Maria Fernandez is Vice President and Head of Ethics and Compliance North America, Direct Energy. Direct Energy is the North American brand under Centrica, a U.K. company. Maria supports the North America business and ensures that its lines of business, Home and Business, are operating in accordance with the standards developed by Centrica, its customers and the regulators and Centrica's commitment to best practice across the regulatory landscape within North America and the global enterprise.

Direct Energy (DE) is one of North America’s largest energy and energy-related service providers, with more than 5 million residential and commercial customer relationships. With more than 6,000 employees, and $20 billion in annual revenue, DE provides customers with choice and support in managing their energy costs through a portfolio of innovative products and services, including electricity, natural gas and home services in all of North America.

Previously, I provided legal support to IBM's Power System global organization and IBM's OpenPOWER initiative and maned all legal aspects associated with these organization. I held various leadership roles at IBM both as a lawyer negotiating technology licenses and joint development alliance agreements for IBM's Global Systems Technology Group and supporting all legal aspects associated with the IBM Microelectronics Divisions and as a compliance officer supporting all aspects of IBM's compliance program. In my various roles at IBM, I have developed expertise in contract, human resources, FCPA and anti-corruption (including responsibility for the Global Compliance Program), investigations, Sarbanes Oxley and accounting issues. With my 7 years experience in the Latin American region, I have specialization in Latin America legal issues.