Inspiring market confidence

A NEW era has begun in the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) with the inauguration of Michael H. Guarin as FINEX President for 2022 and the youngest leader since the start of the millennium for the country’s premier organization of finance professionals.

Mr. Guarin belongs to the Xennial micro-generation, referring to those born at the cusp between Generation X and the millennials. Last Jan. 18, he was inducted into office by Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua, another Xennial, during a virtual ceremony with the theme of “Inspiring Market Confidence, Empowering Positive Change.”

FINEX’s first major activity this year is “Meet the Presidentiables: Economic Reforms in the New Frontier” which will be held today (Jan. 21) via Zoom at 1 p.m. with Vice- President Ma. Leonor G. Robredo as the featured candidate. This is a continuation of the “Presidentiables Forum” series that FINEX started last year in collaboration with the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc.

Co-sponsors are the Investment House Association of the Philippines, Judicial Review Initiative, Makati Business Club, Management Association of the Philippines, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Philippine Women’s Economic Network, Shareholders’ Association of the Philippines, W Group of Companies, United Auctioneers, and Grab Philippines. The forum will be simulcast on Cignal’s One News and CignalPlay, with replays on Jan. 23 at OnePH free TV channel and Radyo5 92.3FM.

CIO OF THE YEAR
International Data Group, Inc. (IDG), a US-based media and research company focused on the tech landscape, has bestowed on a Filipino IT executive three awards over the past two years through its wholly owned subsidiaries, International Data Corp. (IDC) and IDG Communications.

Recently, IDC Philippines recognized Dr. Richard Parcia as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Digital Officer (CDO) of the Year during the 2021 IDC Future Enterprise Awards. He was named CIO/CDO of the Year based on the successful implementation of digital initiatives that address new customer requirements, development of new capabilities, deployment of new critical infrastructure, and pursuit of new industry ecosystems.

Dr. Parcia is the Group CIO of Concepcion Industrial Corp., a listed firm in the Philippine Stock Exchange. A seasoned IT and shared services executive who has extensive experience in senior leadership and functional roles around the globe, he previously served in such top-tier companies as Intel, LafargeHolcim, and United Health Group.

IDC said the winners asserted their leadership amid a pandemic and distinguished themselves from more than a thousand nominees across the Asia-Pacific region. According to Angela Medez of IDC Philippines, the nominations this year attest to how business leaders have embraced the urgent need for digital transformation in order to survive and grow during these turbulent times.

Meanwhile, Dr. Parcia was cited among the Top 75 Tech Leaders of Southeast Asia for 2021 awarded by IDG Communications last December. This is the second consecutive year that he won the prestigious citation, also known as the CIO75 Awards covering the ASEAN region and Hong Kong.

The CIO75 ASEAN awardees were judged on the core pillars of innovation and leadership. They are honored for being transformational, inspiring, and enduring CIOs at both the national and regional levels in Southeast Asia. These awardees have been featured in the CIO magazine, published by IDG Communications worldwide with the highest concentration of readership among business technology executives and enterprise CIOs.

J. Albert Gamboa is the chief finance officer of Asian Center for Legal Excellence and chairman of the FINEX Media Affairs Committee. The opinion expressed herein does not necessarily reflect the views of these institutions and BusinessWorld. #FinexPhils www.finex.org.ph