Chicago, Illinois, United States
Fernando Soto is a Managing Director at Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH) - Head of Chicago. He brings a client-first mentality in leading a team of more than 30 professionals who advise private business owners, family offices, endowments, foundations and financial institutions on complex matters related to investing, corporate advisory, strategic projects, operations, wealth planning and family business governance. Him and his team oversee more than $8 billion in assets, offering the strength of their deep and collective knowledge to advise clients on private and public investments, fixed income management, corporate advisory, and complex estate and charitable planning. Fernando sits on BBH’s Private Banking Sustainability Committee as well as the Diversity & Inclusion Council. Fernando is a frequent contributor to media, appearing frequently in the pages of The Wall Street Journal, as well as on Morningstar and Bloomberg. Outside of BBH, Fernando serves as a Board Member of Duke University Innovation & Entrepreneurship (I&E) Department, where he supports, mentors, and advices the next generation of Duke entrepreneurs; President of Help Peru, a New York-based charity that supports charitable organizations that help underprivileged Peruvians; The International Foundation (TIF), a Foundation that supports thousands of US-based 501 (c)3 organizations around the world; and American Friends of Waterford, a foundation that supports educational initiatives in Southern Africa. He received his B.A. from Syracuse University and an MBA from Duke University, Fuqua School of Business. Fernando was named 2021 American Bankers Association (ABA) 40 under 40 at age 31, and 2025 Crain’s Chicago 40 under 40 at age 35.
Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship’s Board of Advisors supports and extends our work via their advice, student engagement, mentorship, and philanthropic investment. The board is made up of diverse representatives from many different backgrounds; they all share a passion for innovation and entrepreneurship and a love for Duke.
The International Foundation was created in 1948. Like other early foundations, our purpose was “to promote, foster, encourage and further non-profit, non-sectarian and non-political educational, medical, philanthropic, humanitarian, scientific and literary enterprises of all kinds.” In its many years of grant making, the International Foundation has worked with thousands of US-based 501(c)3 organizations to bring knowledge, resources and compassion to individuals and communities around the world. Our strategic mission has evolved in concert with the exponential growth in the United States non-profit sector and rapid evolution of the discipline of international development.
Help Peru was founded in 2013 with the objective of supporting best-in-class charities helping vulnerable communities in Peru. Our foundation is committed to improve the access of Peruvians to education, healthcare, water and sanitation. We aspire to promote a culture of philanthropy among Peruvians, and we seek to maximize the impact of our donations
Founded in 1963 in Mbabane, Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa (WK UWCSA) was the first multiracial school in Southern Africa. Waterford played a significant role in the struggle for racial equality in the Southern Africa region, educating the children of Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Desmond Tutu, Nobel prize-winning novelist Nadine Gordimer, the first President of Botswana Sir Seretse Khama, and the revolutionary leaders of Mozambique Samora Machel and Eduardo Mondlane. In a post-Apartheid era, Waterford has sustained its early vision to educate exceptional students regardless of race, religion or financial background. The school continues to nurture Africa’s future political, business, and civic leaders. Today the school has over 600 students representing 60 nationalities, taught by staff from 18 different countries. The American Friends of Waterford Foundation is the U.S. funding arm of Waterford Kamhlaba.