Retail Asia Forum - Manila - October 3, 2024

A highly motivated, dedicated Career Executive Service Officer (CESO) with significant contribution and experience in public sector management, specifically in planning, monitoring & evaluation, performance management, public administration, and public policy formulation. As a CESO, USEC Pacheco is a 2015 CES VIP (Very Innovative Person 2015) awardee for introducing innovation and institutionalizing good governance initiatives in the DTI and a Gawad CES nominee in 2023. Last 2021, she participated the Lee Kuan Yew Senior Fellowship in Singapore and became a Lee Kuan Yew Fellow. Lastly, on 2022, she received two significant awards from her alma mater, the University of Santo Tomas. First is the Commerce Outstanding Alumni 2022 by the College of Commerce Alumni Foundation (Cocafi) in the field of government service as a graduate the UST College of Commerce and Business Administration. Second as one Of the Most Distinguished Thomasian Alumna conferred by the UST Alumni Association and nominated by PMT/CAT alumni association. And just recently, she was an awardee of Institute for Solidarity of Asia's (ISA) 2024 College of Fellows as champion and leader of governance reform.

Appointed last December 6, 2023 as DTI Undersecretary, Usec Pacheco now manages the DTI Digital Philippines Group (DPG) which includes managing the E-Commerce Bureau, Supply Chain and Logistics, Wholesale and Retail Services Office, and Digital Services Office.

Lance is a Principal in Boston Consulting Group’s Manila office and has worked with offline and online retailers in the Philippines and USA. He has also led some of BCG’s proprietary research on the Filipino consumer. Lance recently rejoined BCG after spending the last four years at Clair, a US-based neobank, where he was the first employee and led the company as Chief Revenue Officer from 0 to its first $1 million in revenue.  At BCG, he has worked with clients in retail, fintech, and consumer goods on topics around strategy, transformation, and performance management across 14 countries in North America and Asia-Pacific. Lance graduated from Harvard University with a degree in visual studies. Outside of work, Lance is an avid half-marathon runner, home cook, husband, and dog dad to two golden retrievers.

Jayan is currently VP Digital for SM Retail, the largest retail chain in the Philippines. He is responsible for building out new Digital capabilities across the different retail concepts. He previously worked at P&G across geographies, categories and IT disciplines shaping technology enabled new business models.

Pavan Powar is a seasoned professional with 10+ years of experience in business and strategy roles. He currently heads Strategy and Marketplace for SariSuki, a hyperlocal eGrocery platform that provides consumers with the freshest produce at the best value. Prior to moving to the Philippines, Pavan was part of the growing startup ecosystem in India. He spent 3 years at Indian E-Commerce giant Flipkart in various roles across strategy and business development. Post which he's worked exclusively with early stage startups, helping them to drive sustainable growth. Outside of work, Pavan is a PADI Certified Scuba Diving Instructor and also enjoys playing football, cricket and tennis.

The next speaker/panelist is a household name in the Philippines, especially among those who enjoy sports. That’s because his name is on the sign of the biggest sports chain in the Philippines, Toby’s Sports, which was named after him.

Since he joined the family business he has contributed to the Quorum Group’s rapid growth which now has interests in retail, distribution and real estate. From only 13 stores when he came on board, their group now has a total of 69 physical stores around the country plus 3 e-commerce storefronts.

He was the brainchild behind Toby’s Arena, the country’s first interactive sports store. He is also the creator of the first world-class running specialty store in the Philippines, called RUNNR. Equipped with cutting edge technology to analyze customer’s foot type and running gait, it is acknowledged as one of the best running stores in the world today.

Their most recent venture is urbanAthletics, a sports lifestyle store inspired by sneaker culture. All three stores have received distinctions as a Most Outstanding Filipino Retailer with Toby’s also winning Outstanding Filipino Franchise by the Phil. Franchise Association.

On top of their physical expansion, he spearheaded their foray into e-commerce as early as 2010. Their websites tobys.com, runnr.com.ph and urbanathletics.com.ph have seen exponential growth especially during the pandemic and have continued to grow. Tobys.com is already one of the most visited websites in the Philippines today.

In recognition of his accomplishments as a Retail Innovator, he was a recipient of the Young Market Masters Award for Business Development in 2008.

In his spare time, he’s an avid sportsman who frequently engages in several sports including Cycling, Tennis, Pickleball, Basketball and Golf as his favorites, while raising three young boys with his wife Lina.

A graduate of BS Business Economics at the University of the Philippines Diliman and awarded UP outstanding alumnus in 2005, Robert Go is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Prince Retail Group. Prince Retail operates over 70 hypermarts and supermarkets across the country, primarily focused in Visayas and Mindanao and in underserved and rural areas with the mission of serving the underserved.

Robert also served as the President of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2004-2006 and as the Regional Governor of PCCI in 2006-2007. He was Co-Chair of the Regional Development Council for Region 7 in 2004-2007 and chaired the Economic Development Committee from 2007 to 2016.

Prince Retail Group was recently awarded last week (September 2024) in Laos by the ASEAN as the Philippine awardee for the Inclusive Businesses award, an award conferred to businesses focused on establishing a conducive environment for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and contribute to inclusive and sustainable development in the ASEAN region. In addition, in 2022, Prince was awarded by Kantar as the 6th most preferred retailer nationwide and number one retailer in the Visayas.

Ms. Rosemarie Bosch-Ong is the Senior Executive Vice President and COO of Wilcon Depot who has made a significant impact in the home improvement and construction retail industry with her knowledge and experience in marketing, administration, and operations.  

Rosemarie has been in the industry for more than 40 years, starting out as the Purchasing Manager of then Wilcon Builders Supply, Inc. in 1984. In addition to her integral role in Wilcon, she is also the Chairwoman of the Philippine Retailers Association, serving as President for six years. She is also heavily involved with various advocacies and organizations, taking on leadership positions in Wilcon Foundation as President, Board Director at WomenBiz Philippines, Chairman of Trade at the Philippine Chamber Commerce and Industry, and Founding Director of Proptech Consortium of the Philippines to name a few. In addition, she’s a regular columnist for the Philippine Star with her column, “Rose to the Occassion”. 

She received an MBA with Distinction from the De La Salle University, and an undergraduate degree from the University of the East, Philippines. She also took Digital Transformation at Insead with distinction. She is a loving mother to her son, Amos Timothy, and a devoted wife to Antonio(+). 

She has been invited to numerous forums, conferences as resource speaker, panelist or keynote speaker sharing her insights, expertise and experience in Retail, operational practices, Economics and Digital Transformation 

Because of her tenacity, she has been recognized and have won International and National Awards such as the Philippine Daily Inquirer Woman in Power Awardee 2023, World Women Leadership Congress 2023, Philippines Women Leader-Hall of Famer, University of the Philippines Goad Oblation Award 2023, International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge Award 2018 among others. 

He has 33 years business leadership experience, including 22 years in general management and 5 years in global marketing. He has run businesses or led projects in diverse industries including FMCG (P&G, Unilever), metals (Reynolds), energy (Shell) and financial services.

At Unilever, Bernard was responsible for branded retail initiatives covering 2000+ stores in all 6 continents in 2001 to 2005.

Bernard joined Ace Hardware in 2012 and has helped the Philippine team reach significant milestones.

In 2017, Ace Philippines became the largest Ace franchise chain in the world. In 2022 and 2023, Ace Philippines was awarded Retail Asia’s back-to-back Hardware Retailer of the Year-Philippines. The company was also awarded Retail Asia’s ESG Initiative of the Year-Philippines in 2023.  

Bernard earned his MBA from IMD in Switzerland. He has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Economics from the University of the Philippines in Diliman.

Anna is the Client Officer at Ipsos Philippines, responsible for client relationships and business development. 

With over 20 years of market research and consumer insight experience across automotive, luxury, retail, and FMCG industries, she has extensive expertise in automotive research and car clinics conducted in multiple countries. 

Before Ipsos, Anna led automotive research in China and Singapore, building a strong multicultural team. She is proficient in branding, customer experience, market understanding, innovation, and performance management, with skills in both quantitative and qualitative research.

I'm Marcela D Luca , and I'm honored to be here at this conference. With a career spanning more than 25 years in the retail industry, I've developed a deep expertise in successfully navigating the complex and ever-evolving retail landscape. From my roles as a retail executive in both the United States and Southeast Asia, I've honed the skills necessary to thrive amidst the constant shifts in consumer behavior, emerging technologies, and market trends.

My passion lies in strategically adapting to change, identifying emerging opportunities, and leading teams through transformational periods in the retail sector. I've not only witnessed but actively participated in the industry's transformation, from traditional brick-and-mortar retail to the digital age.

I'm eager to engage in discussions, share my experiences, and learn from fellow industry leaders here at this conference. Together, we can explore the strategies and insights that empower us to thrive in the dynamic world of retail.

Aashish is the CEO and Managing Director of ZALORA, Asia’s Fashion Expert, for the Philippines and Indonesia. Prior to his post as CEO, Aashish was ZALORA Philippines Revenue Director. 

He is an experienced leader focused on unlocking human potential and creating a long-lasting and positive impact on the lives of customers and colleagues.

Before moving to ZALORA, Aashish held marketing and operations leadership roles in Myntra, a major Indian fashion e-commerce company, and Hero MotoCorp (formerly Hero Honda), the largest two-wheeler manufacturer in the world.

A quantitative expert, Aashish has a Master of Science in Quantitative Management from Duke University and holds an MBA in Marketing and Operations from the Indian School of Business.

Samuel Powell has recently been appointed as the CEO of HMR Philippines, after almost a decade of successfully growing the HMR Group’s auction company. During his tenure as CEO of HMR Auctions, he established the Philippine’s first live public automotive auction and developed the country’s largest online auction platform – HMR Bid. Specializing in the liquidation of commercial assets.

Samuel now leads HMR Philippines, the industry leader in full-service asset management for retail consumer returns. They offer logistics, refurbishment and omni-channel sales solutions to extract maximum value from every surplus asset, all while minimizing landfill by ensuring assets are re-purposed in the circular economy.

In his leisure time, Samuel enjoys playing tennis as well as co-managing a fantasy football team with his 11-year-old son.

Bela Gupta D'Souza is the co-founder of edamama.ph - the #1 online-to-offline (O2O) retail platform for parents in the Philippines. Edamama enables Filipino mothers and fathers to shop for the most trusted childcare products and services, while experiencing authentic parenting content and a like-minded community.

The platform hosts over 1,800 brands spanning 95,000+ SKUs online, with a growing offline presence in leading malls across Metro Manila. Bela grew up in Japan, Thailand, USA and India before working in the UK and later moving to the Philippines, where for the past decade plus she has been an active contributor to the business and startup ecosystem as a founder, executive, investor and advisor. Prior to edamama, Bela was Founder & CEO of AdSpark, a digital marketing agency backed by Globe Telecom. Bela graduated with an MBA from Stanford University, a Bachelor of Economics from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Advertising and Public Relations. Bela has a home in Perth and is married with three young children, who serve as the inspiration behind the edamama mission.

Tin Coqueiro is currently the Vice President for Retail Development at Rockwell Land. She heads the overall operations of Power Plant Mall, community malls and retail strips within and outside Rockwell Center such as The Proscenium, Santolan Town Plaza and The Grove to name a few. She is also in charge of the retail expansion and is involved in the planning and implementation of the ongoing projects in Central Luzon, Western & Central Visayas. 

Prior to joining Rockwell in 2008, she worked in store operations and merchandising for Tyler. She has over 16 years of experience in retail leasing and mall management. 

Mário Braz de Matos is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Flying Fish Lab, the Controlled Disruption™ company.
His journey of nearly three decades in the field across 5 continents is marked by exciting contributions in FMCG, technology and brand services industries. Having worked at Unilever, Nokia, as well as running entrepreneurial ventures like Cookwork, the world’s largest online chef community, the brand maverick combines a challenger mindset with a passion for results.
He has worked in 35 countries, lived in over 10, and is known for his cultural adaptability and strategic expertise. A polyglot, Mário is fluent in Portuguese, English, Spanish, and French, with a sprinkling of Dutch and Mandarin. A power networker, he enjoys connecting with and learning from people of different industries, backgrounds and perspectives. 
During his corporate career, Mário won several Marketing awards, including the Global Marketing Activation Grand Prix, during his tenure at Nokia and multiple Golden Triangle awards for driving exceptional business growth at Unilever. 
Mário is also an Executive Trainer at The Marketing Institute, where he has trained executives and delivered various Marketing and Brand related courses for companies. Mário graduated from the Nova School of Business and Economics in Lisbon.

Eucel is a Director of YCP Interactive Solutions Division based in the Philippines. He has over 13 years of experience working for Forbes 500 companies (Coca-Cola, Reckitt Benckiser, Mondelez, Mead Johnson) in different roles across marketing, sales, market intelligence, e-commerce, and finance. He also has experience in the advertising industry, where he’s worked with top brands such as Samsung, Unilever, Heineken, and Nestle as they ran their regional campaigns. On top of that, Eucel serves on the board of various non-profit organizations.

Eunice is a seasoned, award-winning, creative dynamo with a 12-year track record as a creative leader. Her successful collaborations with global agencies on major brands in APAC, such as Reckitt Benckiser, P&G, Samsung, Unilever, Heineken, and Nestle, have been instrumental. Prior to joining YCP, her contributions have played a pivotal role in steering the APAC expansion and achieving a remarkable 2x business growth for Nexlabs, a boutique agency. Her extensive industry experience also includes working with global agencies, such as Publicis One and the Grey Global Group. Eunice was ranked top 17 Creative in the Philippines by Campaign Asia 2023, and has won several awards with Mad Stars, New York Festivals, Spikes Asia. Her work has also been featured in Cannes Lions.      

As the CSO, he is leading the Firm’s sustainability practice as well as the integration of sustainability into the Firm’s operations. He has served as the Partner in Charge of Training of the Audit & Assurance Practice Area, Head of Branches, and Oversight Partner for Internal Audit and Compliance of the Firm.

With over 20 years of experience, Chris has led high-profile due-diligence audits of international and local companies in a wide range of industries. In 2022, he joined the Advisory Services Practice of P&A Grant Thornton and focused on developing its Sustainability Practice, which he now leads. He has significant experience in fraud and forensics, financial risk advisory, transaction advisory, and internal audit and compliance (anti-money laundering and data privacy).

Prior to his elevation to partnership, Chris assisted in the Firm’s Technical Standards Group for six years while performing his regular client servicing responsibilities. He also assisted the Risk Management Partner in implementing the Firm’s risk management policies. He also holds a European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) Global Individual Accreditation as a coach/mentor practitioner from the EMCC.

Under P&A’s Global Secondment Program, Chris spent two years in Chicago where he worked for the US branch of Grant Thornton (GT US). He participated in one of the largest reconstruction projects of GT US, involving one of the USA’s major healthcare providers at that time.

Chris holds a master's degree in management from the Asian Institute of Management. He also completed the Executive Leadership Program at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He finished as summa cum laude from Far Eastern University’s Accountancy Program.

Yuki Sy has graduated Singapore Management University with a Master's Degree - Science in Innovation and was part of the Babson College Enterprenurship Program in Massachusests. Former president at Eunioa PH, founder of Fine Perfection Management which has roots in Singapore and in the Philippines, and is currently the General Manager for Technology Innovation and eCommerce at Primer Group of Companies. Where he continues to lead the company to innovate, automate and help put technology at its forefront.

Wence Wenceslao is a seasoned digital leader with a 15-year track record in steering digital businesses. As the current Digital Hub Lead of Unilever's Beauty & Wellbeing sector in Southeast Asia, she leverages digital and data-driven strategies to optimize regional brands. Her successful tenure in the Philippines as Digital Hub Lead witnessed the launch of pioneering initiatives like the U-COIN loyalty program and U-COINVille metaverse, contributing to the Hub's accolades, including "Digital Hub of the Year."

Before joining Unilever, Wence made significant contributions to SM Investments as Senior AVP for Digital Marketing & Innovations, and to Rising Tide as Group Head, where she escalated revenues by 900%. At Globe, the Philippines' largest telco, her role as Director for Strategy & Governance led to a rapid portfolio expansion from 5 to 50 products in less than 2 years, cementing her reputation as a transformative digital strategist.

Denice Sy is the Chief Sales and Marketing Officer (CSMO) for Ever Bilena Cosmetics, Inc. (EBCI), the leading local cosmetics company in the Philippines, with over ten years of experience in the beauty industry.

Before joining EBCI, she graduated from University of California Berkeley, where she obtained a simultaneous degree in B.S. Business Administration at the Haas School of Business and B.A. South & Southeast Asian Studies with honours. She is currently a regular columnist at Manila Bulletin and also serves in the Board of Trustees of the Chamber of Cosmetics Industry of the Philippines. As CSMO, she leads the company's revenue channels, product development and innovation, and marketing.

As the Executive Director and a founding member of the Analytics & Artificial Intelligence Association of the Philippines, Sherwin Pelayo orchestrates strategic national initiatives to nurture a robust analytics and AI ecosystem. His leadership extends to pioneering education programs, shaping industry standards, and driving policy reforms, all aimed at positioning the Philippines as a global contender in technology and innovation.

Sherwin's career is marked by distinguished roles in top consulting firms where he spearheaded digital transformation and capability development projects across diverse industries. His expertise in integrating analytics with user experience design has propelled organizations toward groundbreaking, data-driven solutions that prioritize human needs.

Alvin Ching is a Senior Vice President and the Head of Buyer Operations at Lazada Philippines, a leading eCommerce platform providing a trusted and engaging ecosystem for consumers, brands and sellers. Alvin has spent 6 years at Lazada covering various leadership roles across seller operations and engagement, customer experience and customer care, investments, and user growth. Prior to Lazada, Alvin worked across FMCG, Information Technology, and Transportation industries, managing operations, customer experience and service excellence.