Fernandez entered the private equity industry in 2001 when she joined Ethos Private Equity. She later became the CEO of Sanlam Private Equity. She served on the board of SAVCA and served as the chairperson of SAVCA. In 2006, Fernandez was awarded the top private equity deal maker and in 2009 she was awarded Sanlam CEO’s award for her deal-making capabilities. In 2012 she became the managing director of Sanlam Investment Management. She retired from Sanlam in 2016.

She currently serves on the Board of Group Five Limited and Sphere Holdings. She is a member of the Investment Committee of private equity fund of funds of 27Four.