Asian Banking & Finance and Insurance Asia Summit - Philippines - March 11, 2025

Mr. Kalidas Ghose is the Chairman of the Uno Digital Bank, Philippines and also the Chairman, of Uno Asia, Singapore. Uno was among the list of exclusive Fintech organizations who were issued the digital banking license and became the first fintech to be launched as a digital bank from the start in this region and probably in the world. In a short span of two years from being awarded the license, Uno has been able to incorporate the bank, build a tech platform that has received regulatory certification, launched the business and scaled up to nearly 400K customers through a combination of organic and inorganic distribution channels and numerous successful partnerships with online and offline businesses in the market. It aims to break even by 1Q2024, less than 18 months from market launch. 
Before assuming his role as the Chairman of Uno Bank, he was the  Chief Executive Officer of VP Bank SMBC Finance Company Limited which operates under the brand name of FE Credit and is the largest consumer finance company in Vietnam, the fastest growing in South-East Asia with strong plans for  transforming into a digital bank in the future. It is a joint venture between VP Bank, one of the most successful private sector banks in Vietnam, and Sumitomo Mitsui Finance Group, one of the largest and diversified financial groups in the world. Till 2022, FE Credit has served more than 25M customers and disbursed loans to more than 14M unique customers in order to achieve around 50% share of the consumer finance market in Vietnam with more than $3B in receivables and $ 1B in revenues per annum. FE Credit also enjoys the distinction of being the issuer of the highest number of Credit Cards in Vietnam.till 2022 with more than 2.3M cards issued in 6 years. 
Kalidas is a Retail Banking and Consumer Finance veteran with more than 30 years of experience in leading the build out of successful businesses in global institutions across various emerging markets in India. He joined VP Bank as the CEO of the Consumer Finance Division in April 2011 soon after the business was launched earlier that year and concurrently held the position of the Head of Retail Banking Division till May 2015. During this period, he nurtured the growth of the Consumer Finance business while leading the Retail Banking division through historic transformation projects that ultimately led to the establishment of the most successful businesses in their respective categories in Vietnam. The consumer finance business was spun off into an independent legal vehicle and Kalidas moved to it as the CEO of the newly formed company in early 2015. 
Since the inception of the consumer finance business as a unit in VP Bank, Kalidas has led the journey to build one of the most successful consumer-facing financial services franchise in the whole of South East Asia. He has achieved this by developing a comprehensive suite of products distributed through a very large and diversified network supported by a best-in-class risk management framework and a cutting-edge technology platform. He has the reputation for building a highly motivated management team of talented and experienced leaders from both the local and overseas markets who have come together as a team to deliver superior business results in one of the fastest growing major markets in the world. 
While FE Credit grew admirably since its start in 2011 to become the undisputed leader in the consumer finance industry in less than 4 years, Kalidas realized the importance of pivoting to a highly digitalized business model in 2017 as the way to the next wave of strong growth and sustainable success in future. He has personally led the transformation of FE Credit since early 2018 by digitalizing every aspect of the business model starting with customer touch-points at the front-end to the operations process at the back-end and even supporting functions like talent acquisition and people management with the creation of a highly capable Analytics platform making a strong contribution towards achieving the goals. Under his leadership, FE Credit continues to gain market share by adopting world-class technologies, be it contact center digitalization for customer engagement or a fully automated lending platform which has reduced the turnaround time for loan approval process from 4-5 days to under 20 minutes. 
In July 2019, Kalidas was honored with the “CEO of the Year” award from the Asia Pacific Customer Service Consortium as a testimony of his vision and leadership in building the organization with strong customer loyalty, brand image, sustainable financial performance and a customer centric culture. 
In 2021, FE Credit witnessed a watershed event in its history when the globally renowned Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. decided to invest 49% equity for a valuation of $2.8B, the highest investment from Japan in any Vietnamese financial institution. This was a significant recognition of their achievement for which the FE Credit under his leadership is justifiably proud of. 
Kalidas started his career in 1992 in Credit Operations for Retail Banking with Citibank N.A. in India and was subsequently promoted to the Head of Secured and Unsecured Lending for Southern India before being appointed as the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of CitiFinancial India, the consumer finance vehicle of Citibank across various markets. He then moved to the Philippines as the President and CEO of CitiFinancial, a business he was able to turn around in a short span of time before merging it with a local savings bank acquired by Citigroup in 2005. In 2007, he was appointed as the founding CEO of Prudential Finance, the first fully foreign owned consumer finance business in Vietnam. He joined ANZ as the General Manager, Retail Banking and Wealth Management for Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos in 2010 before joining VP Bank in 2011. 
Kalidas has an MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur and a graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from Jadavpur University, both leading institutes in India. He currently lives in Ho Chi Minh City with his wife and twin daughters. Reading nonfictional books and collecting fountain pens are two of his main hobbies when he is not busy with his profession.

Fridolin runs XiXun Asia, a boutique management consulting firm in Singapore. He delivered large scale front to back business and IT platform changes as a Program Director and Operating Model Designer. He has more than 35 years’ banking experience in Europe and Asia in both the run and change the bank dimensions. He has successfully led or advised teams on more than 10 core banking transformation projects including Credit Suisse, Royal Bank of Canada, Maybank and Deutsche Bank PWM. He designed the IT Blueprint for an online fashion retailer, advised a German telco on their digital transformation journey and project lead Crealogix’ suite of products to Bangkok Bank. Most recently he assessed the target operating model and competitive advantage proposition of a Malaysian tier 1 bank’s wealth management to design their digital blueprint and roadmap. 

Rosana went straight out of the University of the Philippines College of Engineering into a career in IT. She started as a technical consultant for IT Service providers before moving to AIG Shared Services. For 18 years, she supported AIG offices in APAC in building a stronger foundation for IT Security and Governance practices and had a 4-years stint as an IT Security Officer for Australia and New Zealand while based in the Philippines. Ros joined Allianz PNB Life as Chief Information Security Officer in November 2021 and she continues to develop and implement the organization's information security programs. She has completed relevant certifications over the years including CISA, COBIT and ITIL.

Lito Villanueva is the Philippines’ foremost thought leader in digital transformation and inclusive digital finance at scale. As
the Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer of RCBC, he has led the bank’s digital revolution,
delivering groundbreaking innovations that have earned over 250 accolades. Among these are Euromoney’s Best Bank for
Digital (2020–2024), Gartner’s Eye for Innovation, YouTube’s Challenger Award, and recognition as Sustainable Innovator of
the Year at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2024—the sole Philippine winner. He also serves as the Chief Digital
Transformation Advisor of the Yuchengco Group of Companies.

Villanueva’s expertise and contributions have been widely recognized. He was recently named Asia’s Top Outstanding
Netizen (Digital) Marketeer of the Year by the Asia Marketing Federation and honored as CX Professional of the Year by The
Digital Banker. He has also been celebrated as the Philippines’ Innovator of the Year for Banking in the Asian Management
Excellence Awards, received the Outstanding Achievement for Marketing Management in the Agora Awards (dubbed the
Oscars of Philippine marketing), and was twice a Circle of Excellence awardee at the Asia CEO Awards. Other accolades
include PhilSec’s Digital Leader of the Year 2023 and being hailed “Mr. FinTech of the Philippines” by NewsBiz Asia.

On LinkedIn, Villanueva stands out with triple distinctions in 2023: Top 100 Filipinos on LinkedIn, Top 30 Philippine Leaders,
and Top Finance Leader under the LinkedIn Leadership Catalysts Awards. Globally, he has been listed among the Asian
Banker’s Leading Practitioners in Banking and Financial Technology, Seamless Asia’s Top 50 Banking and Payments
Leaders, and Top 100 Fintech Leaders in Asia. His work has garnered over 100 regional and global accolades.

In addition to his professional roles, Villanueva is the founding chairman of Fintech Alliance.PH, founding chairman of the
Alliance of Digital Finance and FinTech Associations, a trustee of the Philippine Blockchain Council, co-founder of Asia
FinTech Alliance, and an advisory board member of the ASEAN Innovation Business Platform. He is also a founding member
of the Philippine-Hungary Business Council. A published author, he wrote the award-winning Inclusive Digital Finance Report
and pens a regular business column, Bytes, for the Philippine Star.

Villanueva holds two master’s degrees: a Master’s in National Security Administration from the National Defense College of
the Philippines and a Master of Arts in Public Administration, magna cum laude, from the University of Santo Tomas. He also
completed the Digital Transformation by Design program at the Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, United
Kingdom.

Through his unwavering commitment to innovation, inclusion, and leadership, Lito Villanueva continues to shape the digital
finance landscape, empowering millions across the Philippines and beyond.

Mr. Carlos Tengkiat was awarded the Best Chief Information Security Officer/Information Security Head of the Year (Bankingand Finance) in 2024. This was given by The Information Security Officers Group (ISOG), a professional association that promotes information security practices and helps security professionals grow.

Mr. Tengkiat was cited for his efforts in the field of information security and was highly recognized for his valuable contributions to RCBC, being one of the key players in the successful implementation of the Governance Risk and Compliance system, development of data governance and enhancement of third-party risk management, among others.

Prior to joining RCBC, Carlos was already a seasoned information security (InfoSec) and financial technology (FinTech) professional with over 24 years’ experience in the fields of information technology (IT), payment card industry, and financial services. He held other posts such as Chief Operating Officer and Head of Special Projects. Carlos was primarily involved in the development of the company’s payment system infrastructure. During his stint, Carlos was also the lead in ensuring the company’s attainment of a PCI DSS certification in
2006.

Dr. Adrienne Heinrich heads the AI Center of Excellence at Union Bank of the Philippines and is AI Advisor of Aboitiz Data Innovation.

Before that, Adrienne led AI and Machine Learning for personal health and connected care products at Royal Philips.

She obtained her Master's degree in Information Technology at ETH Zurich and received her PhD at the Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands) on video motion analysis for emerging application
areas. 

Sitti Reyes is a Principal at Boston Consulting Group’s Manila office and has worked with leading financial institutions—including universal banks, fintech players and development banks—on growth strategy, customer journeys, and digital transformation. Her experience spans Southeast Asia and Canada, with a strong focus on driving financial inclusion and enhancing the journeys of both retail customers and businesses, especially in emerging markets. Sitti has played a key role in helping one of the country’s leading fintechs establish its SME business—developing the overall strategy, go-to-market approach, and launching a pioneering product suite tailored for MSMEs. She holds a degree in Business Administration and Accountancy from the University of the Philippines. Outside of work, Sitti is an avid tennis player and a dedicated dog mom to two French bulldogs.

Mila Bedrenets serves as the Chief Growth Hacker at Tonik, the Philippines' pioneering independent digital bank. Renowned for her strategic and creative vision and leadership style, Mila brings a wealth of experience and fun to her role.

With a background spanning finance and marketing in several emerging markets –  she spearheads innovative and customer-centric initiatives, propelling the bank to the forefront of digital banking excellence. Under her guidance, Tonik has become synonymous with exceptional customer experience in the digital banking landscape.

Albert has several years of experience in the fields of fintech, banking, telecommunications, and logistics. He started his career in logistics working for American President Lines and Federal Express. He then moved into telecommunications with two major Philippine telco players, Globe Telecom and Smart Communications. Albert earned Globe’s Leadership Award for significant gains made in growing and expanding broadband services nationwide. He transitioned from telco to fintech after being chosen to lead GCash as President and CEO. During this time, Albert became the founding president of the Philippine E-Money Association.

Immediately before joining GoTyme Bank, he was SVP, Digital Payments and Agency Banking for Robinsons Bank. Albert has a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel and Restaurant Administration from the University of the Philippines and completed the Oxford FinTech Program from the University of Oxford Saïd Business School. 

At the launch of GoTyme Bank in October 2022, Albert explained its differentiator which is providing accessible and affordable products and services with a human touch. He mentioned that to keep the human connection always, GoTyme Bank has kiosks supported by bank ambassadors that are strategically located across the Gokongwei retail ecosystem as well as personal bankers who address customer concerns or issues thru phone calls, emails or chats.

Vita oversees the People & Culture team which is directly responsible for supporting and delivering the human capital strategies across the organization.  Working closely with the management team to establish and implement people-centered initiatives, to support the organization’s vision and strategic priorities, specifically in the areas of – sourcing & recruitment, talent management, organizational and performance management, training & development, succession planning, change management, rewards, and employee communications.  

In partnership with management and employees, People & Culture drives and enables people services and solutions, ensuring full alignment with the operational, strategic business, and people goals of the company.  

Vita brings years of experience in the fields of HR and Training, having worked in the financial industry with global brands and organizations. She has maneuvered the HR field, engaged with a variety of business and functional management teams, and utilized personal contribution and partnership in all aspects of human capital management.  

A strategic business partner, mentor, coach, and seasoned Human Resources practitioner – Vita is also a wife, mother, and a dog lover.  Vita obtained her bachelor’s degree in Business Management at the University of the Philippines, Cebu.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce our esteemed guest speaker, who currently serves as the Chief Operations Officer at AXA Philippines. With over two decades of experience in the insurance industry, her career at AXA has been marked by a series of progressive leadership roles, including Director of Policy Services and Branch Operations and Chief Life and Health Underwriter for AXA Philippines, and Expert Underwriting and Claims Manager for AXA Global Life, Paris, France.

Our guest speaker has a proven track record of driving operational excellence and innovation, successfully implementing digital transformations that enhance customer experience and operational efficiencies. Notably, she led significant projects where she innovated, designed, and implemented new ways of working leveraging on digitalization, robotics process automation, and data trends to enable sustainable, profitable business acceleration, and to streamline processes that has resulted to operational efficiencies and frictionless customer experience. One of the highlights of her career was to establish a digital customer service platform for insurance policyholders, achieving remarkable increases in operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. This digital platform serves as one of the highlights of her career and will be the focus of her talk today.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from St. Paul University Iloilo, graduating cum laude, and completed the Innovation Fellowship Program at the Asian Institute of Management. She is dedicated to developing the next generation of leaders through coaching and empowerment, ensuring sustainable growth within the organization.

Please join me in welcoming Ms. Kate Villegas-Driz to the stage!

Sari Mortel joined J.P. Morgan as head of Payments for Philippines in 2019, providing end-to-end transaction banking management oversight, including franchise strategy, product development and service delivery to institutional clients.

Sari joined JPMorgan from BDO Unibank where she was head of Cash Management International Desk and Financial Institutions, Transaction Banking Group. Prior to that, Sari spent 17 years at Citibank N.A. Philippines on various roles, such as head of Cash and Trade Product Management and as Securities Country Manager for Securities and Funds Services. Sari has over 25 years of transaction banking experience in operations, customer service, product and sales management and business development. She carries deep knowledge and experience on both the financial institution and corporate client segments as well as on the Philippines market landscape.

Sari is a graduate of the Ateneo De Manila University, major in Management Engineering. She is a mother of 3 who spends her weekends in the garden planting herbs and ornamental plants and dreams of having a farm someday.

At present, Sari is a member of the Philippine’s ACH PESONet Steering Committee and currently acts as the Vice-Chair of the PESONet’s Operations Committee. Sari is also co-lead of the PESONet’s technical working group for ACH’s intra-day Multi-Batch Settlement initiative. 

Angelo Madrid is the President of Maya Bank, the no. 1 digital bank in the Philippines.

Before joining Maya, Angelo served as the Country Manager of Tala Philippines, a US-based fintech lending startup. He also held various roles with Citibank, based in New York, including co-founding a fintech startup with Citi Ventures that uses alternative data to help US consumers gain access to credit. 

Gelo received his bachelor's degree in Management and Juris Doctor law degree from the Ateneo de Manila University. He completed his MBA from Duke University - Fuqua School of Business.

As a Group Chief Risk Officer of UnionBank of the Philippines, he is responsible for managing all types of risks for the main bank and its 8 bank and non-bank subsidiaries.

He has 29 years of experience in the banking industry, mostly spent at Citibank Indonesia, including a short stint at Citibank Australia before moving to Citibank Philippines in 2017 and then he transitioned to UnionBank in 2022 following the acquisition of Citibank Consumer, joining the team as Group CRO.

In addition, he served as Supervisory Board Chairman of Citibank's Indonesia Pension Fund (2012-2017), TransUnion Board of Directors representing Citibank Philippines (2017-2022) as well as Guest Auditor for various Citi markets globally, specializing in consumer credit risk and margin lending.

Marlon is a telecommunications and cybersecurity leader with extensive experience in the SEA and APAC regions. He blends technical expertise with sharp business acumen holding Master's degrees in Engineering Management and Physics. A licensed Electronics and Communications Engineering, his career progression includes key roles at Alcatel Lucent (Systems Design Manager and  Business Development Director), A10 Networks (Country Sales Manager), and Trustwave (Country Sales Director).

At Globe, Marlon has led Solution Sales for both IT Enabled Services as well as Cybersecurity and Business Applications. He also served as Sales Head for the Services and Healthcare sectors within the Globe Business Enterprise Group. His background showcases a strong ability to navigate complex technical challenges, drive sales growth, and understand diverse industry needs.

Roland V. Oscuro, First Senior Vice President, is the Chief Information Security Officer and, in concurrent capacity the Data Protection Officer of Philippine National Bank.

He obtained his Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Communication Engineering degree from Mapua Institute of Technology and took up unit in Master in Business Administration for Middle Managers at the Ateneo de Manila Graduate School.

He is an Electronic and Communications Engineering Board passer and also an ISACA Certified Information Security Manager (CISM). Before his present position, Mr. Oscuro was hired as PNB’s IT Consultant in 2003, and was then appointed as the Head of Network Management Division of Information Technology Group with the rank of First Vice President in 2004.

Prior to joining PNB, he was the Operational Support System Group Manager of Multi-Media Telephony, Inc (Broadband Philippines). He was also connected with various corporations such as Ediserve Corp. (Global Sources), Sterling Tobacco Corporation, Zero Datasoft (Al Bassam), Metal Industry Research and Development Center, and Pacific Office Machines, Inc.

Ria Mercado is the Chief Risk Officer (CRO) of Sun Life Philippines, with a career spanning 26 years in the financial services industry, marked by significant tenures in both banking and insurance. 

Professional Experience:
Ria began her journey in Asiatrust Development Bank, handling Asset Liability Management for the Treasury Department.
Her next stop was with Standard Chartered Bank. Joining through its Graduate Associate Program, Ria completed her rotation across various Wholesale Banking Operations units. Her focus later shifted to Market Risk and Operational Risk Management.

Moving on to Deutsche Knowledge Services, she served as the Risk and Control Lead for Debt and Client Business.

Ria then transitioned to the insurance sector, spending the last decade at Sun Life Philippines. A key member of the Philippine Leadership Team, she holds the position of Chief Risk Officer and oversees risk management for the following:
• Sun Life of Canada (Philippines), Inc., (insurance)
• Sun Life Grepa Financial, Inc. (bancassurance)
• Sun Life Asset Management Company, Inc. (mutual funds)
 

Ria earned her Associate badge from The Digital Insurer, where she completed her certification program on digital insurance.

Educational Background:
• Master’s in Business Management, Asian Institute of Management
• Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, University of the Philippines - Diliman

Mhel is the Department Head of Technology Risk and Innovation Supervision Department of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. His progressive leadership has reshaped the Bangko Sentral’s regulatory approach on technology and innovation resulting in financial services that make the day-to-day lives of Filipinos better and easier. Through Mhel’s leadership in his role in the Bangko Sentral, innovative services like electronic wallets, online banking services, or digital banks, were made available to the banking public. Nowadays, Mhel is yet again at the forefront of regulatory advancements aimed at leveraging on innovative technologies and strategic partnerships to improve the lives of every Filipino. These include regulatory sandbox, supervisory technology, and secure open data access or open finance, among others.

Patricia Buenaventura Nichol is member of our global Financial Services practice. Patricia has more than 20 years of experience — including more than 15 years with Bain — advising corporate clients on topics including digitization, innovation, corporate and business unit strategy, and operating model. She has experience working on: Full potential strategy for large, multi-country and single-market international banks in APAC, Americas and EMEA; Full potential transformation for a major Philippine bank and a Philippine pharmaceutical company; Corporate due diligence and portfolio strategy for major private equity funds looking to invest in technology and consumer goods companies; Equity and debt fundraising for various Fortune 500 companies in energy, technology, industrial sectors, telcos (including Philippine telcos), and financial services companies. Patricia is also a core member of our banking innovation team, covering cybersecurity, open banking, agility, and disruptive trends impacting the financial services industry. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MPP from Harvard Kennedy School, and a B.A. from Williams College. 

Mr. Glenn William Alcala is a risk advisory and cyber resilience strategy expert with over 10 years of professional experience. He has been engaged in hundreds of IT audits, and several cybersecurity resiliency consulting engagements, and enterprise risk management activities. He spent two (2) years at RSM Australia, where he played a key role in developing the firm's information security attestation practice for Australia’s Consumer Data Right (CDR) Standards, the country’s open banking framework. 

Clement specialises in digital strategy & marketing technologies, advising FSIs on scaling personalisation. He works with Adobe’s enterprise customers to shape digital-first strategies that deliver seamless experiences and business growth.

Ian heads SGV’s Financial Services Organization, which covers Banking and Capital Markets, Insurance, and Wealth and Asset Management. He previously led the Firm’s Government and Public Sector and Financial Services Risk Management Group.