Riding the wave: Gearing up for growth and inclusion

John Howard D. Medina
Chief Operating Officer, PBCOM

John Medina is the Chief Operating Officer of the Philippine Bank of Communications. He has more than 25 years of experience driving innovation, change and transformation for financial services in different countries.

He was a pioneer in the process and technology management practice in the 1990s when he helped transform the Asia Pacific operations of one of the largest multinational banks. He subsequently established a private consulting firm in the United States, helping design new digital business initiatives for financial institutions and startups.

Prior to joining PBCOM, he was the Head of Global Operations, Technology and Credit for the Philippine National Bank. He was also the Integration Director who oversaw the merger of Philippine National Bank and Allied Banking Corporation in 2013. Medina also worked at Union Bank of the Philippines where he conceptualised and implemented digital banking products and services.

Eugene S. Acevedo First Vice President, Bankers Association of the Philippines' (BAP) and President and Chief Executive Officer, RCBC

Eugene S. Acevedo is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC). Under his leadership, RCBC has become one of the fastest-growing universal banks in the Philippines, accelerating its business and digital transformation across assets, loans, and deposits. The bank has also earned multiple accolades for innovation, including recognition as the Best Digital Bank and Best in Customer Service.

With over 30 years of experience in the banking industry, Mr. Acevedo is a seasoned veteran. He began his career at Citibank, where he rose to the position of Managing Director and Country Treasurer for the Philippines, and later, Hong Kong. He has also driven the significant business and financial growth of several other commercial and thrift banks, including his tenure as President and CEO of the Philippine National Bank.

Lito Villanueva
EVP & Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC)

Lito Villanueva is the Philippines’ award-winning thought leader on digital transformation and inclusive digital finance at scale. As the Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer at RCBC, he spearheaded RCBC's digital revolution, introducing groundbreaking and award-winning innovations. Among its recognitions include the Asiamoney’s Best Bank for Digital for four consecutive years (2020-2023), Gartner’s Eye for Innovation, and YouTube’s Challenger award, to name just a few.

Villanueva was recently feted as the Philippines’ Innovator of the Year for Banking in the Asian Management Excellence Awards, the Outstanding Achievement for Marketing Management in the Agora Awards, considered as the ‘Oscars’ of Philippine marketing industry, a two-time Circle of Excellence awardee in the Asia CEO Awards, PhilSec’s Digital Leader of the Year, and as the “Mr. FinTech of the Philippines” by NewsBiz Asia. He bagged triple LinkedIn awards as one of the Top 100 Filipinos on LinkedIn, Philippines’ Top 30 Leaders on LinkedIn, and Top Finance Leader under the LinkedIn Leadership Catalysts Awards in 2023. He is also featured in prestigious lists like Seamless Asia's Top 50 Banking and Payments Leaders and Top 100 Fintech Leaders in Asia, amongst his over 70 regional and global accolades.

He is the Founding Chairman of Fintech Alliance.PH, Global Chairman of the Alliance of Digital Finance Associations, a trustee at the Philippine Blockchain Council, Asia FinTech Alliance, and an advisory board member at the ASEAN Innovation Business Platform. He has authored publications including the award-winning Inclusive Digital Finance Report and has a regular business column ‘Bytes’ in the Philippine Star.

Kenneth F. Catugas
Head of Information Technology, ING Hubs Philippines

Kenneth F. Catugas is the Head of Information Technology at ING Hubs Philippines, where he oversees the entire IT operations and drives innovation for over 4,500 ING staff across three office locations. He is a Chartered Information Technology Professional (CITP) in the UK and a member of the British Computer Society. ING Bank, a global financial institution, ranks among the top 30 banks worldwide by assets, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

With over 15 years of experience in IT infrastructure, operations, and management, Kenneth has extensive hands-on expertise in systems management, security, networking, project management, and data center transformation, utilizing a wide range of technologies. His diverse background includes roles in IT consulting, renewable energy, FMCG, management consulting, and shipping, which have provided him with a broad understanding of how to leverage information technology across different industries.

Sonja Davidovic
Adviser, Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub

Sonja is an Adviser at the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub (BISIH) Singapore leading the Hub’s digital asset program. In this role, Sonja leads project Mandala and co-leads projects Rialto and Mariana. Sonja is seconded from the Monetary Authority of Singapore while on leave from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

At the IMF, Sonja worked as Economist and Digital Expert on Transformative Technologies. In that position, she provided capacity building, and technical advice to IMF member countries on digital assets, including CBDCs. In addition to numerous analytical and research papers on financial technology and digital currencies, she also contributed to the analytical work for the G20 agenda to enhance cross-border payments. Immediately prior to joining the BIS, Sonja worked as Market Infrastructure Expert on the digital euro investigation phase at the European Central Bank (ECB).