MANILA, Philippines - They used to be “figure heads” crunching the numbers and fixing the balance sheets.
Nowadays, the chief finance officer (CFO) has shed the dour stereotype in pinstriped suit as he or she takes on a role that goes far beyond the figures.
Since it launched the prestigious ING-FINEX CFO of the Year Award in 2007, the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) and ING Bank Manila have been discovering and honoring “heroes beyond the boardroom” whose excellence, strong leadership and stewardship have helped steer their organizations toward financial stability, benefitting not just their stakeholders, but also the domestic economy.
This year’s six-month search expects to yield yet again another “Super CFO” – one who holds the unique mix of having outstanding professional capabilities, high ethical standards, and strong survival instincts.
“The role increasingly requires the head of finance to be many things at the same time, constantly multi-tasking, that’s why we call it a ‘super CFO’,” said ING Bank country manager Consuelo Garcia. “At ING, we have been privileged to be working with the CFOs of several leading blue-chip companies who have the power to make a deal happen. We find that the Philippines is teeming with exceptional CFOs who have the business acumen, regulatory and communication excellence, along with financial expertise.”
The bread of CFOs who have been honored by ING and FINEX in the past four years already speaks volumes about the Philippines’ treasure trove of corporate heroes. In 2007, Delfin Gonzalez Jr., then CFO of Globe Telecom and now with Ayala Corp., became the first CFO of the Year awardee for successfully navigating the telco through the turbulent financial waters at a time when it was raising funds for its expansion into 3G (third generation) technology. He was succeeded by Sherisa Nuesa, now head of a subsidiary of Ayala Land Inc., who was instrumental in transforming Manila Water Co. into becoming one of the most awarded and celebrated success stories in Philippine corporate history.
As if the act was already too tough to follow, the 2009 Search yielded another corporate hero in the person of Jose Sio, CFO of SM Investments Cop., who helped spot investment opportunities that made the flagship holding firm of the SM Group one of the most-watched economic barometers. Last year, the coveted award went to Jollibee Foods CFO Ysmael V. Baysa, who started out as a lowly bookkeeper and moved on to become the super CFO of a Filipino multinational brand, steering his company through its strategic initiatives.
While the past four awardees all came from the country’s top corporations, Roberto Borromeo, overall chairman of the CFO of the Year awards committee, said CFOs from any private local and multinational companies, as well as government-owned an controlled corporations and government financial institutions in the country, can be nominated. “You don’t need to be a member to be nominated or to nominate. However, the nominees must be endorsed by a FINEX member,” he explained.
On its third year, ING and FINEX have partnered with two of the country’s top academic institutions, the Ateneo Graduate School of Business and the De La Salle University College of Business – Graduate Studies to assist in the search for the top CFO in the country and promote it to their alumni.
Aside from the websites of the two business schools, nomination forms may also be obtained from the FINEX secretariat at Unit 1901, 139 Corporate Center, Valero St., Salcedo Village, Makati City, or downloaded at www.finex.org.ph . Completed nominations in compliance with certain documentary requirements must be sent to the FINEX secretariat office or emailed to admin@finex.org.ph on or before Sept. 23, 2011. For more information, contact the FINEX secretariat at 811-4052 or visit www.finex.org.ph