The Philippine Business Leaders Forum does not depend on any
one individual but rather prospers because of the collective effort
of a group of experienced Filipino and expatriate individuals
dedicated to providing leading companies operating in the Philippines
with access to world class services. This is achieved both through
the programs and products offered by the MCA Group as well as
the acclaimed regional program and resources offered by Economist
Intelligence Unit. This document provides background on the people
who are involved with the Secretariat and with our expert advisory
panel.
Forum Executive Committee
Mr.
Jose (Joey) P. Leviste Jr., Chairman
 Mr.
Leviste has been named consistently by BizNews Asia Magazine as
one of the "most powerful 100" people in the Philippines.
He is a graduate in economics of Ateneo University with an MBA
degree from Columbia University and an MA Economics degree from
Fordham University in the United States. Mr. Leviste is best-known
to the business community through his prior role as chairman of
Polistrat, a company that is focused on energy and security issues.
His other company Primex (Pacific Rim Innovation and Management
Exponents) is a management consulting firm specialising in agriculture,
natural resources, aquaculture and the environment. Primex is
one of the ADB's leading Philippine consulting firms.
Mr. Leviste is the Resident Representative of the Australia-Philippine
Business Council (APBC) and he is also a director of the Philippine-Australia
Business Council (PABC). Until recently he was the Chairman and
CEO of Polistrat International as well as the Chairman of Australasian
Philippines Mining Inc. (APMI) a wholly owned subsidiary company
of Climax Mining Limited, a publicly listed company on the Australian
Stock Exchange. He has also served as a member of the Independent
Review Committee (IRC) on the Oil Deregulation Law. More recently,
Mr. Leviste was appointed as a commissioner to the Consultative
Commission tasked with advising the president on the changes needed
to the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines.
Since assuming the Chairmanship of Mirant Philippines Inc. in
early 2006, Mr. Leviste has divested himself of other active chairmanships. He is currently the Chairman of Oceana Gold
but remains as Chairman Emeritus of the Philippine Business Leaders
Forum and retains a major shareholding as well as an active interest
in the company.
 Mr.
Craig Burrows MBE, Executive Director
Mr. Burrows has been in the Philippines for more than 20 years
and is well-known for the foundations that he manages and which
assist underprivileged children and their families. From schools
to orphanages, the work of Mr. Burrows and his team is held in
high regard within the Philippines and overseas. His charitable
work was recently acknowledged with the British award of an MBE
by the Queen.
Mr. Burrows is a shareholder and director of the Forum and is
actively involved in oversight of the research and analysis programme
on behalf of members. Craig was also heavily involved in the December
2006 ASEAN Business and Investment Summit held in Cebu in December
2006.
 Ms.
Sarah McLeod, Business Development and Client Services
Ms. Sarah McLeod has been in the Philippines for more than 10
years. For four of those years she was President of the British
Women's Association and became well-known for her fund-raising
and event management activities. She is still actively involved
on the committee of the BWA which remains one of the strongest
among expatriate women's groups. She is also active with the Springboard
Foundation, is a Friend of the Philippine AIDS Society and serves
on the PTA of Brent International School.
Sarah' knowledge of the Philippines and of Manila was put to good
use when, for a number of years she worked with several major
relocation companies providing relocation services for newly arrived
expatriate families. She joined the Philippine Business Leaders
Forum in September 2006 to develop further our member services
and played a key role in organising the ASEAN Business and Investment
Summit.
Advisory Panel MembersThe Forum Advisory Panel is composed of Filipino and foreign
experts who are knowledgeable regarding the local business climate.
A number have first hand experience of start-up operations in
the Philippines. The role of the Advisory Board is to assist the
secretariat in the development of the annual program including
forum meetings, to suggest suitable topics, speakers and meeting
panelists and to assist other members.
Each meeting is usually chaired by the chairman, or one of the
board members.
|
Mr. Allan Anderson
Director, Scobell Consulting Inc.
Since 1996, Mr. Anderson has operated his own consulting
company in Manila following his retirement from Barclays
Bank after serving for some 38 years in developing countries
across Africa and Asia. Between 1987 and 1996, Mr. Anderson
was country manager in the Philippines for Barclays where
he was elected as a director of the European Chamber. He
also headed the Offshore Bankers Association for a number
of years.
Against this background, Mr. Anderson identified a clear
need for local administrative support especially at the
time of start-up, for small and medium-sized companies.
He established Scobell Consulting for this purpose and the
company is recognized as one of the most respected agencies
for start-up assistance to companies of all sizes.
Mr. Anderson is also a member of the Board of Directors
of the Philippines Business Leaders Forum Inc.
|
 |
| |
|
|
Mr.
Alfredo Alex Cruz III
Managing Partner, Cruz & Reyes, Law Offices
Managing
Partner , Cruz & Reyes, Law Offices
Mr. Cruz is a practicing lawyer having earned his degree
in law with the University of the Philippines in 1986. He
is also an Economics graduate of the School of Economics
of the University of the Philippines.
He started
his professional career with the Angara Abello Concepcion
Regala and Cruz Law Offices as an associate in 1987 and
left the firm as a Senior Associate in 1992. He joined as
a partner of the Bocobo Rondain Mendiola Cruz and Formoso
Law Offices from 1993-2001. In September 2001, he formed
CRUZ & REYES Law Offices and is currently its Managing
Partner.
Mr.
Cruz has vast experience in corporate work particularly
in the management of both domestic and foreign investments.
He sits as a Director/Corporate Secretary in a number of
local companies.
He is
the Company Secretary of the Philippine Business Leaders
Forum Inc. |
 |
|
