Fernando Benitez

Operations and project management professional with 20+ years of experience coordinating complex operations, teams, projects, processes, and stakeholders in high-accountability and regulated environments. Proven record in process improvement, project execution, financial management, governance, compliance, documentation, problem-solving, and cross-functional coordination.

Former

President & CEO and Police Captain with extensive hands-on experience managing priorities, deadlines, resources, operational workflows, and organizational initiatives. Organized, adaptable, and comfortable supporting both strategic and day-to-day operational execution.

Vice Mayor at City of Santa Fe do Sul (2021-01 – Present)

• Contribute to executive-level discussions, strategic initiatives, institutional governance, and coordination across municipal government and community stakeholders.
• Support institutional relationships, cross-functional coordination, and problem-solving involving public institutions, government officials, and community stakeholders.

President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at FUNEC - Municipal Foundation for Education and Culture (2021-01 – 2026-08)

• Led operations of a public higher-education institution with approximately 400 employees, three campuses, and an annual budget of approximately BRL 60M, overseeing finance, HR, procurement, contracts, infrastructure, academic administration, and cross-functional initiatives.
• Led a financial turnaround from approximately BRL 200K negative cash to BRL 6.1M positive cash while addressing inherited obligations and maintaining current financial commitments.
• Increased total student enrollment by approximately 27% during the tenure while maintaining annual tuition adjustments in a highly competitive education market.
• Established and strengthened operational controls covering campus access, student attendance, new-course financial feasibility, and monthly contract monitoring against budget, delivery, and organizational needs.
• Coordinated recurring workflows and projects through department directors, with defined responsibilities, deadlines, follow-up routines, and executive decision-making across procurement, HR, finance, contracts, and academic operations.
• Led administrative and academic reforms and new institutional programs; reduced commissioned positions from 50 to 23 and oversaw BRL 9.1M+ in infrastructure and equipment investments.

Police Captain at Sao Paulo State Military Police (2000-02 – 2020-12)

• Served for more than 20 years as an Officer, progressing through leadership roles to Captain in a highly regulated public-safety organization.
• Led approximately 100 officers across 10 cities, coordinating personnel, logistics, facilities, fleet, equipment, resources, and operational priorities.
• Managed administrative investigations, institutional relations, conflict resolution, crisis response, and complex multi-site operations requiring disciplined execution and accountability.

Postgraduate Specialization in Financial Education & Behavioral Economics – Federal University of Itajuba (UNIFEI) (2025 – 2026)

Executive Education in Corporate Compliance & Governance – Insper (2020 – 2020)

Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) in Laws – Universidade Bandeirante (2004 – 2004)

Officer Training Program – Academia de Policia Militar do Barro Branco (2000 – 2003)