Cristina Fernandez McQuistion
VP, CIO | OGE Energy Group
BROWN UNIVERSITY & STANFORD UNIVERSITY
A thirst for knowledge has driven Cristina Fernandez McQuistion her entire life.
Having fled Cuba in exile, her parents moved to the US. In their new country, her father completed his medical residency and had a career as a gastroenterologist, and her mother worked as a school psychologist. In turn, they always encouraged education in their family.
“Having to make a new life in the US, they felt very strongly that their education made rebuilding their lives easier,” she says, “and they passed on that passion for education to me.”
Today, McQuistion’s one brother is a dentist, her sister is a psychologist, her other brother is a teacher and artist, and she is now the vice president and chief information officer for OGE Energy, the largest electric utility in Oklahoma.
At OGE, McQuistion is responsible for all aspects of the tech and communications infrastructure. Unlike many CIOs, McQuistion’s background is not in technology. She studied history at Brown and earned an MBA from Stanford before she began a career as a consultant. However, over the course of her career, she began accepting more technical roles, driven by a desire to learn and become a better leader.
“I believe that technology is transforming all aspects of business,” she says. “Becoming a technology leader has helped me contribute more fully to the strategic success of my company.”
Now that she’s been with OGE Energy for a decade, her focus has changed.
“As I have progressed in my career, I have been driven by a desire to develop a new generation of leaders, to build strong, cohesive teams, and to support female leaders in my industry,” she says.
Ancestral Interests
Inspired by her paternal uncle, Cristina Fernandez McQuistion has begun to trace her family’s roots back to Cuba and Spain. In her research, she has become particularly enthralled with her first cousin, four generations removed—Emilia Casanova.
Born in 1832, Casanova was an activist in the Cuban independence movement and is known for founding Las Hijas de Cuba, a group created for women fighting for Cuban independence, in 1869. She continued to fight for Cuban independence until her death in 1897.
“She was quite famous in her day and even spoke to President Ulysses S. Grant multiple times and addressed the US Congress about the Cuban independence movement,” McQuistion says. “I want someone to make a movie about her life.”
