President’s Message

Augusto D. Bengzon l 17 April 2024 at New World Hotel Makati Hotel

To our guest speakers, friends from media, guests, my fellow directors and officers of FINEX, 0ur beloved members, good afternoon.

Since the start of the year, I am very glad that we have been consistently having good attendance during our GMMs. We hope to see more of our members attend in the next coming months.

For today’s GMM, I would like to thank our Professional Development Committee, headed by Co-Chairs Paolo Azurin and Mai Bisnar and Liaison Director Gema Cheng for putting together a very timely and interesting topic and speakers. As finance executives, it is imperative that we understand the implications of the geopolitical tensions between the two largest economies of the world for our economy.

My special thanks, as well, to our speakers for today, Dr. Ron Mendoza and Dr. Calla Weimer, who will be properly introduced later.

I would like to congratulate and thank our committees for their activities and programs since our last GMM.

1. On March 19, our Financial Inclusion Committee held a forum entitled “Inclusion through Women and Water, at the New World Makati Hotel to celebrate the International Women’s Month and World Water Day. Special thanks to Water.org for sponsoring the event.
2. On March 20, the Good Governance Committee conducted another forum to celebrate the Women’s Month, entitled “Empowering Excellence: Women Leaders Shaping Governance for a Sustainable Future. Thanks to PHINMA Corp. for sponsoring this session.
3. On April 3, our LIFE Icons had its first Kapihan sa FINEX event, where our life members discussed programs and topics that will be of interest to them.

Please look forward to the following programs –

• On April 27, our Fellowship Subcommittee will host the first socials activity at the VIP Golf at the MET Live, Pasay City. This event is specifically designed to welcome and engage our new members.
• The Kick-Off Golf Tournament this year will be held on May 3 at the Alabang Country Club.
• On May 16, Latham and Watkins partnered with FINEX, through the Professional Development Committee, for its 5^th conference, entitled “Breaking Ground: Unlocking Philippine Investment Opportunities in the Year of the Dragon” at the Shangri-la at the Fort. FINEX members and guests are free to attend but prior registration is required.

The 8th Ayala-FINEX Finance Summit will be held in September, the search for the 18th ING-FINEX CFO of the Year will be launched in May with the awarding ceremony in November, and the annual FINEX Week will be from September 30 to October 4.

I also encourage everyone to support the initiatives of the FINEX Research and Development Foundation and the FINEX Academy.

The 11th offering of the Capital Markets & Fixed Income Course will be in May.

The fourth run of the Senior Finance Leadership Program, designed for new and aspiring CFOs and C-suite executives with finance oversight, will commence on Friday, April 19. The 1st Emerging Finance Leadership Program will be introduced this year for mid-level managers.

The FINEX Foundation’s Social Involvement Committee continues to provide free financial literacy sessions to all our stakeholders, especially the underprivileged members of our society. We hope everyone can join this advocacy by being one of our lecturers or partners.

We are still campaigning for this year’s year-round sponsorship. We hope that you and your companies will be one of them. The packages include:

• Partner – P2.0million
• Platinum – P1.0million
• Diamond – P750,000
• Gold – P500,000
• Patron – P300,000

Being one of our year-round sponsors, your company will be entitled to the following benefits:

• Company logo in the FINEX website homepage;
• Acknowledgement during GMMs;
• Posting of company electronic direct mail collateral in FINEX’s social media channels and email blast;
• FINEX Week sponsorship;
• Complimentary attendance in GMMs and FINEX Conference; and,
• FINEX Directory ad placement.

I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to the following organizations for confirming their support this year, namely:

Platinum:       Forecasting & Planning Technologies, Inc. and Ayala Land, Inc.

Gold:              BPI, SGV & Co., KPMG R.G. Manabat & Co., PwC Isla Lipana & Co., and Metrobank

Patron:           P&A Grant Thornton

Minor:            Jollibee Foods Corporation

We hope that this campaign will allow us carry out our numerous programs and advocacies for the year.

Apart from this, we also enjoin everyone in recruiting new members, especially from the publicly listed companies and top 1,000 corporations. I encourage you all to invite your friends and colleagues to join FINEX this year.

We will continue to keep you informed of our planned initiatives, particularly as we progress on our major thrusts for this year. We look forward to your continuing support and engagement.

Thank you.