Our Team

General Outline

Susana Sierra is a Chilean businesswoman and entrepreneur, recognized in the compliance industry for her work and professional experience in integrity, anti-corruption, transparency, development of organizational culture, and implementation and the promotion of good practices within companies.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) recognized her as a Young Global Leader (YGL) in 2020.

Professional Career

She graduated with a bachelor’s degree as a Commercial Engineer from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, where she also obtained her Master’s in Business Administration (MBA).

She is a partner and CEO of BH Compliance. This company measures the effectiveness of existing corporate governance programs, allowing global companies to evaluate the efficacy of their good practices and identify gaps that can lead to white-collar crime and corruption. The platform also measures governance [G] policies to strengthen a company’s ESG criteria.

In 2020, Ms. Sierra was recognized by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as a Young Global Leader (YGL), which aims to strengthen the leadership skills of influential professionals to advance a global sustainable future.

Between 2016 and 2022, she was a board member of the Chilean chapter of Transparency International, Chile Transparente, serving as President between 2020 and 2022; she was also Co-Chair of a high-level commission responsible for defining Transparency International’s strategy for 2030.

She also has experience in the field of entrepreneurship. She founded the Independizate Foundation, a civil society organization that aims to provide methodological support to entrepreneurs in various fields, mostly professionals who have decided to work for themselves and require support in their business models in a competitive environment and demanding market.

Ms. Sierra sits on the boards of the Chilean-North American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham Chile) and the Financial & International Business Association (FIBA) in Miami. She is also a member of the Forbes Business Council.

Ms. Sierra’s influence extends globally, as seen in her engagements as a speaker at prestigious events such as the #RISK London 2023, Nexus 2023, the Cities Summit of the Americas 2023, and the IX Summit of the Americas, among others.

Ms. Sierra’s impact is acknowledged at national and international levels. She was recently recognized as CEO of the Year by The Women in Governance, Risk & Compliance, as well as the “Female Entrepreneur of the Year” Award by TITAN Awards Women in Business. Her outstanding leadership has been acknowledged three times with the “100 Mujeres Líderes” award in Chile. Furthermore, she received the “Hispanic Leadership Award” in the Business Award category from the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Miami, and in 2018, Ms. Sierra was honored with the “Women Who Make a Difference” award by the International Women Forum in the United States.

In the academic world, from 2014 to 2020, she was co-director of the Compliance and Corporate Best Practices Diploma at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (PUC). In addition, she is a professor of the MBA UC and other universities worldwide.

She regularly participates in seminars, congresses, and talks related to the topic of compliance, organizational culture, and good practices within companies, both in Chile and abroad. She is also a regular columnist in Voces de La Tercera and El Mostrador in Chile, and in Forbes and Daily Business Review, through which she disseminates her opinion on current issues related to corruption and organizational culture.

She is currently based in Miami, where BH Compliance works with transnational companies with subsidiaries in Latin America.

Education

Babson WIN Growth Lab Venture Accelerator, Miami, FL 2021
Certificate in Business Excellence, Columbia University in the City of New York, NY 2021
MBA-UC from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC), Chile 2009
Commercial Engineer, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC), Chile 2004

Publications

She is co-author with Tamara Agnic of the book “Corrupción a la Carta, las malas prácticas sobre la mesa” published in 2017, which describes bad practices in everyday business with more than thirty interviewees, including former presidents Eduardo Frei, Ricardo Lagos, Michelle Bachelet and Sebastián Piñera.

Awards

“Female Entrepreneur of the Year” 2023 award at the TITAN Women In Business Awards.
“CEO of the Year” 2023, awarded by Women in Governance, Risk and Compliance in London, UK.
“100 Women Leaders 2022”, awarded by El Mercurio and Mujeres Empresarias.
“Hispanic Leadership Award” 2022 in the Business Award category by the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Miami.
“Young Global Leader 2020” by the World Economic Forum.
“Women in Compliance Awards 2018”, award given by C5, which highlights women who have contributed to raising the role of Compliance departments in the world. C5 is an organization that works on business intelligence issues, integrated by The Canadian Institute, American Conference Institute and C5 Europe.
“Women who make a Difference” in 2018, awarded by the International Women Forum in the United States, category “Woman who make a Difference”.
“25 Influential Young Professionals 2017”, recognition given by Diario Financiero that recognizes the achievements, projection, and influence of professionals under 35.
“Young Leaders 2016”, an initiative of Revista Sábado de El Mercurio and the Leadership Department of the Adolfo Ibáñez University Business School, which brings together, supports, and projects the work of women who have stood out in various fields, provoking changes in their environment and making a difference to make Chile a better country.
“Young Entrepreneur 2015”, awarded by Mujeres Empresarias, thanks to her work in the dissemination and establishment of good practice models in companies.
“100 Women Leaders 2015”, by El Mercurio and Mujeres Empresarias.

Relevant Positions

Director of AmCham Chile from 2021 to present.
Director of FIBA from February 2023 to present.
President of Chile Transparente, the Chilean chapter of Transparency International, from 2020 to 2022.
Treasurer of Chile Transparente since 2016.
President of Correos de Chile S.A. from 2018 to 2022.
Founder of Fundación Independízate in 2011.