Xavier Hernandez

Xavier is a global executive consultant who integrates over 25 years of experience into his work, which includes senior-level executive assessment, leadership and organization development, talent management, executive coaching, and team effectiveness. He facilitates the development of individuals, teams, and organizations by utilizing assessment, evaluation, measurement, and data to initiate breakthrough thinking. In all areas of engagement, clients appreciate his bottom-line analyses, discerning insights, and ability to translate key concepts into meaningful, sustainable business outcomes.  

about

Xavier uses a systems approach to reflect the power, players, and politics inherent in navigating a leader’s reality. He integrates stakeholder feedback with real work experiences to guide leaders through self-awareness and goal setting toward exceptional results. His genuine interest in helping leaders reach their desired outcomes creates a learning environment that engenders trust and is safe to take risks needed for long term change. With a balance of support and challenge, he meets development areas with creative solutions and highlights strengths essential for sustainable impact.

Xavier honed his craft first in training and development within financial and customer service-oriented positions. Later he shaped his skills working in behavioral health settings. He found his sweet spot integrating the foundations of psychology within business contexts to facilitate learning and transformational growth while in organization development firms.

Native to Southern California, Xavier enjoys attending music, film, theatre, and sports events with family and friends. He currently resides in San Diego with his wife where they enjoy outdoor activities and traveling adventures with their three daughters and dog, Wookiee.

CLIENT ENGAGEMENTS INCLUDE

Biopharmaceutical, Biotechnology, Bio- & Life-science, Entertainment & Media, Financial & Investment, Government, Healthcare, Hospitality, Internet & Cloud, Legal, Private Equity, Specialty Retail, Technology/High-tech, and Telecommunications.

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND
  • Dual Doctorate, Clinical and Industrial/Organizational Psychology, California School of Professional Psychology and the Marshall Goldsmith School of Management, Alliant International University, San Diego
  • Masters, Psychology, Alliant International University
ASSOCIATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS
  • American Psychological Association
  • Society for Consulting Society
  • Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology
  • Organization Development Network
  • Association for Talent Development
  • Board Certified Coach, Center for Credentialing and Education
  • Strengths Coach and StandOut, The Marcus Buckingham Company
  • Multi-rater assessments: Voices 360, OSI Polaris 360, Hogan HIPO 360
  • Emotional Intelligence assessments: MSCEIT, Hogan EQ, EQi
  • Personality/Work Style assessments: Hogan, Workplace Big5, Enneagram, FIRO-B, MBTI, DiSC, CPI, TKI
WHAT PEOPLE HAVE SAID ABOUT neil

Neil's work with individuals, teams and our organization has had and continues to add tremendous value and real impact. He listens and understands, has a keen and nuanced sense of people, issues and solutions. Like the warm and caring person he is, he is able and willing to adapt himself to the diverse needs of clients, drawing on a deep reservoir of techniques, with practical and actionable steps that raise the quality of outcomes. His time with us has consistently provided essential support to each of us individually and collectively to help move us forward together toward becoming a fitter, healthier and higher functioning team. Having experienced many such engagements, his comparative and absolute value is beyond compare. Worth every dime and minute of investment, I will and have recommended him to others without reservation.

M.S., Chief Operating Officer, Financial Services

Neil has been an amazing partner. In every project - from facilitating teams to designing a framework for creative talent to executive assessment - he has brought deep expertise and a collaborative way of working that engages the team. It's coaching at the core and he does it masterfully, enabling us to create work that is more widely adopted and tailored to our organizational needs.

Kate B, now VP, Culture and Engagement, S&P Global

Neil changed my life. He guided me to ways to grow I didn’t think were possible. I’ve worked with Neil in individual and group settings and my time spent with him is always incredibly valuable. He helped me expand outside of my comfort zone, but also come to my own conclusions on how to grow. He asked the tough questions, but always with an underlying sense of understanding and care. I’ve been to countless leadership and team building seminars, but the work I did with Neil is far more valuable. He gives deep, tailored, actionable insights. As a direct response to my work with Neil I feel more authentic as a leader, my work has more meaning, my team is more engaged, and I am happier.

Frank Amorese, Marketing Executive, Alcoholic Beverage Industry

I have worked with Neil on several highly visible and high stakes projects in the leadership development and executive team effectiveness areas. Neil has a complete focus on the client. He listens incredibly well and provides candid and direct feedback but does so with empathy and a solution focus. Neil is also amazingly insightful, whether it is assessing an individual’s leadership potential, diagnosing the root causes of ineffective team behaviors, or helping a coaching client reframe an issue for productive action. With other leadership development consultants it is not uncommon to have predictable or tried and true solutions played back to you. With Neil I have experienced unique insight and novel ideas that are suited to the organization’s context. Most of all Neil is a pleasure to work with. He is a dedicated professional who models the leadership behaviors that he seeks to help others develop and a valued asset who works seamlessly with our team.

L.S., SVP Talent Management, Finance Sector

Neil and I have worked together on a number of organizational and talent-related projects, including coaching, leadership development strategy, executive assessment for culture ‘fit’, and team engagement facilitation. Neil is a fantastic thought partner, coach and facilitator who brings business acumen, a razor-sharp intellect, a keen curiosity, and a high degree of integrity to all of his engagements – this coupled with his rich global experience. A wonderful listener, he always takes the time to get below the surface and tune in to what’s really important. He is never afraid to challenge and is skilled in helping clients see things from different perspectives and think creatively about the optimal solution. It’s always a privilege to partner with Neil, and I would not hesitate to recommend him for consultancy work in the Talent, Leadership and Organizational Development / Organizational Strategy space.

J.T. VP, Global Talent, Estee Lauder Companies

The breadth and depth of Neil's executive coaching capabilities far exceeded my expectations of our engagement. Throughout, Neil was practiced and effective at adapting to changing professional situations. Neil's approach was highly focused, highly personalized, and architected to drive both learning and unlearning of skills and behaviors that shaped my leadership style and career path. He provided valuable, relevant frameworks to employ in today's dynamic workplace, as well as trends and insights on modern leadership that were fresh, innovative, and incredibly relevant. Neil's warm and genuine manner was ever present and his guidance was incredibly bespoke and thus easy to apply. Working with Neil was a journey and lesson in shaping and building my leadership brand as much as it was about real, personal growth. It was my privilege to work with Neil and I welcome doing so again in the future.

Khartoon Weiss, now Head of Global Agency and Accounts, Tik Tok