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Hernan J.F. Saenz, III

Hernan J.F. Saenz, III

  • Visiting Senior Lecturer

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Faculty Area

Faculty Expertise

  • Strategy
  • Consulting
  • Organizational Behavior

Contact

Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management

hs39@cornell.edu

Biography

Hernan Saenz is a senior partner at Bain & Co. in Dallas and global head of the firm’s Strategy & Transformation practice. He has spent more than 27 years at Bain, living and working across Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North and Latin America. He previously served two terms on Bain’s board of directors and is a board member of ABB Optical.

From 2017 to 2025, Saenz led Bain’s Performance Improvement practice, overseeing the transformation and digitization of its product and client services portfolio. Under his leadership, the practice more than tripled in size to become Bain’s largest capability. From 2008 to 2016, he was managing partner of the firm’s Dallas, Houston and Mexico offices, during which time the Southwest region more than doubled and expanded into new markets and sectors.

Saenz’s client work focuses on corporate transformations, operational turnarounds and large-scale change efforts across strategy, growth, operations and technology. Over his career, he has completed more than 200 assignments spanning industries including industrial products, consumer goods, health care, education and network-driven businesses.

He has authored more than 40 articles published in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Financial Times and World Economic Forum publications. A delegate and adviser to the World Economic Forum, Saenz is leading a global initiative on designing digital and circular business models for sustainable growth and resilience.

Saenz is a visiting senior lecturer at Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, where he teaches business strategy. He holds an MBA and a master’s degree from Cornell, a master’s degree in economics from Stanford University, and a bachelor’s degree in economics, magna cum laude, from Harvard College. He is a trustee of Cornell University and a member of the leadership council at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business.

Selected Publications

Recent Courses

  • NBA 5790 - Applied Principles of Business Strategy

Academic Degrees

  • MILR Cornell University, 1998
  • MBA Cornell University, 1998
  • MA Stanford University, 1994
  • BA Harvard University, 1993