ICON Innovation Forum Speakers’ Profiles

HON. MARIO G. MONTEJO

Secretary

Department of Science and Technology (DOST)

During his term, Secretary Montejo has reshaped DOST policies that now define the agency’s focus and development programs, that is, to increase the country’s reserve of science and technology (S&T) capability in order to diversify the world-class products, processes, and services that can be offered to the Filipino people; and to harness the emerging role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) towards a “Smarter Philippines.”

Under his leadership, various programs of the Department were commended by His Excellency President Benigno S. Aquino III in his previous State of the Nation Address (SONA). Most notable of these are the Automated Guideway Transit (AGT) project, the mosquito Ovicidal/Larvicidal trap, and the Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards (NOAH).

Before joining the government service, he was president of several engineering-related firms along with a more recent ecotourism-related company.

Secretary Montejo earned his Bachelor of Science major in Mechanical Engineering from the University of the Philippines (Diliman) in 1975 and has considerable experience of 22 years in engineering design and innovation. He was hailed by the 2011 UP Alumni Association (UPAA) as a Distinguished Alumnus in Science and Technology, and the UP College of Engineering recognized him as one of the “100 Outstanding Alumni Engineers of the Century” during the UP centennial celebration in 2010. During his term, Secretary Montejo has spearheaded DOST policies that focus on developing technology-driven programs to address pressing national problems, countryside development, industry competitiveness, and the delivery of government and social services.

RAMON CASTILLO

President and CEO

Innovatronix, Inc.

This dynamic social entrepreneur, engineer, inventor, and hobby photographer is recognized for his outstanding achievements in electrical engineering and entrepreneurship. His work likewise opened livelihood opportunities among indigenous communities.

Mr. Castillo holds nine patents in the areas of renewable energy, digital printing technology, power electronics, and energy savings. These inventions have been commercialized and include the electronic bicycle, digital photo-printing machine, power supplies for photography applications, and household energy savers.

He holds a degree in BS Electrical Engineering from the University of the Philippines (Diliman) (1977-1982), and a Masters in Business Administration, also from UP Diliman (2004-2008), where he graduated at the top of his class. Mr. Castillo was hailed as one of the Top 100 Engineers of the UP College of Engineering during the university’s Centennial Celebration in May 2010.

JOSE MA. A. CONCEPCION III

Founder, Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (Go Negosyo)

President and CEO, RFM Corporation

An entrepreneur by heart, Mr. Concepcion ignited the movement that has inspired thousands of Filipinos to embrace an enterprising mindset, empowering them with the know-how of starting and growing a business. The advocacy now known as “Go Negosyo” has been at the forefront of developing a culture of entrepreneurship to address the problem of poverty.

The President and CEO of RFM Corporation is concurrently Chairman of the RFM Unilever Ice Cream Corporation, and Director and Executive Committee member of Concepcion Industries, Inc. He is also the entrepreneur behind such household names as Fiesta pasta, Selecta Milk, Sunkist, Alo Green Tea, Vitwater, Kettle Korn, Kornados, and Joey Pepperoni.

This graduate of BS Business Management from the De La Salle University was one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines (TOYM) in 1995. He was recognized in Time’s Global 100

List of Young Leaders of the Millennium, and was a recipient of the Anvil Award of Excellence for Advocacy from the Public Relations Society of the Philippines, and the CEO Excel Award from the International Association of Business Communications. Forbes Asia hailed him as one of the 48 Heroes of Philanthropy for 2011.

LOPE DOROMAL, JR.

Chief Technologist

IBM Philippines

Mr. Doromal is IBM's senior technical ambassador, creating dialogue around technology and innovation with clients, partners, university officials, public sector leaders, IBM employees, and other communities.

He is also a Client Technical Adviser assigned to provide expert, vendor-neutral architectural advice and solution strategies that address clients' strategic business imperatives and current business issues.

A Bachelor's degree in Computer Science graduate from the University of the Philippines (Los Baños), Mr. Doromal spent the first six years of his IT career in various application development roles for local software R&D companies before joining IBM in 1996.

JOSIAH GO

Chairman and Chief Marketing Strategist

Mansmith and Fielders, Inc.

Besides heading a leading marketing and sales training company in the Philippines, Mr. Go is President and CEO of Waters Philippines and Chairman of investment companies Noah Ventures, Inc. and Gosingtian Ventures, Inc.

This marketing guru, entrepreneur, trainor/consultant for local and multinational companies, and best-selling author of over 10 marketing books, is a most awarded business educator: a Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) of the Philippines awardee in 2001; one of only three awardees in Business Education of the Junior Chamber of the Philippines; the first and only Filipino cited by the World Jaycees as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) of the World in 2002; Agora Awardee for Marketing Education of the Philippine Marketing Association in 1994; and recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Marketing Educators (2007).

Mr. Go’s current area of interest is Market-Driving Strategies. He also continues to be involved in various advocacies aimed at youth empowerment and entrepreneurship namely, the Young Market Masters Awards (YMMA), the Marketing Rescue, the Mansmith Blue Freedom Fund, and the MarkProf Foundation.

CASEY HYUN

Creative Design Manager

Hyundai Motor Company

Mr. Hyun counts almost a decade working for Hyundai Motor Company. He is the lead idea man of the team that developed, refined, and executed Fluidic Sculpture, Hyundai Motor Company’s auto design philosophy. Mr. Hyun views a car as his medium for creative expression, where the challenge of design is not only to give people satisfaction that’s greater than an extended warranty, value-savings, or even eco-friendliness; it is about feeling a “belonging” to the model and to get noticed while driving it around.

His first project was the i30, known in Canada as the Elantra Touring. He was the senior designer and exterior designer of the i30, lead designer for exterior and interior advanced product styling of the sixth generation Sonata YF, and of the exterior advanced product styling of the new Accent.

Born in Korea and raised in Australia, Mr. Hyun earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial design from the University of Technology in Sydney in 1996. He worked in the field of product design for two years and went on to do post-graduate studies in Automotive Design at Coventry University (UK).

DAN C.LACHICA

President and CEO

First Philec Solar Corporation

Dr. Lachica is also President of First Philec Nexolon Corporation and First Philec PV Ventures Corporation, Senior Managing Director of First Philec PV Division, and Senior Vice President of First Philippine Holdings Corporation.

He is an accomplished speaker and an expert in strategic planning and operations management (consumer goods, semi-conductor, and electronics manufacturing); total productive maintenance; factory start-ups; and Six Sigma Black Belt.

He was the lone Filipino judge in the 2008-2012 Six Sigma Excellence Awards organized by the International Quality & Productivity Council in Orlando, Florida; awarded the 2007 Dr. Joseph Juran National Medal for Outstanding Accomplishments in Quality Management conferred by the Philippine Society for Quality; and 2006 Outstanding Electrical Engineering Alumnus of the University of the Philippines (Diliman).

A graduate of BS Electrical Engineering from the University of the Philippines (Diliman), with an MBA from San Jose University (California) and Doctorate in Business Administration (with Distinction) from De La Salle University, he was a professor of operations management and human resources management at the Ateneo Graduate School of Business and former Program Director for ISO and Six Sigma (Lopez Group of Companies). He has published international papers on Total Productive Maintenance and Six Sigma.

WILLIAM G. PADOLINA

President

National Academy of Science and Technology Philippines

Dr. Padolina, a licensed chemist, was DOST Secretary from 1995 to 1999 and held several important posts at the University of the Philippines (Los Baños), among which include Vice Chairman for Academic Affairs, Director of the National Institutes of Biotechnology and Applied Microbiology (BIOTECH), and Chairman of the Department of Chemistry. He is the recipient of several awards in the fields of business and science, such as the CEO Excel Award from the International Association of Business Communications (2009); Outstanding Men and Women of Science Award from the DOST (2008); Most Outstanding Alumnus of UP Los Baños; and Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) for Science and Technology (1986).

He has done research and extension activities in the fields of biotechnology, chemistry, science policy, and food security, and has published studies in biotechnology in prestigious scientific journals.

MARIA A. RESSA

CEO and Executive Editor

Rappler

Maria A. Ressa is the CEO and Executive Editor of Rappler, a social news network which uses a hearts and minds approach to news through a unique mood navigator. Rappler combines the best of professional journalism with citizen journalism and crowdsourcing.

Ms. Ressa has been a journalist in Asia for more than 25 years, most of them as CNN’s bureau chief in Manila (1987-1995) and Jakarta (1995-2005). She was CNN’s lead investigative reporter focusing on terrorism in Southeast Asia and wrote “Seeds of Terror: An Eyewitness Account of al-Qaeda’s Newest Center of Operations in Southeast Asia” (Free Press, 2003).

In 2005, she took the helm of ABS-CBN News and Current affairs, for six years determining strategic direction and managing more than 1,000 journalists for the largest multi-platform news operation in the Philippines. Her work aimed to redefine journalism by combining traditional broadcast, new media and mobile phone technology for social change.

She taught at her alma mater, Princeton University, and the University of the Philippines. She worked on her second book, “From Bin Laden to Facebook” as Author-in-Residence and Senior Fellow at the International Centre for Political Violence & Terrorism Research in Singapore.

ARTHUR TAN

Senior Managing Director

Ayala Corporation

President and CEO

Integrated Microelectronics, Inc.

Prior to his current posts, Mr. Tan served as a Managing Director of Ayala Corporation and spent 19 years with American Microsystems Incorporated (AMI) where he excelled in design engineering and sales. The last position he held at AMI was Managing Director of Asia-Pacific/Japan Regional Headquarters.

He is also Chairman of the Advanced Research and Competency Development Institute (ARCDI); Vice Chairman of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc. (SEIPI); Member of the Technical and Business Advisory Board of Renewable Energy Test Center LLC; and a Trustee of the Ayala Foundation. He has been a Director at Integrated Microelectronics, Inc. since 2001.

Mr. Tan graduated with a Degree of BS Electronics and Communication Engineering at the Mapua Institute of Technology in 1982 and took post-graduate classes in MSEE at the University of Idaho and business courses at Harvard University.

DEOGRACIAS VILLAME

Co-founder and CEO

Itemhound Corporation

Mr. Villame founded his technology start-up company that designs and builds specialized applications using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in 2008. In 2010, he received the Filipinnovation Award for Start-up Companies.

He graduated Magna Cum Laude in Electronics and Communications Engineering from the University of the Philippines (Diliman) in 2008, and later obtained a Master of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computers and Communications Option. After graduating, he stayed on with the UP Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute, first as Adjunct Professor then as Senior Lecturer.