Charles M. Fernandez (born February 8, 1962) is executive chairman and chief executive officer of NextPlat, an e-commerce platform company.

Early life and education

Fernandez, was raised in

Elmhurst, Queens Elmhurst (formerly Newtown) is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. It is bounded by Roosevelt Avenue on the north; the Long Island Expressway on the south; Junction Boulevard on the east; and the New York Connecting R ...

. He is the son of Cuban immigrants. His father, Carlos, was an engineer for

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

. Fernandez moved to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

in 1979. He attended

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florid ...

and graduated with a bachelor's degree in finance and international business.

Career

Fernandez began his career in the radio business. He served as President of Viva America Media Group which owned newspaper, Mi Casa, along with Radio Mambi and Radio Ritmo in Miami, Fl. Viva was acquired by Heftel Broadcasting in 1989, and Fernandez became COO. They received the Marconi Radio Award by the National Association of Broadcasters. In 1995, Fernandez moved into the Healthcare sector and co-founded Continucare, an outpatient service management company, with Phillip Frost. In 1997,

George Soros George Soros ( name written in eastern order), (born György Schwartz, August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. , he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated mo ...

, became the largest shareholder of Continucare owning 19.5% via the

Soros Fund Soros Fund Management, LLC is a private American investment management firm. It is currently structured as a family office, but formerly as a hedge fund. The firm was founded in 1970 by George Soros and, in 2010, was reported to be one of the mos ...

. In 1999, Fernandez returned to media. He became president and CEO of Big City Radio after its acquisition of Hispanic Media Holdings, a Spanish language online service provider founded by Fernandez and business partner Phillip Frost. Fernandez also served in various positions within IVAX, a generic drugmaker, founded by Frost, including Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors He became president and co-manager of the Fairholme Fund in 2008. In 2010, it was announced that Fernandez had joined the Board of Directors of the St. Joe Company along with former Florida Governor Charlie Crist and Carnival Corp. COO Howard Frank. That same year, Fortune Magazine called Fernandez, “a restructuring whiz”. He accumulated $1.8 billion General Growth Property bonds and alongside Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square and

Brookfield Asset Management Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is a Canadian multinational company that is one of the world's largest alternative investment management companies, with over US$725 billion of assets under management in 2022. It focuses on direct contro ...

they recapitalized GGP’s stock. In 2012, he left the Fairholme Fund to launch his own, Barnstar Opportunities Fund. In 2016, Fernandez became chairman and CEO of eApeiron Solutions, an e-commerce company utilizing

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

anti-counterfeiting technology and an investment from Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba to combat knock-offs and promote brand integrity. In 2019, eApeiron was acquired by Smartrac, a unit of Avery Dennision Corporation with Fernandez serving on Smartrac's supervisory board of Directors.

Personal life

Fernandez lives in

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Coral Gables is known globally as home to the ...

with his wife Lauren Sturges-Fernandez.

References

External links

NextPlat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez, Charlie Living people 1962 births American chief executives American people of Cuban descent