Edmund Alan A. Qua Hiansen l 27 January 2025 at the Legapsi Ballroom, Makati Diamond Residences
Good afternoon, Mr. Ramon del Rosario, Jr., our keynote speaker. FINEX Foundation President Toti Bengzon, FINEX Academy President Wilson Tan, our emcee and Board Director Mai Bisnar, esteemed members of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, PHINMA colleagues, my parents, and our honored guests.
I want to begin by thanking Toti Bengzon again for his great leadership of FINEX in 2024. I am humbled to follow in his footsteps and those of our many illustrious Past Presidents, some of whom are in attendance today, and to serve as the 2025 President of the premier organization of finance professionals in the Philippines.
FINEX has played a significant role in my professional career and personal life. I wanted to become a CFO only after joining FINEX and attending the CFO of the Year Award. The FINEX Academy’s Executive Leadership Course shaped the kind of CFO I wanted to become. At FINEX, I met many of my finance idols, gained even more respect for them, and eventually became friends.
I want to thank our dynamic Institute, Foundation, and Academy boards for their passion for serving FINEX. I would also like to thank our Committee Chairs, Co-Chairs, Vice Chairs, Subcommittee Chairs, and Project Leads for answering the call and agreeing to take on these vital positions for the year.
Thank you to the Secretariat, led by our Executive Director, Michael Vinluan, for their tireless efforts behind the scenes.
Last but certainly not least, thank you to my Chairman and CEO, Mr. Ramon del Rosario Jr., or RRR, as we call him, for agreeing to be our inducting officer, for his inspirational speech, and for allowing me this opportunity to serve FINEX.
Sir, we accept your challenge to be catalysts for positive change by going beyond the numbers to serve as guardians of our nation’s future in the national discourse and to lead our companies in fostering positive change for society. Too often, especially during times of financial crisis, our profession is depicted as the villains, with stories of corporate greed emphasized. I, for one, would like to see more narratives highlighting the good that finance professionals accomplish in generating value for our shareholders and society.
Lately, it seems that every year, we predict that the coming year will be better, that we will see more equitable growth, lower interest rates, less volatile foreign exchange, and yes, increased corporate earnings, only to discover that challenges continue to persist. In the context of geopolitical conflicts, political turmoil, and rampant poverty, what is the role of FINEX and our members as business leaders?
At last year’s YFO Christmas Party, I shared one of my favorite quotes from the Italian artist Michelangelo: “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low and achieving it.”
Your Board has chosen the theme “Shaping our Future: Leadership and Innovation in Philippine Business.” This emphasizes the collaborative nature of our goals, extending beyond individuals or institutions to a shared future. Amid volatile and changing times, we will focus on the fundamentals, our capacity to lead organizations, and a continuous drive for innovation. We aim to build on last year’s theme of Achieving Transformational Growth through Sustainability, Diversity, and Digitalization. I must commend our Executive Vice President, Cai Castillo Reyes, for emphasizing the importance of focusing on Philippine Business rather than just Philippine Finance, given the expanding scope of our members and CFOs.
Economist Joseph Schumpeter developed the theory of innovation cycles, beginning with the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, when the first factory was built. This initial wave lasted 60 years, while subsequent waves became progressively shorter. The fifth wave, which included digital networks and social media, lasted only 30 years, and the current wave, encompassing topics like artificial intelligence and robotics, is likely to be even shorter. These innovation cycles require changes in business models and underscore that disruption is not a new phenomenon. Strong leadership, the right talent, and like-minded partners have guided companies through these cycles. For me, this is one of the values of FINEX: cultivating financial executives who will elevate our businesses by capitalizing on the opportunities presented by emerging technologies.
I have had a front-row seat to the transformational impact of outstanding leadership, from watching my dad forge his career as an expat for a multinational company that continues to mentor many of his former colleagues—some of whom have ascended to C-suite positions—to my mom, who has inspired many to care for the less fortunate in our communities, and, of course, to my time working with RRR, initially as his Executive Assistant for six years.
Let me share a few examples from PHINMA’s nearly seventy-year history. PHINMA was founded after World War II to help rebuild the nation and to show that Filipino managers were just as capable, if not better, than their foreign counterparts. We have had three Chief Executive Officers in our history: RRR, our Chairman Emeritus Oscar Hilado, and our Founder, Ambassador Ramon del Rosario, Sr. The Management Association of the Philippines has recognized all three as Management Man of the Year. Each of our CEOs has shaped PHINMA through generational changes, leaving a lasting impact on everyone who served under them while leading numerous businesses toward industry leadership.
In its first 50 years, PHINMA was best known for being the pioneer in the cement industry, owning and managing cement plants nationwide. However, in 2004, PHINMA made two significant strategic decisions: first, to sell its interests in cement to what is now Holcim, and second, to address the learning crisis in the Philippines by investing those proceeds to provide quality education for the underserved market. Our portfolio has evolved as we have intentionally made investments to better serve that market’s needs.
In 2018, PHINMA re-entered the cement industry that we are very familiar with, as we noted that the Philippines was about to undergo significant infrastructure development while also facing a shortage of cement supply. However, our business model has changed significantly; we adopted a regional business model that allows us greater flexibility in servicing our customers through an asset-light approach, allowing us to supply strong, reliable cement quickly. Last Friday, we broke ground on our new Davao Cement facility, a joint venture with Anflocor of the Floirendo family, which will enable us to better support Mindanao’s development. This is our second facility of this nature in the Philippines. At the event, it was very heartwarming to see PHINMA executives reconnecting with second and third-generation family members of dealers who have been doing business with the Group for decades.
Moving on to FINEX, your Board recently engaged in strategic planning for 2025, and we have many exciting initiatives lined up. We are committed to continuing all of FINEX’s strategic imperatives, utilizing data to enhance member engagement, drive membership recruitment, and foster inclusive activities.
We will soon release a survey to understand the issues important to FINEX members and identify the activities you wish to participate in. Additionally, we will provide the event calendars as soon as possible to encourage attendance. We plan to find speakers for our General Membership Meetings and Professional Development Committee forums who will offer unique insights on topics relevant to financial executives, such as the impact of the Trump presidency, the implications of our own elections, emerging technology, and longer-term structural trends. We will also celebrate Women’s Month in March. Our Membership Committee has planned a full calendar of monthly fellowship opportunities ranging from arts and culture to sports, including the return of FINEX Family Day. These fellowship activities will engage our entire membership base, from the young to the young at heart. Of course, we will also celebrate FINEX Week in the second week of October.
To further strengthen engagement, this year, the Institute will have 12 Committees, down from 26 last year, including Advocacy, Elections, Membership, GMM, CFO of the Year, FINEX Week, Media Affairs and Communication, Professional Development, Ethics and Governance, Partnerships, Finance and Audit. As mentioned earlier, our strategic programs will continue under this Committee Structure, and we are fortunate to have strong Liaison Directors and Committee Chairs for the upcoming year. This results from a multi-year strategic plan that we believe will best serve our members. We encourage everyone to participate actively in the activities, and we will also be sending out information sheets and details for the Committees.
FINEX is as strong as our members, and last year, we saw a net increase of only six members from 2022. Mignon Ramos, our Vice President for Internal Affairs, will lead the development of a long-term strategic plan to boost our membership. Through our Membership Committee, we will assess the possibility of offering Associate Membership while also reviewing the requests of our Life Members.
Our Advocacy Committee will adopt a more proactive stance on national issues, particularly those related to finance professionals and the development of the capital market. We will keep our members informed on these matters.
Our Partnerships Committee will strengthen and institutionalize our affiliate partnership with FINEX Cebu while working with our local and international partners. After all, we can achieve more together, especially since we are aligned with other business organizations. For our partners in attendance, please feel free to reach out if there are ways that FINEX can collaborate with you.
Finally, we pledge to maintain complete transparency with our members. You can anticipate updates from us regularly regarding our plans, activities, membership numbers, collections, and financial status.
These are ambitious goals, especially for one year, but I promise we will continue to aim high and explore new opportunities to better our Institute. I pledge to give FINEX my very best, and I invite you—my friends, colleagues, and fellow FINEX members—to join the Board in shaping our future. Thank you for attending our first General Membership Meeting of the year and supporting our plans. I look forward to seeing everyone at more of our events this year.