Patrick T. Aquino currently the Director of the Energy Utilization Management Bureau (EUMB) under the Philippine Department of Energy (DOE). A Career Executive Service Officer (CESO) Rank Ill, he has served in various capacities in the DOE from the Office of the Secretary, Information Technology Management Service (ITiviS), and Energy Policy and Planning Bureau (EPPB). With the passage of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EE&C) Act in 2019, after more than three decades of its initial draft in 1988 — flow Director Aquino with the support of the DOE, stands at the forefront of the implementation of EE&C in the country.

The last two decades of Alex Ablaza’s 36-year professional career has been dedicated to growing energy efficiency and other clean energy technology deployment in 14 Asian markets through the identification, due diligence and financial close of over $3 billion in direct investments, and also through catalytic market transformation, policy, regulatory, fund mobilization and transaction support interventions.

Across Asia and the Middle East, Alex currently provides energy efficiency expertise to governments, multilateral development banks, international development agencies, NPO/NGOs, think tanks, climate funds and other investors with the objective of scaling up energy efficiency capital flows through innovative finance, investment structures, procurement and policy reform.

In June 2018, Alex co-founded and was elected to co-chair the Asia-Pacific ESCO Industry Alliance, which provides a regional platform that links the ESCO organizations of China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. He also is one of the co-founders of the Global ESCO Network, with its secretariat in Copenhagen, Denmark. Alex likewise serves as President of the Philippine Energy Efficiency Alliance, a non-profit alliance of energy efficiency market stakeholders.

He establishes equity vehicles with the purpose of flowing local and foreign investments toward managed portfolios of energy efficiency upgrades in Asian emerging markets. He serves as CEO of Climargy Inc, a pioneer vehicle for such investment model in the Philippines.

In his regional anchor roles for HQ teams of IFC/World Bank Group and ADB from 2006 to 2013, he enjoyed leading and growing climate finance and energy efficiency investment operations across Asian developing countries, as:

• Regional Climate Finance Specialist for Asia, IFC/World Bank Group’s Global Climate Finance Team
• ADB’s bank-wide energy efficiency expert and coordinator of ADB’s $2-billion-a-year Clean Energy Program

From 2000-2006, he managed energy efficiency programs of UNDP, UNIDO, USAID, IFC/GEF, World Bank, WWF and the Alliance to Save Energy.

Alex is armed with 33 years of project and corporate management experience, and an educational background in civil engineering (BSCE) and business economics (MBE).

Mr. Rufino is currently the CEO of NEO, the largest Owner, Developer, and Manager of Office Buildings in the Bonifacio Global City central business district in the Philippines with 7 operational developments comprising a Gross Leasable Area of almost 270,000 sqm. A longtime advocate for sustainability, he has led NEO to become one of the greenest companies in the country. He is also the Principal, Real Estate for the Threadborne Group family office and co-founder of Grow Capital Partners.

Ricardo ‘Chut’ Cuerva is the Managing Director of Nova Group. He is an architect, builder and property developer with over two decades of experience in the Philippine real estate industry. Chut obtained his undergraduate degree in architecture from SCI-Arc in Los Angeles and completed his master’s degree in Real Estate Development at Columbia University in New York. Chut believes in the vitality of cities and in the power of empowering and engaging its citizens. He leads the dynamic team of Nova Group, focused on building vertical residential and commercial projects in the CBDs of Metro Manila. Nova Group’s real estate developments embody best in class design, exceptional build quality and enduring asset growth. NEX Tower, Nova Group’s latest commercial development integrates world-class architecture with the highest metrics of sustainability. The project has been awarded with the 2019 ULI Asia Pacific Award for Excellence, the 2019 MIPIM Asia Award for Best Green Development, and has achieved LEED Platinum Certification.