The Asia CEO Awards 2016

The Asia CEO Awards, presented by PLDT Alpha Enterprise, represents a showcase of local and international business people to promote the Philippines at world level. These annual ceremonies that have taken place since 2010 is considered an essential event to attend for business leaders in South East Asia.

The board of judges award prizes to the most accomplished business leaders operating in the Philippines. The awards highlight fantastic achievements and extraordinary individuals who have made significant contributions individually or via their organizations.

The Asia CEO Awards regularly attracts an audience in excess of 1200 attendees from across the Philippines and throughout Asia. Many international companies including JPMorgan, Nokia, Nestle and Shell are regular attendees as well as local and international media representatives. In addition to this a few selected associations and government bodies are invited to attend including the European Chamber of Commerce, the Business Processing Association Philippines and the United States Embassy.

The Philippines is growing rapidly, and many organizations are interested in doing business in the Philippines. This gives extra profile to these events that showcase the country's business achievements. 

On October 18th, KMC Savills was represented at the event, held in the Marriot Hotel Manila. We spoke to our attendees from KMC Savills to get their thoughts on the event.

Michael McCullough, Managing Director, "The Asia CEO event recognises the hard work of local and international firms competing at an international level. It was a great evening and a brilliant opportunity to highlight each other's achievements. All these great achievements reinforce my view that the Philippines is a fantastic place to do business. It's brilliant to see existing businesses growing and new ones entering the market every year with their achievements being rewarded at this yearly event."

Anna Marco, Associate Director, was one of the KMC party who attended "It was a really enjoyable evening, it was fantastic to see so many individuals and businesses getting recognition for their achievements. The event was really well attended and was a great celebration of business success in the Philippines."

Geoffroy de Boissieu, Consultant, "I really enjoy these events as it is a great opportunity to network with business people from many different sectors from across the country. At last night's event it was fantastic to see so many hard-working people's achievements being rewarded and celebrated".

Ten companies and six entrepreneurs from the public and private sectors were recognized by The Asia CEO Awards-Philippines. Tech entrepreneur Diosdado Banatao and former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario received the highest honors. Banatao and Del Rosario received the Lifetime Contributors award for the private and public sectors respectively. Other entrepreneurs recognized at the awards ceremony included

• Edgar Chua of Shell of the Philippines for the Smart Enterprise Global Filipino Executive of the Year
• James Donovan of ADEC Innovations for the JLL Expatriate Executive of the Year
• Clarissa Delgado of Teach for the Philippines for Capital One Young Leader of the Year
• Joe Magsaysay, President of Potato Corner for Meralco Biz Partners Entrepreneur of the Year

Several tech companies also won awards, including:

• Tata Consultancy Services for the Wells Fargo Technology Company of the Year
• Kalibrr Technology Ventures, Inc. for the Globaltronics Most Innovative Company of the Year
• Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc. for the Regus ASEAN Company of the Year

Winners in the public sector included:

• Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) for the ADP Service Excellence Company of the Year
• Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority for TCS Executive Leadership Team of the Year.

Other companies presented with awards during the gala night included:

• HSBC Electronic Data Processing (Philippines), Inc. for the syncHRony Global Top Employer of the Year
• Imperial Homes Corporation for ADEC Innovations Green Company of the Year;
• ANZ Global Services and Operations (Manila), Inc for ASKI Global CSR Company of the Year
• iMaverick International Corporation for LBC Business Solutions SME Company of the Year
• Magsaysay People Resources Corporation (MPRC) for I-Remit Heart for OFWs Company of the Year

The judging panel consisted of:

• University of Asia and the Pacific President Dr. Bernie Vllieges
• PAG-IBIG Fund Ceo Atty. Darlene Barberabe
• Ambassador Jose Cuisia
• Architect and urban planner Arch. Jun Palafox
• ICT Committee and Health Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines founder and chairman Don Felbaum
• Asia CEO Awards Chairman Richard Mills
• Vice President- International of San Miguel Purefoods Oscar Sanez. The Seventh Asia CEO Awards-Philippines was presented by PLDT Alpha Enterprise