Hernán Somerville Senn has a law degree at the Universidad de Chile School of Law in Santiago since 1966. He studied a Magister in Comparative Law (1967) in New York University. He is currently Director of Enel Américas.
He began his work experience at the Law Office of Mr. Helmut Brunner from 1959 to 1965. Taking advantage of the opportunity to study in the United States, he began working at the Law Firm of Dewey, Ballantine, Bushby, Palmer & Wood of New York (1966 - 1967). From 1968 to 1982, he held various positions at Adela Investment Co. S.A., Lima, Caracas and Santiago. He started as an attorney and later became an executive responsible for loans and investments with ADELA problems in Paraguay, Bolivia, Venezuela and the Caribbean.
In June 1983 he was hired by the Central Bank of Chile as an Advisor in the Process of Renegotiation of the External Debt of Chile and, in November 1, 1983, he assumes the Coordinating Director of the external debt of the Banco Central of Chile, in charge of all negotiations with the international commercial bank (500 creditor banks approx.), the Paris Club (7 creditor countries) until the year 1988. From 1989, he became Director and partner of FINTEC LTDA., an investment management company created in 1988 based in Santiago. He was also President of the Transantiago Financial Manager and Director of Inacap.
Mr. Somerville has published the book "Negotiating in Difficult Times" in 1990, where he describe the experience of the Chilean Foreign Debt negotiation, and he is a member of the Chilean Bar Association, Interamerican Bar Association of the Bar of the City of New York.
He was President of the Association of Banks between the years 1992-2010. He also presided over the Latin American Federation of Banks (FELABAN) between 1994 and 1995 and president of the Confederation of Production and Commerce (CPC).
He was also a member of the APEC Business Council between 2000-2010.
At the same time, he was president of the Chilean Foundation of the Pacific between the same years and president of the Chilean Business Committee Peruvian between the years 2004-2010.
The year 2010 was designated by President Bachelet as General Commissioner of the pavilion of Chile in the Universal Exhibition Shanghai 2010.