Acevedo takes helm at RCBC

MANILA, Philippines — Yuchengco-led RCBC is now led by veteran banker Eugene Acevedo, effective July 1 following the retirement of Gil Buenaventura.

Buenaventura, who has steered the bank through the challenges of the past three years, will continue to serve as a member of the board of directors of the bank.

Previous to his appointment, Acevedo held senior leadership positions in three banking organizations. As a managing director with Citibank, he was regional head of derivatives structuring based in Singapore, country treasurer for the Philippines and Hong Kong, global markets head for Hong Kong/Taiwan/Macau, and treasurer of Citicorp International Ltd. He was president and CEO of Philippine National Bank.

A technology advocate, Acevedo is expected to lead the bank’s digital transformation journey. He comes well equipped with a track record of success.  As chairman of CitySavings, his team used technology to transform customer experience and produced the highest ROE in the industry, delivering over a third of UnionBank’s earnings.

Barely a month into the role, Acevedo has drawn RCBC’s roadmap for growth with clearly defined tasks focused primarily on improving revenue and profitability. This includes, among others, a renewed focus on its Retail and SME business, while implementing key organizational changes, redefining goals and rationalizing processes.

Acevedo is a magna cum laude graduate from the University of San Carlos where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Physics degree. He finished his Masters in Business Administration at the Asian Institute of Management, ranking first in his graduating class. Likewise, he completed an Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.

He is also armed with a wide and deep understanding of digital technology and strategy, with certifications from leading global educational institutions. He completed the blockchain and artificial intelligence programs of MIT, the Oxford fintech program, and the Berkeley Digital Transformation Course.

He is a digital marketing professional certified by The Wharton School, has user experience accreditation from the British Computer Society Chartered Institute of IT and is a qualified blockchain and crypto-currency expert with the Blockchain Council. He has also completed the Executive Data Science Certification of the Johns Hopkins University.