Susana Sierra, CEO, BH Compliance

In an interview with Invest:, Susana Sierra, CEO of Governance and Compliance Firm BH Compliance, discussed key achievements such as launching the G-Metrix tool for measuring corporate governance, expanding into the United States., the evolution of compliance in Latin America, and addressing cybersecurity risks.

What have been the key achievements of BH Compliance over the last year?

Our most significant achievement has been the launch of G-Metrix, our new corporate governance index for large companies. Through G-Metrix we evaluate the quality of a company’s governance practices, helping organizations identify strengths and areas for improvement to align with international standards. Expanding G-Metrix to the United States has been a strategic goal, and we’re making strong progress toward that.

Additionally, we have enhanced our solutions by incorporating more technology into our tools. One good example is our product Comply Pulse, which monitors the effectiveness of compliance programs, particularly in anti-corruption and anti-money laundering efforts. We incorporated blockchain to ensure data integrity and strengthen the reliability of the evidence gathered. 

Expanding our services and working with more companies while integrating advanced technology has been a major achievement for us over the past year.

How has BH Compliance evolved its services to address the growing complexities in corporate governance and compliance across different industries?

In corporate governance, we observed that while companies often discuss sustainability (ESG), they rarely measure governance because it’s hard to visualize. Our goal was to change this and make governance more visible for large companies. By adapting global standards and best international practices, we created an index with over 60 indicators across five key areas: board effectiveness, compensation and remuneration, risk and crisis management, stakeholder relationships, and ethics and transparency. This index gives companies a clear picture of their governance practices and a roadmap for improvement, helping them communicate progress effectively and strengthen their reputation.

At the same time, new regulations, especially in Latin America, are now focusing on corporate criminal liability. While the U.S. has well-established compliance practices, compliance frameworks are still maturing in Latin America. Many companies have compliance programs, but what’s on paper often isn’t followed. This is particularly evident for multinationals who must ensure consistent alignment across subsidiaries, as strong policies at headquarters don’t always extend to every location. We bridge this gap by monitoring whether policies are genuinely practiced. 

What trends are you observing in the compliance and corporate governance space, especially in light of increasing regulatory pressures?

In compliance, regulations have been increasing as countries seek to improve or join the OECD, often in response to scandals. As a result, the pressure on companies, especially multinationals, to comply has intensified.

In corporate governance, there’s a growing focus on ESG indicators, though the United States and Europe approach it differently. Governance is more rigorously enforced in Europe, while in the United States, it’s still evolving. Investors, particularly large firms, are paying more attention, but many struggle to properly measure governance, often just ticking boxes without ensuring structures are in place.

With economic crises and volatile environments, governance has become critical, especially for companies investing across countries. A key future challenge will be ensuring companies demonstrate real governance practices and avoid issues like greenwashing, as compliance claims can be misleading without a solid foundation.

What are the key compliance risks you’ve identified for businesses operating in today’s volatile economic environment?

Corruption is the biggest risk today, particularly bribery, especially in emerging markets. During crises, businesses feel pressured to move quickly, using the perceived need to survive to justify unethical decisions. I’ve seen this with U.S. companies entering Latin America, where they encounter corrupt practices and think, “This is how business is done here,” leading to bribes.

Beyond corruption, we’re also facing organized crime, with criminals becoming more sophisticated through the deep web and advanced technologies. Cybersecurity is another major risk, with likely more crimes happening than companies realize. Compliance should address these threats, but many companies don’t even know where they’re coming from.

Money laundering is a growing concern, especially with organized crime and drug trafficking. The private sector plays a key role in preventing illicit money from entering the economy. In Latin America, this issue is escalating alongside increasing violence. Companies must stay vigilant and refuse to participate in corrupt systems, even when tempted by sales without questioning the source of the money.

How is BH Compliance helping companies align their governance practices with ESG standards?

At BH Compliance we are convinced that having a solid corporate governance is mandatory for building up long-term, sustainable value. While many companies are increasingly focusing on strengthening their environmental and social strategies, they often do so without a solid governance framework. This lack of governance can lead to a disconnect and diminished commitment from leadership regarding their overall sustainability efforts.

Our Corporate Governance Index, G-Metrix, measures and evaluates corporate governance practices of large companies, allowing us to highlight the critical importance of the “G” in ESG. My goal is to prioritize the “G” (governance) as the foundation that supports both environmental (“E”) and social (“S”) initiatives. Without it, sustainability strategies are at risk of failure, as evidenced by Volkswagen’s greenwashing scandal and other corruption cases, where weak governance ultimately undermined all sustainability efforts, regardless of how green a company appeared.

How do you foresee the evolution of compliance and corporate governance practices in the next few years, especially with the rise of digital tools and data-driven oversight?

Today, digital tools make compliance easier. With our Comply Pulse, we don’t just detect fraud or crimes after they happen; we assess whether a company’s processes are in order and whether they’re doing what they claim.

For example, if a company lacks a supplier list, it’s easy for someone to create a false supplier and funnel money. We ensure everything is organized and controlled through an auditing process. Digital tools simplify this by consolidating all information in one place, in real time.

Companies will no longer have excuses like, “I didn’t have that data” or “It’s only on paper.” When we started over 10 years ago, everything was manual. By 2017, we developed a platform where companies use a red, yellow, and green system to track compliance for themselves and their subsidiaries. With today’s technology, no one should claim they lack access to this information. Compliance is more straightforward, but so are threats, making cybersecurity more critical than ever.

A few years ago, we integrated blockchain into our processes to ensure the integrity of the evidence we generate. This matters because corporate scandals often come to light years later when investigations expose wrongdoing.

When that happens, companies must prove they had a strong compliance program in place at the time. Without blockchain, it’s hard to convince investigators that companies weren’t covering up after the fact. Blockchain timestamps show when evidence was sealed, proving real-time compliance. This is crucial today, with the rise of fake news and advanced technology capable of altering documents. Blockchain ensures the evidence remains authentic and unchanged.

What are BH Compliance’s top priorities and goals for the next two to three years?

Our main focus is on the United States and Mexico, prioritizing these two markets. While we see great opportunities across Latin America, we’re starting with the United States and Mexico.

We’re working on G-Metrix 2.0, the next generation of our G-Metrix tool. We’re linking it to company KPIs, ensuring governance improvements lead to measurable outcomes across departments, and turning theoretical plans into practical actions.

In the United States, we’re starting with Florida, where many companies want to grow or go public. G-Metrix helps them demonstrate strong governance practices.

We’re also developing a G-Metrix spinoff for startups and venture capital. This tool will help venture capitalists evaluate governance in their investments, ensuring that as startups grow rapidly, they maintain solid governance structures. This simpler tool, compared to what we use for public companies, supports long-term sustainability for fast-growing ventures.

How do you envision the future of Miami over the next decade, particularly in terms of growth as a business hub?

Miami is growing so fast, and I think it’s going to be the next big city for entrepreneurs. San Francisco and Silicon Valley have become very expensive and a bit chaotic. You see businesses there without customers or sales, yet they are valued at sky-high prices because everyone’s focused on exits rather than building solid businesses.

Miami, on the other hand, is a “Magic City” full of people from all around the world — Latin America, other parts of the United States, and beyond. Many of these people are entrepreneurs, whether they know it or not. Being a migrant often means starting life over, which is a form of entrepreneurship. Everyone here has a unique story, and it’s the combination of these different stories that leads to the creation of something new.

Miami also has great infrastructure for this growth. There are strong universities, business centers, and advisors to support entrepreneurs. The institutions here, which used to be focused mainly on tourism, are now supporting business as well.

And let’s be honest — we’re living in Miami, which makes us the envy of our friends around the world.