Mike Fernandez is a business executive who has led communications, marketing, government relations and sustainability for a number of large companies (US WEST (now CenturyLink), Cigna, Conagra Brands, State Farm, Cargill and Enbridge).
[2] Fernandez started his career working as press secretary for Senator Ernest Hollings when he was 23 years old and later served as communications executive in various positions at State Farm, ConAgra and Cigna.
[3][13] In January 2019, Fernandez and former GE chief communications officer Gary Sheffer launched The Crux of the Story podcast available on iTunes, SoundCloud and Spotify.
Among the most listened to communications podcasts in North America its guests have included documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney, Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Matt Murray, political strategist Steve Schmidt, Fortune Media Group CEO (which includes Fortune magazine) Alan Murray, former Reagan and Obama White House photographer Pete Souza, business school professor and author of INCLUSIFY Dr. Stephanie K. Johnson, and many others - from authors to journalists, marketers and chief communications officers.
[24][25] Fernandez is also the first recipient of the Hispanic Public Relations Association's Pioneer Award, and was honored in the PRWeek's PR Hall of Fame.