Philippines reveals FSI talents at WFIS Awards 2023

With technology innovations in the financial sector expanding by leaps and bounds, the Philippines is now pacing toward financial inclusion. While the archipelagic country still houses over 30 million unbanked Filipinos, the equation is fast changing as access to financial services has become simpler with fintech.

At a time when the Philippines banks and other financial institutions have grabbed everyone’s attention with their commendable work, it is obvious that behind the massive digital transition, a few exceptional personalities from various domains have disrupted the industry with their exceptional contributions.

To shine a spotlight on these profiles and bestow honor upon their work, Tradepass hosted the World Financial Innovation Series (WFIS) Awards 2023 in Manila on 24 August 2023 at the Manila Marriott Hotel from 5 pm to 9 pm. Referred to as the country’s most glamorous awards night for the financial services industry, the platform declared the winners from 9 competitive categories. Below are the details.

• GRC Advocate of the Year – Ingrid Rose Ann Berona (Chief Risk Officer, Gcash)
• Data & Analytics Leader of the Year – Josh Bosiños (Head of Data Science and AI, Robinsons Bank Corporation)
• Tech Innovator of the Year – Kenneth Catugas (Head IT, ING)
• CMO of the Year – Janette Y. Abad Santos (First Vice President, Head – Marketing Group, Robinsons Bank)
• Excellence in Retail Banking – Frederick Ian B. Dela Cruz (Card System Management Head, Philippines National Bank)
• Fintech Provider of the Year – Oscar Enrico Reyes, Jr. (President/CEO, G-Xchange, Inc)
• Cyber Practitioner of the Year – Marlon Sorongon (CISO, MayBank)
• CX Innovator of the Year – Lionel Gacad (Chief Experience Officer, GoTyme Bank)
• Women Influencer in FSI – Catherine Urtola (Chief Compliance Officer, UNO Digital Bank)

“This recognition was made possible because of the strong collaboration of the various teams that worked on this project,” said Frederick Ian Dela Cruz, Head of the Cards System Management Department of PNB’s Cards and Payments Solutions Group. “At Philippine National Bank, we constantly adhere to the highest standards of excellence in our retail banking business. Our goal is to provide our customers with relevant banking services – where they need it when they need it.”

While the industry applauded the sheer genius of these stellar personalities, the titles were conferred on them by none other than the industry’s most renowned thought leaders – Balaji Viswanathan (Managing Director & CEO, Expleo Solutions Limited); Imelda Tiongson (Chairperson, Pru Life UK); Rico Bautista (President and CEO, Etiqa Life & General Assurance Philippines, Inc); David Gyori (CEO, Banking Reports, London); and Arvie De Vera (Co-Founder & Board Director, Fintech Association Of The Philippines).

With an enthralling vibe, the awards night had a very gaudy appearance with mesmerizing champagne ladies to lift spirits. Also labeled as a Black Tie event, the night witnessed stunning performances by the IOX Entertainment Dance Troop that got the audience on their toes. 

WFIS Awards 2023 – Philippines ensured that other than uplifting the entire cybersecurity community, every single attendee felt appreciated as there was an impeccable spread of scrumptious gourmet dishes coupled with an exotic range of cocktails for them to have a great time.

For more information about the event, log on to: 

https://philippines.worldfis.com/

About Tradepass

Providing access to the global emerging markets, Tradepass brings together people, products, and solutions to power events for unparalleled business and networking opportunities. Being the most accredited event company, it helps organizations enter new markets, grow sales pipelines, close prospects, raise capital, and identify the right solution providers.

As a deal facilitator, Tradepass is always determined to expose the most agile liquid growth markets to enable all-around scalability and growth.