Mr. Nabil Francis is the incumbent President of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) – the oldest European Chamber outside of Europe, with close to 800 members. The ECCP provides a support framework for European Companies, and especially SMEs, interested in exporting to or investing in the Philippines and Filipino companies interested in doing business with Europe or European companies already located or doing business in the Philippines.

Mr. Francis, currently the CEO & President of Republic Cement Services Inc., has been in the Philippines for two years. Prior to his role at Republic Cement, Mr. Francis has held leadership positions in Morocco, India, Bulgaria, Egypt, Sri Lanka, France, and Germany, mainly in the construction and cement industry. He obtained a master’s degree in business administration from ESSEC Business School in France and holds degrees in civil engineering from the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon and urban planning from McGill University.

Florian Gottein is the Executive Director of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) – the oldest European Chamber outside of Europe, with close to 800 members. The ECCP provides a support framework for European companies, and especially SMEs, interested in exporting to or investing in the Philippines and Filipino companies interested in doing business with Europe or European companies already located or doing business in the Philippines. Previously the Vice President for Membership and Business Services, Mr. Gottein became Executive Director in March 2016. Prior to this role, Mr. Gottein started his career at the office of the former Secretary of Defense and Interior of Austria in 2008. From 2012 to 2014, he served as the spokesperson of the Governor of the Province of Tyrol. Following his work for the Government in Austria, he joined the Ministry of Interior of the UAE in Abu Dhabi City.

Mr. Gottein graduated with a Master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Innsbruck, with a short period of his studies conducted at the University of the Philippines, Diliman.

A man of both valor and excellence, ELISEO M. RIO JR. is a retired brigadier general, a licensure exam topnotcher, PRC outstanding awardee and industry leader. He was the former Acting Secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and presently as Undersecretary for Operations.

Prior to his service in the DICT, USEC. Rio was a former Commissioner of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) wherein one of his significant accomplishments paved way to the proliferation of Call Centers and BPO’s, now one of the country’s biggest dollar earners. This is by enacting in 2002, NTC MC 08-07-2002: Rules and Regulations Authorizing Entities Other Than Public Telecommunications Entities to Install and Operate Public Calling Stations/Offices and Telecenters.

He has also proven himself excellent in the field of Electronics and Communication as he placed fourth in the 1971 ECE Licensure Examination. He was also recognized as the “Most Outstanding Professional in the Field of Electronics and Communication for the Year 2002” by the Philippine Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).

Lastly, he served the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) where he held various positions in the AFP Research and Development Center (AFPRDC) and in the Communication Company, 4th Infantry Division, in Mindanao from 1968 to 1971.

Rey Untal is the President & CEO of the IT & Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP). He plays the crucial role of being the voice of the IT-BPM industry and is an advocate for the Industry both locally and globally by raising awareness of the Philippines’ unique value proposition and attracting both investors and locators to the country. On a local level, he works passionately in partnering with stakeholders of the IT-BPM industry to continue the growth trajectory outlined in IBPAP’s Roadmap 2022. The primary goal of this Roadmap is to enable growth throughout the country and, effectively, create millions of jobs for the Filipino people.

Rey has spent the last 19 years in Accenture, where he started off as an Experienced Manager providing consultancy services to a number of local and international clients which also led to a 3-year expatriate assignment in Australia and Singapore. He was promoted to Managing Director in 2006, and from thereon assumed a broader set of Portfolio/Program/Project management responsibilities. Until his retirement in August of 2016, he served as the Industry Group Lead for the Communications, Media & Entertainment, and High-Tech Portfolio in Accenture’s Philippine Delivery Center.

Rey worked for Nestle, Cargill, and ICTSI early in his career.

Rey graduated from Ateneo de Manila University with a double degree in Physics & Computer Engineering. He resides in Metro Manila with his wife and 2 children.

Erik Møller Nielsen is the current President of the Global Process Manager Inc. and One Team Services Inc., the business process outsourcing division of the Magsaysay Group of Companies.

Erik’s professional career span 31 years working for the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group in various leadership positions across the world such as in Denmark, Italy, Ecuador and the Philippines. More recently, he served as the Global RSC Director for Regus Service Centre in Manila from 2010 to 2012 prior to his current role.

He is also affiliated with numerous business organizations having served as the Vice President of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines from 2007 to 2016, as Vice President of the Nordic Business Council of the Philippines from 2013 to the present, and a current member of the IT & Business Process Association of the Philippines. Erik was also appointed as Honorary Consul by his home country of the Kingdom of Denmark in Manila from 2004 to 2019 and was also a member of the Consular Corps of the Philippines.

Erik was also awarded by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark the Knighthood of the Order of Dannebrog in January 2014.

With over a decade of supervisory experience in the BSP, Mr. Plabasan has not only witnessed the dramatic advancement of technology in the Philippine financial sector, but more importantly, he has played a key role in reshaping the regulatory mindset towards a more progressive approach on technology risk and innovation supervision. He has taken a highly critical and challenging role in the BSP, as head of the department primarily responsible for supervision of technology and cybersecurity risk, including emerging technologies. He continues to spearhead various cybersecurity reforms aimed at enhancing the BSP’s cybersecurity oversight and supervision, as well as promoting a secure and cyber resilient financial ecosystem thru close coordination and partnerships with industry associations, regulatory counterparts, and other relevant stakeholders.

Tee Hsien joined Iron Mountain Singapore as General Manager in May 2011. He took on additional portfolios as General Manager for Iron Mountain Indonesia in July 2017 as well as Digital Business Leader for Iron Mountain Asia in October 2018. Tee Hsien has more than 25 years of experience in Information Technology service outsourcing and managed services in the Asia-Pacific region. Prior to joining Iron Mountain, he spent five years (2006-2011) with Fuji Xerox Global Services and was responsible for the management, expansion and growth of Global Accounts in the Asia-Pacific region. Prior to Fuji Xerox, Tee Hsien spent 10 years with Hewlett-Packard (HP) South East Asia and was responsible for pre-sales, operations and business development with the IT Outsourcing business group. In between his career with HP, he also took on roles in Business Development and Technology Services in a start-up company during the dot-com era in 1999. Tee Hsien holds a degree in Computing Science from Staffordshire University (UK) and a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from The Singapore Institute of Management.

Henry Rhoel R. Aguda is the Chairman of UBX Philippines Corporation, a subsidiary of UnionBank. He holds the position of Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Technology and Operations Officer and Chief Transformation Officer of Union Bank of the Philippines. He was a former Chief Information Officer of Globe Telecom, Inc. He served as the Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President for the IT Group of the Government System Insurance Services (GSIS) and the Group Chief Information Technology Officer of Digitel Telecommunications Philippines. He was also the Chief Operations Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Nextel Communications Philippines. In addition to this, he has also worked with Fujitsu Philippines, Bayantel, and Computer Information Systems Inc. He was awarded ASEAN CIO of the Year in 2010 in the Government Sector by the International Data Group. Mr. Aguda obtained his degrees in Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Juris Doctor in Law, both from the University of the Philippines. He is the author of the book,Data Privacy & Cybercrime Prevention in the Philippine Digital Age.

JP Palpallatoc is the Digital lead and Intelligent Data and Analytics Group lead for Accenture Advanced Technology Centers in the Philippines. He is also the Asia Pacific Area Lead for the Digital group. In his role, JP helps clients in their digital transformation.

He is responsible for delivering client projects and developing capabilities in new and emerging technologies including Data, Analytics, Internet of Things, Embedded Software, Manufacturing Engineering Systems, Mobile Applications, Web Development, Experience Design, Augmented/Virtual Reality, eCommerce, and Content. His client portfolio includes top businesses in North America.

Before helming Digital, JP built his expertise on leading large, complex technology systems integration and outsourcing engagements for international clients in the telecommunications, media, and entertainment industries for seven (7) years.

He has likewise ably supported Accenture’s Chief Information Office (CIO) organization for seven (7) years as its Manila Delivery Center Director, supporting various Accenture internal applications and systems.

JP is a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the Ateneo De Manila University in the Philippines. To sustain work-life balance, he indulges in reading fantasy and science fiction books and Japanese Manga in his spare time. He also likes to spend time watching movies and eating out with his wife and 2 daughters.

Dennis Quintero is a partner in the Corporate & Commercial and Banking & Finance Practice Groups of Quisumbing Torres. He heads the Firm's Energy, Mining & Infrastructure Industry Group and Insurance Focus Group. Dennis has 19 years of experience advising clients on cross-border acquisitions of shares/assets as well as on structuring investments and divestments in a range of industries. He assists clients in joint venture negotiations and agreements, project development, project financing transactions, corporate structuring, negotiations with the national and local governments for project consent requirements, and regulatory matters. Dennis is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Dennis is cited as a Market Leader by the IFLR 1000: Financial and Corporate Guide 2018 and more recently, he was cited by IFLR1000 as one of Asia's Best Lawyers in Energy and Infrastructure, M&A and Project Finance. He is consistently ranked as a leading individual in Corporate and M&A by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific and as a leading individual (Band 1) in Projects, Infrastructure, and Energy/Natural Resources and Mining by the leading international legal directories (i.e., Chambers Global and Asia Pacific, IFLR1000/The Petroleum Economist, and The Legal 500 Asia Pacific). Dennis is also among Asia Business Law Journal’s “A-List” of the country's top 100 lawyers since 2018.

Alain Charles Veloso is a partner of Quisumbing Torres' Corporate & Commercial and Banking & Finance Practice Groups. He heads the firm's Capital Markets Practice Group and is a member of the Competition Focus Group. He has 12 years of legal practice, advising multinational corporations, investment banks, and private equity funds with regard to their transactions and businesses in the Philippines, including private and public M&A transactions, debt, and equity capital markets transactions, and structuring and establishment of their Philippine presence. Charles is also developing the Firm's fintech practice, and handles various clients that are currently engaged in online travel, retail, financing, medical health, and insurance businesses in the Philippines.

Charles actively participates in the firm's Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. He heads the firm's Diversity & Inclusion and B-Green committees in Manila. He was a former Director of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Makati Chapter, and currently serves as its Auditor and Chairperson of the Legal Education Committee. He has been recognized as External Counsel of the Year in Asia by The In-House Community in 2019, and cited as a Next Generation Lawyer for Corporate and M&A by Legal 500 for 2017 and 2018. He was also a 2018 Bench and Bar Awardee of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines' Leyte Chapter.

Born in Madrid, Spain, Carlos graduated with a double degree in Business Administration and Finance from UC3M University. He was in the consulting industry for five years in Europe and South America, covering Strategy and Mergers and Acquisitions Projects before coming to the Lazada in 2014 where he started in the Malaysian office before joining Philippines’ biggest e-commerce platform, Lazada Philippines. At his current role as COO, he is in charge of Category Management, Seller acquisition and engagement (in charge of rolling out seller tools to enable a seamless experience, communications and events), and traffic (any placement and item displayed in the app and desktop site).

Ma. Luisa Fernandez-Guina is a partner in Quisumbing Torres’ Corporate & Commercial Practice Group. She co-heads the Firm’s Consumer Goods & Retail Industry Group and a member of the Industrials, Manufacturing & Transportation Industry Group. She has 11 years of experience in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring, commercial agreements and contracts, and general corporate and commercial work.

Luisa's practice focuses primarily on foreign investment regulation, doing business concerns, property transfers and acquisitions, special registrations, and outsourcing. She has also advised clients on environmental regulations and assisted them on compliance, monitoring and reporting issues.

In September 2016, President Duterte appointed Charito Booc Plaza as the new Director-General of Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).

From 1986-1998, Plaza represented Agusan del Norte’s First District in the Philippine House of Representatives. During her time in the House, she served as Vice Chairperson for the Committee on National Defense (8th, 9th and 10th Congress), Vice Chairperson for the Committee on Public Information, and Chairperson for the Committee on Tourism (10th Congress). Plaza is one of the authors of the Special Economic Zones Law that created PEZA, and is also the principal author of Republic Act 7901, which created the Caraga Region.

After leaving Congress, Plaza served as consultant to the Department of Interior and Local Government, the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Department of Transportation. Following her appointment as PEZA Director –General last September, Plaza told The Philippine STAR newspaper, “I am fortunate to be one of the authors of the law that finally created PEZA, which included areas of Butuan City and Agusan del Norte as among those identified special economic zones. I proposed to the president in our talk… to make ecozones as the umbrella program for economic development. We will build agricultural economic zones, industrial ecozones, tourism economic zones and defense industrial complex.”

Plaza is also a Commissioned Officer in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) – Reserve Force, holding the rank Brigadier General. From 1989 – 1998 and then from 2012-2015, she was Wing Commander for the 3rd Ready Air Reserve Wing Mindanao and the 7th Air Force Wing Reserve, respectively. She was both the youngest commissioned lieutenant colonel and the youngest colonel in the AFP Reserve Force. Plaza was also the first female general in the AFP Reserve Force, the first female general in Philippine Air Force, and the first female general from Mindanao.

Gabriel Lorenzo Santos is currently the Solutions Advisor for Platform and Analytics at SAP Asia. He is supporting deals and customer engagements to help customers across South East Asia understand how to leverage on the latest SAP offerings in the Database, Cloud Platform, and Analytics space that would help run their business simple and sustain growth without disruption. He previously held the position of MIS Project Manager at Ramcar Food Group where he was largely involved in scoping reports and dashboard requests, establishing standard processes, and other project management tasks for the MIS department.

He is a part time lecturer at the Department of Information Systems and Computer Science of Ateneo de Manila University. In 2013 until 2014, he served as the President of the Ateneo Management Information Systems Association.

Gabriel is a graduate of BS Management Information Systems, with Specialization in Business Intelligence from Ateneo de Manila University, and later on earned his Master of Science in Computer Science from the University of the Philippines.

Dranyl Jared Amoroso is a senior associate in Quisumbing Torres' Dispute Resolution Practice Group. He currently heads the Firm's Transportation and Logistics Industry Group Subsector. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb) and is currently a Trustee and the Senior Vice President for Advocacies of the Philippine Institute of Arbitrators (PIArb). He recently passed the Advanced Route to Fellowship Course of CIArb which was held in Taipei. He is an accredited arbitrator and mediator of the Philippine Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) and a trained arbitrator of the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center Inc. (PDRCI). He has conducted several MCLE lectures on Commercial Arbitration, and has co-authored a book on the matter. He currently teaches Sales Law at the Far Eastern University Institute of Law. He is also a supervising lawyer at the Ateneo Legal Services Center, where he oversees students in handling pro bono cases.

Jared handles general litigation and arbitration matters, with a particular focus on white collar crime and cybercrime litigation.

A graduate of Feati University, Franklin D. Quiachon has been an Electronics and Communications Engineer for more than 40 years specializing in meteorological and satellite communications systems. He worked abroad for about 15 years as a consultant and expert in telecommunications with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Projects assigned in the Middle East and Africa. Locally, he occupied various executive positions such as sales manager, general manager and vice-president of multinational companies. Currently, aside from being a consultant and a teacher, Engr. Quiachon is active with several non-profit organizations and as the National President of Mechatronics and Robotics Society of the Philippines (MRSP).

Amor Maclang is a Globally Award Winning Brand Architect, experienced Risk/Crisis/Reputation Strategist, and Marketing & Communications Innovator. An internationally awarded champion of marketing as a force for good, her projects demonstrate that you can hit your business goals while still doing good for the country. She is the first communications professional in the country to become an ISO 31000 Crisis Management Practitioner, one of the only professionals ever to be accomplished in both marketing and crisis management. She is the leading communications, marketing, and public relations forerunner in the sphere of digital transformation, blockchain, crypto currency and other emerging technologies. She helps companies navigate through reputational, education and information gaps in any nascent technologies.

Currently, Amor serves as the Executive Director for the Fintech Philippines Association, the largest financial technology trade association in the country. As a champion of Liveable cities, She is the Chair for Public Engagement of the Urban Land Institute. As a champion of good governance, Amor is the Chair of Public Engagement of the Institute of Corporate Directors. She co-founded GeiserMaclang, one of the leading PR, marketing, communications, public affairs and risk, issues and crisis management companies in the Philippines.

Dr. Raymond Francis R. Sarmiento is a physician-scientist and is currently the Director of the National Telehealth Center, National Institutes of Health, University of the Philippines Manila. He also serves, in a joint capacity, as the Chief Data Protection and Privacy Officer of the University of the Philippines Manila as well as the Data Protection Officer of the Philippine General Hospital. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of the UP College of Medicine's Medical Informatics Unit and is the current president of the Philippine Medical Informatics Society and chair of the Health Informatics for Development Working Group of the International Medical Informatics Association. Dr. Sarmiento graduated from the University of the Philippines College of Medicine in 2008. He finished his Public Health Informatics Fellowship from 2014 to 2016 in the Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prior to joining CDC, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship in clinical informatics from 2012-2014 at the Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications, National Library of Medicine at the U.S. National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He returned to the Philippines in 2016 as a Balik Scientist (biomedical and health informatics) of the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Council for Health Research and Development. Early this year, he received a three-year faculty grant award in medical informatics for outstanding research and public service from the University of the Philippines System and was also awarded by the National Academy of Science and Technology – Philippines as its 2019 Outstanding Young Scientist in the field of public health informatics.

Henry Motte-Muñoz is the CEO and Founder of Edukasyon, the leading youth-targeted EdTech platform in the Philippines. A dual Filipino-French citizen, Henry completed his MBA at the Harvard School of Business in 2013 and his Bachelor of Science in Economics and Economics History at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2007. Prior to founding Edukasyon, Henry served as a private equity associate at Bain Capital and as an investment analyst at Goldman Sachs. In 2016, Henry was named one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Asia: Social Entrepreneurs.

Rey Lugtu is a digital and culture transformation thought & action leader, a sought-after public speaker, and an accomplished educator and business columnist. He is the President and CEO of Hungry Workhorse, a digital and culture transformation consulting firm. He has engaged with several companies and organizations on digital transformation and innovation, helping them in strategy and execution. He is also the chairman, independent director, co-founder, and adviser of several startup and tech companies. He previously held senior executive roles in Microsoft, Samsung, Globe Telecom, Emerson, and IBM.

Rey is the Chairman of ICT Committee of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) and Vice Chairman of ICT Committee of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP). He is Professorial Lecturer in the MBA program of De La Salle University, where he has been teaching for 15 years and currently teaches strategic management; Lecturer on Digital Transformation and Organization Development in the Benilde - School of Professional and Continuing Education; and was Adjunct Faculty of Asian Institute of Management where he taught Digital Transformation.

He is a business columnist and writer for Manila Times, Manila Bulletin, and Business World. He has written several articles and book chapters on digital transformation, 4th Industrial Revolution, and technology and culture. He earned his MBA from DLSU where he is also finishing his doctorate. He finished courses in business from INSEAD-Wharton University of Pennsylvania, China Europe International Business School, and Helsinki School of Economics.

Divina Ilas-Panganiban is a partner in Quisumbing Torres’ Intellectual Property Practice Group and co-heads the Technology, Media & Telecommunications Industry Group. She has 19 years of experience in the fields of intellectual property law, commercial law and litigation. She
currently serves as the Vice-President and Director of the Philippine Chapter of Licensing Executives Society International, the Chairperson of the committee on Intellectual Property Rights, The American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, and the Chairperson of the Committee on Intellectual Property Rights of the European Chamber of Commerce.

Divina is recognized by IAM Patent to be an enforcement magus and comes recommended as both litigator and arbitrator, as well as for the decisive way in which she resolves licensing conundrums. She has been consistently cited as a Leading Individual in Intellectual Property and TMT by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2016-2019), a Leading Trademark Professional (Bronze) by World Trademark Review (2016-2018), and IP Star for Trademarks by Managing IP (2018-2019).

Dr. Enrico Paringit began his career as a researcher by serving as co-investigator for Japanese earth observation satellite ADEOS and then airborne radar remote sensing missions of the JPL-NASA as a student in the late 1990s. He was also a Principal Investigator for Advanced Land Observation Satellite and Advanced Spectral and Thermal Emission and Radiation.

He spearheaded the Disaster Risk and Exposure Assessment for Mitigation Program supported by the Department of Science and Technology, which aims to develop and deploy technologies to provide necessary information for early warning and advisory to communities at risk of flooding using airborne LiDAR technology and numerical simulation.

Dr. Paringit graduated with a BS degree in Geodetic Engineering and MS Remote Sensing in the University of the Philippines. He finished his Doctor of Engineering degree at the Tokyo Institute of Technology where he also went for fellowship with support from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. He is formerly the Chair of the UP Department of Geodetic Engineering and Director of the Training Center for Applied Geodesy and Photogrammetry.

He was sworn in as the Executive Director of the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development in December 2018.

Bienvenido Marquez III is a partner and head of Quisumbing Torres' Intellectual Property Practice Group. He also co-heads the Consumer Goods & Retail Industry Group and a member of the Technology, Media & Telecommunications Group. He participates in initiatives of Baker & McKenzie International of which Quisumbing Torres is a member firm. He is a member of Baker & McKenzie International's Asia Pacific Intellectual Property Steering Committee, leading the anti-counterfeiting taskforce. He has vast experience in handling IP enforcement litigation, trademark and patent prosecution and maintenance, copyright, data privacy, information security, IT, telecommunications, e-commerce, electronic transactions, cyber security and cybercrime matters.

The International Trademark Association (INTA) recognized Bien as a 2018 Volunteer Service Awardee for the Advancement of the Association in New Orleans on November 2018. Bien is the very first Filipino IP practitioner recognized by the INTA since the award started in 2003. He is also recognized as a Leading Individual in Intellectual Property and TMT by the Legal 500 Asia Pacific and Chambers Asia Pacific, Leading Trademark Professional by World Trademark Review, IP Star for Patents and Trademarks by Managing IP, and Top Patent Individual by IAM Patent 1000.