Greg Banzon is the General Manager of RFM's Beverage and Meat Group with direct responsibilities over brands such as Sunkist Juices and Tea, Selecta Milk, Swifts Meat Products and Proud Harvest Noodles. He is credited for the dramatic turnaround of RFM's branded food business by growing market shares while improving the company's overall cost structure and efficiency. He led the rehabilitation of the company's manufacturing facilities mothballed for five years due to a labor union deadlock. Today, RFM's meat plant is one of the country's premier meat manufacturing sites with a Triple A rating and the only plant that can produce Halal hotdogs and processed meat. Prior to RFM, Greg was one of the youngest ever appointed as Managing Director of a Johnson & Johnson company when, at 35 years old, he was given the helm of J&J Indonesia con-current with his role as VP Marketing for ASEAN.
Dr. Maria Isabel “Marissa” G. Brual is the President-Elect 2008-2009 of the Philippine Dental Association. She will serve as president of the Philippine Dental Association from 2009 to 2010. Dr. Brual holds clinic in Bauan, Batangas. The Philippine Dental Association celebrated its 100 years of Organized Dentistry in January 2008.
Daniel Garcia Corpuz is the executive director of the Philippine Convention and Visitors Corporation, which is attached to the Department of Tourism. He also serves on the board of the Intramuros Administration. Daniel obtained his Bachelor of Science Degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management as well as his M.A. in Urban Planning from the University of the Philippines. He took special training in Tourism Management at the Institute of Tourism & Hotel Management in Salburg, Austira, graduating with Distinction.
Dexter Deyto is the President of PACEOS for 2007-2008 and has been a Board member since 2005. He is the Senior Asst. Vice President & GM of the SMX Convention Center, the Philippines' newest and largest world class convention center. Mr. Deyto was also responsible for the successful launch and operation of the Megatrade Exhibit Halls at the SM Megamall and the Cebu Trade Hall in SM City Cebu. He has over 20 years experience in the Exhibition and Convention industry starting with the Phil. Center for International Trade and Exhibitions. He finished his Masters Degree in Business Administration at the Ateneo de Manila University Graduate School of Business and is presently taking up an Executive Development Program with the Asian Institute of Managment. He is concurrently the acting GM and Head of Operations of the Family Entertainment Center Inc., a wholly owned management company of the SM Group.
Julia Douglas resides in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She is a publisher and managing editor of a magazine called MICE in Asia. She is passionate about Asia, and has travelled extensively within this region. Presently she has her finger on the pulse of the vibrant MICE market in Asia. Before setting up her own business, she has had a career of more than 20 years in marketing communications. She has worked as a public relations consultant for two international public relations agencies, a client servicing manager with an international advertising agency and marketing communications manager of Hilton International Kuala Lumpur. However, one true constant throughout her life is Julia loves writing.
Thelma Dumpit - Murillo is the new Deputy Executive Director of the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) appointed by President Gloria Macapagal - Arroyo for her experience and expertise in marketing and communications to bolster promotions of Philippine export products. Prior to her appointment, she was a media practitioner for more than 20 years with various television and radio networks as news anchor and reporter for PTV 4, ABC 5 and DWIZ 882 AM radio. She was also a columnist and contributing writer for Manila Times, Philippine Star and Philippine Daily Inquirer. She holds a Masters Degree in National Security Administration from the National Defense College of the Philippines and is a reserve officer of the Philippine Air Force with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and a Marksmanship Badge as a Sharpshooter. She is working on a masteral degree in Media Management with the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication.
Sec. Joseph (Ace) H. Durano's fresh marketing strategies and innovative organizational skills have propelled the Department of Tourism to greater heights since he took over the helm in 2004. In 2007, visitor traffic and tourist spending soared to unprecedented levels, with over 3M foreign arrivals and US$ 4.885 billion in tourist expenditures. As Development Champion of the Central Philippines Super Region, he oversees the overall execution of various infrastructure projects in the area, ensuring their timely completion and maintaining seamless coordination among key government agencies. In 2005, he was awarded the Man of Vision in Philippine Tourism by Air France and KLM. That same year, People Asia Magazine named him as one of its People of the Year awardees. Travel Weekly Magazine of China awarded him the Destination Marketer of the Year of 2006. He has been dubbed the "Ace of Tourism and the Ace in Tourism."
Helmut Gaisberger joined Mandarin Oriental, Manila as General Manager in September 1995, from three previous postings at other hotels in Singapore and Australia as General Manager since 1984. To date, Mr. Gaisberger has gained over 30 years of experience in the hotel industry. With him at the helm, Mr. Gaisberger has spearheaded numerous Mandarin Oriental, Manila events that have made the hotel famous for delighting its customers with unique experiences. Mr. Gaisberger received the Skal Tourism Personality of the Year (Hotel category) award in 2001 from Skal Makati. As an Austrian national, Mr. Gaisberger has received numerous awards for promoting Austrian culture, including the Silver Star of Merit of the Republic of Austria (the highest award given to an Austrian national outside of the foreign, military, and diplomatic service).
Michael Alan Hamlin is managing director of TeamAsia, and an authority on place, corporate, and personal branding. He has authored or co-authored four books and many articles on management, branding, and strategic marketing communications. He assists Asian and multinational firms in the development of personal and corporate brand communication strategies. Michael's most recent books are High Visibility: Transforming Your Professional and Personal Brand, and Marketing Asian Places. He writes a weekly column for Manila Bulletin, and a monthly column for ComputerWorld Philippines. His commentaries have appeared in The Asian Wall Street Journal, Far Eastern Economic Review, South China Morning Post, and The Washington Times. Michael's professional associations include the American Society of Journalists and Authors, The Authors Guild, The Foreign Correspondents Association (Hong Kong), the Management Association of the Philippines, and the American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, among others.
Dr. Billy IP is an Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator of the Faculty of International Tourism at the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST). He previously served as a Senior Officer of the Research and Information Division at the Macao Trade and Investment Institute (IPIM), and has been responsible for planning and organizing many meetings, conferences and fairs of IPIM. Dr. IP has conducted numerous research studies in the area of MICE Economics, Tourism Economics, and International Tourism Collaboration. He is active regionally, nationally and internationally having served as Invited Research Fellow of China Foreign Affairs University (CFAU), Director of Latin American Study Association in China and Peking University Alumni Association in Macao, and as a Member of the Advisory Committee for Journal of Regional Public Administration in Macao.
Monette Iturralde-Hamlin is president and founder of TeamAsia, an award-winning strategic marketing communications firm that develops corporate brand strategies, creative concepts, and marketing and communications programs for its clients. Monette leveraged a distinguished career in international publishing to conceptualize and create Asia's first agency dedicated exclusively to corporate identity development and non-traditional marketing communications. She developed the business and creative processes that made TeamAsia not just a pioneer in Asia, but an arbiter of industry performance standards. Monette is in high demand for her professional organizational skills, management expertise, and attention to detail. She is also a popular seminar facilitator, and delivers workshops on Presentation Skills, Business Writing, and Dealing with Difficult People. Monette completed her Bachelor of Arts majoring in Psychology at the College of the Holy Spirit, graduating Summa Cum Laude. She completed her Master in Business Management degree at the Asian Institute of Management with Distinction.
Anthony Cueto Leachon, M.D. is the Medical and Regulatory Affairs Director of Pfizer Phils., Inc. He serves as the President of the Philippine College of Pharmaceutical Medicine, and has held this post for the past four terms, meeting regularly with the Bureau of Food and Drugs and the Department of Health as main representative of the Pharmaceutical industry. A member of the Philippine Heart Association, Tony is an active consultant in Internal Medicine and Cardiology and an Internist-Cardiologist at the Manila Doctors Hospital and has been awarded as the Number One Physician in Patients’ Admission at Manila Doctors Hospital on the Occasion of the MDH 50thAnniversary Celebration. A multi-awarded individual, Tony won two years in a row the prestigious 2007 Dr. William Upjohn Global Award for Outstanding Demonstration of Pfizer Value of Innovation and strong leadership in the implementation of Health Education Reform Order – Preventive Health Education.
Rose Libongco, as director of sales and marketing of Sofitel Philippine Plaza, plans, directs and manages the Sales, Events, Reservations, Revenue Management and Public Relations departments of this 609-room iconic luxury property by the Manila Bay. She is also a member of the Executive Committee that sets all hotel policies. Concurrently, Rose is the president of the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association (HSMA), a post she has held since 2000. Rose also serves on the Board of Directors of the Federation of Tourism Industries of the Philippines, as well as, on the Board of Trustees of the Dr. Fe del Mundo Medical Center Foundation. Rose obtained her Bachelor of Literature in Journalism from the University of Sto. Tomas, graduating with Magna cum Laude honors.
Benjamin Lim is the Chairman and President of the Magic Group of Companies. He previously served as City Mayor of Dagupan City from 2001-2007 and as Congressman of the 4th District of Pangasinan from 1998-2001. The only Dagupeno and only Pangasinense ever elected as National President of the Philippine Jaycees (1990), he served as World Vice-President of the Jaycees International in 1991. Under his leadership as General Manager, he steered Duty Free Philippines from being the 18th in 1994 to the 4th duty free operation in the world in 1997. As Chairman, Dagupan City Economic Reconstruction Group, 1990-1991, he helped rebuild the economy of Dagupan. Recognized as one of the Six Outstanding City Mayors of the Country in 2003, he was awarded the Local Government Leadership Award by the Philippine Senate, UP-NCPAG, & DILG, and given the Best Practices Awards by the League of Cities of the Philippines for the Bangus Festival entry of Dagupan City (August 2003).
Mr. Edward Liu, PBM is the Managing Director of Conference & Exhibition Management Services (CEMS) Pte. Ltd., which organizes some 10 to 15 exhibitions a year in China, India, Pakistan, Singapore and Thailand. Dubbed by Singapore's Straits Times Daily as "The Exhibition Man," Edward is the current President of the Singapore Association of Convention & Exhibition Organisers & Suppliers (SACEOS); and concurrently, the President of the Asian Federation of Exhibition & Convention Associations (AFECA). Presently, Edward chairs the IAEE Asian Exhibition Council, which comprises some 45 captains of industry from Australia, China, India, Korea, Singapore Thailand and the USA. Multi-awarded, Edward serves as an Exhibition Industry Advisor to the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. Apart from being a frequent speaker at MICE conferences throughout the world, Mr. Liu is the principal instructor for the professional exhibition courses for SACEOS and IAEE in the Asia Pacific region.
Suprabha Moleeratanond is the Director for Convention of the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau. Her main responsibility is to promote Thailand as the preferred convention destination in the region and to raise the platform of convention business in Thailand. Mrs. Suprabha has a Master of Management, SASIN from Chulalongkorn University in Thailand and a Master of Library and Information Services from the University of Maryland in the U.S.A. She has 27 years of work experience with Thai Airways International Public Co., Ltd., with her last position being that of Manager of the Travel Industry Relations Department. She previously served as a board member of the Thailand Incentive and Convention Association (TICA), Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Association of Southeast Asian Nations Travel Association (ASEANTA) and ICCA
Marisa Nallana is concurrently President and Founder of the Philippine Exhibits & Themeparks Corporation (PETCO), President of the Motorshow Int'l. Manila, Inc., and Managing Consultant of the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC). With 26 years of experience in the events management and exhibits industry, Marisa has directly co-conceptualized and managed over 60 events, such as Transhow, Office World International, Fashion Fair, Fiesta Fair, Motorshow International (Phils.), the 1994 Cebu Palarong Pambansa and national festivals such as Cebu City's Sinulog and the Masskara festival in Bacolod City, Dagupan's Bangus Festival and Manaoag's Manaoag Festival. Marisa is Chairman of the Philippine Association of Conventions/Exhibitions Organizers and Suppliers, Philippines, Inc. (PACEOS) and Honorary Secretary and Founding Member of the Asian Federation of Convention and Exhibition Associations (AFECA). Currently a Director of the TOYM (The Outstanding Young Men) Foundation, Inc., she has received the Leadership Excellence Award given yearly by the Philippine Jaycees, Inc.
Yoly Villanueva-Ong, Founder of Campaigns & Grey, is currently Group Chairperson for the Campaigns Group of Companies. Yoly chaired the 20th Advertising Congress and served two terms as Chairman of the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies-Phils (4As-P). She was the Founding President of the Creative Guild of the Philippines which conferred on her its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002. She received the 2002 Industry Maverick Award at the 4As-P Advertising Summit, the 2006 CEO Excel Award given by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), the AGORA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Marketing Management in 1999 and the TOWNS Award for Communications: Social Marketing in 1995. Yoly earned her Master of Public Administration degree from the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts where she garnered the Lucius Littauer Award and the Mason Fellows Award. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, Major in Journalism, from the University of the Philippines.
Atty. John N. Orola, Jr. is the Chairman of the Bacolod City Tourism and Development Council. Concurrently, he is the Department of Tourism Envoy for North Asia (China, Japan and Korea). He presently serves as the President of SKAL International’s Bacolod Chapter. Previously, John served as a member of the 11th Philippine Congress, House of Representatives representing the Lone District of Bacolod from 1998 to 2001. He served as Tourism Director for North America and Latin America based at the Philippine Consulates, Los Angeles, CA, USA from 1991 to 1993. Before then, he was the Tourism Attache for Japan and Korea based at the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo, Japan.
Joel Pascual is President of Premier Events Plus Group, Inc. (PEPGroup). Eight years in the events business, PEPGroup's core specialties are in trade shows and conventions/conferences. Among its banner shows is the Annual WOFEX or World Food Expo, the country's biggest food show today. A graduate of BS Mechanical Engineering and Masters in Business Administration, both from the De La Salle University, Joel has spearheaded PEPGroup into prominence with major shows all over the Philippines in various industries such as food, engineering, anime, agriculture, media, business, education, and energy, among many others.
Henry Schumacher is the Executive Vice President of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines. Concurrently, he is the president of Fairs and More, Inc.; president of TrainingWorks, Inc.; president of Imperial Consulting, Inc.; and president of the European IT Service Center Foundation. He serves as a Trustee of The Asia Europe Foundation of the Philippines. He is a member of the Makati Business Club, the Manila Polo Club and the Alumni Organization of the INSEAD Business School in Fontainebleau, France.
Angus Stevenson-Hamilton is currently Director of Corporate Security for the Shangri-La Group of Hotels and Resorts which he joined in April, 2005. He has over 32 years of experience with the Metropolitan (London) and Royal Hong Kong Police Forces retiring in the rank of Assistant Commissioner in 1997. The bulk of his service was spent investigating serious crime and he was Aide de Camp to the Governor of Hong Kong, Lord MacLehose, from 1978 to 80. After retiring from the police he was with the Jardine Matheson Group for 8 years handling corporate security on the retail side. He was awarded the Queen's Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 1992 and the Colonial Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 1987 and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Management (UK).
Francis Leslie Zabala has been a Project Manager for Stagecraft International Inc. since 2001. He is responsible for managing equipment rental & installation of entertainment technology products such as audio, lighting & special effects, video projector & LED wall and conference systems for special events, conferences, concerts, dance parties, product launches, and inaugurations. Before this, he was a Correspondent, Photographer for Kabayan Publishing Incorporated, covering amateur leagues such as the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) for the newspaper Kabayan. He is a graduate of De La Salle University.
Eduardo G. Zuluaga is concurrently Executive Vice President of Azcor Lighting Systems Inc, the biggest manufacturer of decorative lighting in the Philippines, and Managing Director of ModaForma, suppliers of quality contract furniture and accessories for hotels and restaurants. A member of the Rotary Club of New Manila East, District 3780, he works closely with the Metrobank Foundation and the Philippine National Police in the country's search for "COPS"
Country's Outstanding Policemen in Service. Currently the chairman of MANILA NOW, the biggest Philippine International Furniture Show in the Philippines owned and organized by the Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines, Duque has managed this show for four years. A Cebuano who happens to be a Spaniard, Duque is happily married, and has three children. He plays golf when he can and absolutely loves baseball and softball; he is a retired little league coach/Dad and dreams of just going fishing everyday.