 1998 and chairman in 2007, and led its development into an independent provider of indexes, investment analytics, and sustainability and climate information. Born in Mexico City and raised in Nicaragua, he studied at Georgetown, Princeton and Stanford before a career spanning diplomacy, Morgan Stanley and private equity ventures.

- **Role:** Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at MSCI Inc.
- **Organizations:** MSCI Inc., Morgan Stanley, Ferco Partners, Inc., HispaniMedia, Inc., Nicaraguan Embassy in Washington, D.C., Stanford University, Foreign Policy Association, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, KAUST Investment Management Company
- **From:** Mexico City, Mexico
- **Education:** BA in Economics, Georgetown University, Doctoral studies in Economics; no completed doctorate claimed, Princeton University, MBA, Stanford Graduate School of Business
- **Known for:** Led MSCI through its 2007 IPO and 2009 independence from Morgan Stanley., Oversaw expansion through acquisitions including Barra and RiskMetrics., Named to Barron’s World’s Best CEOs list in 2019 and 2021.

## Career timeline

- **1976-1979** — Served as a diplomat at the Nicaraguan Embassy in Washington while attending Georgetown.
- **1983-1991** — First period at Morgan Stanley.
- **Early 1990s** — Founded Ferco Partners and served as president of HispaniMedia.
- **1994** — Returned to Morgan Stanley.
- **1996** — Began heading the MSCI business.
- **1998** — Became MSCI CEO.
- **2004** — MSCI acquired Barra.
- **2007** — MSCI completed its IPO; Fernandez became chairman.
- **2009** — MSCI completed formal separation from Morgan Stanley.
- **2010** — MSCI acquired RiskMetrics.
- **2013** — Received Stanford GSB Excellence in Leadership Award.
- **2016** — Joined Stanford University Board of Trustees.
- **2023** — Delivered Stanford GSB commencement address.
- **2025** — Named to TIME100 Climate list.

## Achievements

- Led MSCI through its 2007 IPO and 2009 independence from Morgan Stanley.
- Oversaw expansion through acquisitions including Barra and RiskMetrics.
- Named to Barron’s World’s Best CEOs list in 2019 and 2021.
- Received Stanford GSB’s 2013 Excellence in Leadership Award.
- Named to the 2025 TIME100 Climate list.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — MSCI completed its acquisition of First Street on August 3, adding physics-based climate-risk data and analytics.
- **2026-07** — MSCI and UBS announced a private-markets platform partnership on July 9.
- **2026-07** — Published the LinkedIn article An Immigrant’s Gratitude for America at 250 on July 29.
- **2025-10** — Included in TIME100 Climate 2025, published October 30.

## Links

- Website: https://www.msci.com/discover-msci/our-leadership/henry-a-fernandez
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/henryafernandez
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/MSCI_Inc

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/henry-fernandez
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-24