PLDT and Smart Communications (Smart) Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan calls on industry leaders to accelerate the digital migration for the Filipino consumers. He urged top executives from the leading companies in the country and the neighboring regions that they should work together to make that initiative happen.
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| Smart Communications (Smart) Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan |
“Filipino history, to this point, has been defined by physical movements. We have migrated from the Philippines and into other countries in search of temporary work or permanent settlement. The next period of our history is being defined by this digital movement. It’s our role to get more and more Filipinos online and give them the best technologies available on it,” he said during the first ever Digital Disruptors’ Ball held last night in Shangri-la Makati.
Hosted by Voyager Innovations, the digital arm of PLDT and Smart, the Digital Disruptors’ Ball aims to accelerate the digital migration of Filipino consumers through partnerships among the companies in attendance. Among the participants are top level executives of companies affiliated with First Pacific Co. Ltd. and global Internet giant Rocket Internet.
Filipino digital migration
In that event MVP highlighted that many people may erroneously assume that the digital life of consumers is the same from one country to another. Yet, consumers the world over experience the same digital life. In that sense, MVP wants to fast track to the rich world of digital life, which includes apps, content, and the internet of things. Pangilinan feels that this transition is of historical importance and that it will ultimately benefit the Filipino consumer.
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| (L-R) Mauro Cocchieri (Co-founder & CEO, Foodpanda), Orlando B. Vea (President and CEO, Voyager Innovations) , Kenneth Palacios (Department Head, International Business, Smart e-Money Inc.), Subir Lohani (Managing Director, Carmudi), Thomas Mossner (Business Development Manager, ClickBus), Paolo Azzola (Co-COO, Smart e-Money Inc.) |
“Extending these technologies to the Filipino consumer is a form of empowerment. It makes their digital lives richer, more convenient, and infinitely more enjoyable,” Pangilinan said.
Taking the lead in digital
Pangilinan challenged the executives in attendance to take the lead on this digital migration by striking partnerships and developing synergies with one another. As such, the event had a minimal program - outside of Pangilinan’s keynote and short audiovisual presentations from free internet platform SafeZone and Smart e-Money Inc., which is soon launching a fin-tech platform - so that the leaders present could freely network and socialize.
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| Stephen Misa (VP and Group Head, Voyager Innovations), Ramon Isberto (Group Head of Public Affairs, PLDT and Smart), Theresa Busmente (Affiliate Partner Manager, Agoda), George G. Gordon (AVP/Center Head, Voyager Innovations) |
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| Santiago Herrera (Consultant, Smart e-Money Inc.), Paolo Azzola (Co-COO, Smart e-Money Inc.) Raymund Villanueva (Head of Digital Marketing and Analytics, Voyager innovations) |
The caliber of the attendees ensured that major decisions relating to business strategy could be initiated or even made on the spot. Orlando B. Vea, president and CEO of Voyager Innovations, feels that there was a palpable energy in the room.
“It’s not often you get leaders of this caliber and this range in a single room for one night. There were leaders on ecommerce, financial technology, internet access, and everything in between. I know of at least several major partnerships that were struck over the course of the evening. I can’t get into details just yet, but suffice to say, exciting things are coming,” Vea said.
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Benjie S. Fernandez (Chief Operating Officer, Voyager Innovations), Mar Lazaro (Consultant, Domestic Business, Smart e-Money Inc.), Kenneth Palacios (Department head, International Business, Smart e-Money Inc.)
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Despite these deals, the event was not just a venue to pitch solutions. Attendees were challenged to listen as much as they spoke - to one another’s needs, challenges, and pain points. Such discussion would not always lead to a business deal, but would always create a competitive advantage via knowledge-sharing.
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Manuel V. Pangilinan, Paolo Azzola (Co-COO, Smart e-Money Inc.), Daniel Torres (Managing Director, Easy Taxi), Santiago Herrera (Consultant, Smart e-Money Inc.), Stephen Misa (VP and Group Head, Voyager Innovations), Orlando B. Vea (President and CEO, Voyager Innovations)
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“The cumulative level of talent in attendance was nothing short of inspiring. If we can make it a habit to share best practices and ideas with one another, I have no doubt that we can transform the Digital Disruptor’s Ball from a simple event to something much bigger than itself, and catapult the Filipino consumer into a far more rewarding digital life,” Vea said.
In the end this is a wonderful initiative and could be pivotal in the improvement of the digital life of the Filipino people. I hope that these things will materialize soon and for us to experience its long term benefit.
In the end this is a wonderful initiative and could be pivotal in the improvement of the digital life of the Filipino people. I hope that these things will materialize soon and for us to experience its long term benefit.
