About AmCham Philippines

History

Incorporated in 1920, the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (AmCham) has been striving to contribute to the Philippine economic growth for the socioeconomic development of the Filipinos.

Its service has long started as the Manila Coffee Round Table (1902) and later as the Manila Merchants Association. Although with different names, the Chamber’s commitment did not waver through time. It has been true to its commitment of developing and looking after the welfare of American businesses in the Philippines.

What we do

The Chamber exists to serve the interests of Philippine and American businesses through the participation of members in promoting their long-term objectives, while contributing to the civic and economic development of the Philippines.

AmCham Philippines’ Executive Director

Mr. Hinchliffe is the Executive Director for AmCham Philippines. He arrived back in the Philippines after a 12 year absence that saw him working in Texas, Taiwan, Malaysia and Indonesia. He officially began his position with AmCham Philippines on December 1, 2012. 

A Texan, with a BS degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Ebb was based in the Philippines from 1993 – 2000. He is married with one child. 

He has spent 22 of the last 25 years in Asia Pacific which includes 21 years with a US-based pump manufacturing company, 6 years with a prominent semiconductor company, and the last 4 years in the service Industry.

AmCham Philippines’ Board of Directors

Frank Thiel
President, AmCham Philippines
Managing Director, Quezon Power

Frank Thiel currently serves as Managing Director of Quezon Power (Philippines), Limited Co. (QPL) with the primary responsibility of maintaining the profitability of the company’s 460MW coal-fired power project in Mauban, Quezon.

Thiel is also the General Manager for the San Buenaventura Power Ltd. Co. (SBPL), a new 500MW supercritical coal-fired plant located also in Mauban, Quezon. He also manages contracts, financial, commercial, and regulatory activities related to the power project.

Prior to his appointment as Managing Director for QPL in 2012, Thiel served as Vice President and Regional General Manager for InterGen Services Inc.’s Mexico unit where he was responsible for the day-to-day management of the 1,100MW La Rosita Power Project, 271MW Chihuahua Power Project, 252MW Campeche Power Project, and 51% of the 600MW Bajio Power Project.

Aileen Judan-Jiao
First Vice President , AmCham Philippines
Country Managing Director, IBM Philippines

Aileen Judan-Jiao was named President and Country General Manager of IBM Philippines in July 2018.

She is responsible for the growth and leadership of IBM Philippines’ operations, which includes sales, distribution, and global delivery services. Aileen will build on the strong collaboration with clients, partners, government, and communities to advance digital transformation and inclusive progress using AI, Cloud, industry capabilities, and other emerging technologies.

Aileen is the first homegrown Filipina leader of IBM Philippines with a remarkable 26-year track record of pioneering innovations and driving business results in IBM. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the Ateneo de Manila University.

Roberto Batungbacal
2nd Vice President, AmCham Philippines
Country Manager, Dow Chemicals Philippines, Inc.

Philip Soliven
Treasurer, AmCham Philippines
President, Cargill Philippines

Philip Soliven is the President and Country Representative of Cargill Philippines, Inc., the main operating company and the parent company of Cargill’s various businesses in the Philippines. He is also the Commercial Director for various Food Ingredients and Bio-Industrial (FIBI) businesses and the President of Philippine Bio-Industries, Inc., a Cargill joint venture.

Philip joined Cargill in 1995 as a Singapore-based manager in the Financial Markets Trading Group, then Cargill’s proprietary financial trading business. He managed the group’s investment portfolio for the Philippines and subsequently moved to the Philippines later that year to assume an additional role as country treasurer. (read more)

Atty. Aileen Tolosa-Lerma
Corporate Secretary, AmCham Philippines
Partner, Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc De Los Angeles Law Office

Aileen Sarah T. Lerma, a partner, is working with the Securities department. Her practice focuses on securities and corporate law (including mergers and acquisitions, and data privacy matters).

Aileen has extensive experience in handling various capital market transactions, among which are local and international offerings of debt and equity securities, asset-based securities, certificates of deposit, securitizations, and initial and follow-on public offerings. She represents both domestic and foreign clients regarding transactions, regulations, and investments before various government agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Department of Finance, Board of Investments, and Philippine Economic Zone Authority. (read more)

Marissa De Ungria
Director, AmCham Philippines
Country Manager Director S.C JOHNSON & SON, INC

Maris is the Director, Country Manager of SC Johnson Philippines. She was appointed to this role on May 1, 2016.  As Country Manager, she heads the Sales team in the country, a member of the ASEAN Management Committee and reports to the Vice President and General Manager for ASEAN. Prior to being the Country Manager, she was National Sales Manager for Modern Trade from July 2013 to April 2016. As NSM for Modern Trade, she delivered year-on-year growth of topline sales and consistently exceeded targets.

Marissa has more than 20 years of experience with increasing levels of leadership in Sales and Customer Marketing at SC Johnson, including an international assignment as Platform Customer Marketing Manager where she developed distribution and merchandising strategies and co-developed sampling plans and special packs for developing markets.

Marissa has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Ateneo Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Santo Tomas.

James Donovan
Director, AmCham Philippines
Co-Founder & CEO Director ADEC Innovations

Mr. James Donovan is an entrepreneur focused on impact investing that generates measurable social and environmental impact, alongside financial return. As an impact investor, he has focused his businesses in the areas of sustainability, healthcare, education, technology and data management. He leads ADEC Innovations in delivering innovative Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) solutions to Fortune 1000 companies. Integrating Big Data expertise into ESG solutions, his companies have developed some of the most advanced applications and solutions that promote ethical and sustainable practices in the corporate world.

Rafael Fajardo
Director, AmCham Philippines
Chief Executive Officer, Procter and Gamble Philippines

Raffy is currently the Chief Executive  Officer for Procter & Gamble (P&G)  Philippines, Inc., performing overall  general management, leadership and  strategy development for the country.  

Raffy has vast experience in working  across Asia prior to his assignment in  the Philippines. With a career spanning  22 years, Raffy has led regional business  units and emerging markets across  various parts of the Asia Pacific. He has  deep experience in developed &  emerging markets including starting up  new businesses; transforming business  and organizations to deliver sustained  leadership results, cultivating talent and  organizations, as well as building deep  external partnerships with key stake-holders. He is also deeply  committed to giving back to society and  driving sustainability in both his  personal and professional capacities. 

Carlos Ma. G. Mendoza
Director, AmCham Philippines
Senior Country Officer and Head of Banking, Philippines, JPMorgan Chase and Co.

Mendoza has been with JP Morgan for 12 years. He has been former Country Chief Roberto “Bobbit” Panilio’s deputy since February 2018 as part of the bank’s succession planning.

As deputy SCO, he oversees management of the bank’s overall franchise in the country across all lines of business.

Before joining JP Morgan, Mendoza had worked at GE Capital for eight years with the rank of vice president. He was a senior associate at PCI Capital.

Mendoza graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University in 1991 with a degree in management engineering and obtained his MBA (finance and international business) from NYU Stern School of Business in 2000.

Bruce Winton Director, AmCham Philippines Multi-Property Vice President – Philippines

Bruce Winton is the Cluster General Manager for Marriott International Hotels located in Manila and Iloilo. He began his term as President of AmCham in January 2017. A 27-year veteran of Marriott, Bruce has worked in Europe, the USA, and Asia, and was named General Manager of the Year for Asia-Pacific in 2018 and 2013. A graduate of the New Hampshire College in Manchester, NH, Bruce also has an Executive Leadership Certificate at Cornell University, and a Managing Performance Certificate from the Harvard Business School Executive Education program.

He is married to Christina and has 2 teenage children, Alex and Colin. Bruce is passionate about providing growth opportunities for the talented workforce of the Philippines, and actively advocates for legislation that enables job creation.

Charles Tony Rutland
Director, AmCham Philippines
General Manager, Fluor Daniel

Tony Rutland is the General Manager for Fluor’s operations in the Philippines with responsibility for business development, operations and execution of projects across Fluor Business Lines including Energy & Chemicals, Power, Advanced Manufacturing and Life Sciences and Infrastructure.  

Prior to his current position, he was the Project Director for the JG Summit Petroleum  Corporation OSBL Project in Manila and Batangas, and the Petronas RAPID Project in  Johor, Malaysia. During Mr. Rutland’s 16 years with Fluor, 25 years total in the industry, he served the company in a number of roles including Project Manager for its Energy and Chemicals business line, as well as Operations Manager for a Fluor Government Group project in Afghanistan. 

He has extensive domestic and international experience including assignments in  Australia, South Korea, China, Afghanistan and the Philippines. 

Mr. Rutland has a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Clemson University and is a registered professional engineer in the state of South Carolina, USA. He has been in the Philippines for various projects on short-term assignments since 2008, and is been a resident since 2014.

Rick Santos
Director, AmCham Philippines
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Santos Knight Frank

Rick Santos is the Chairman, CEO and Founder of Santos Knight Frank (an affiliate of Knight Frank, the largest privately owned global real estate consultancy, with more than 500 offices in 60 countries across the globe including a strategically important partnership with Newmark Knight Frank in the United States). Santos Knight Frank was the country’s first fully integrated real estate service provider.

Mr. Santos was born in the Philippines (his father is from Zamboanga) and raised in San Marino, California, USA. His education covered UC Berkeley, the London School of Economics and Oxford University.

Mr. Santos established the Philippine business in Manila in 1994 and has grown it to its current size of more than 1,400 staff operating across the archipelago. That growth has been organic and the business now consists of 11 specialist teams focusing on: Occupier Services & Commercial Agency; Facilities Management; Property Management; Tenancy Management; Project Management; Technical Services and Engineering; Residential Sales & Leasing; Investment & Capital Markets; Research & Consultancy; Valuation Services and Group Business Services.

Mark Lwin
Director, AmCham Philippines
Managing Director, Reed Elsevier Philippines

Mark is currently the Managing Director for Reed Elsevier Philippines, a 4,200-strong knowledge services and technology company servicing LexisNexis, Elsevier, and the RELX group of companies worldwide. Previously, he spent 16 years as a senior executive for AIG in a variety of roles: general manager for AIG’s insurance arm in Philippines, Transformation Officer for Asia Pacific, and head of AIG Shared Services in Asia. In these and previous roles, Mark has spent two decades based in Manila and Kuala Lumpur in a variety of general management, business, and operational leadership roles.

Mark has more than 30 years of management experience in the United States and international businesses, and has held a variety of leadership roles across financial services, healthcare, and IT industries. He has served as a Director for the American Chamber of Commerce Philippines and other non-profit boards in Philippines. Mark was a Six Sigma Black Belt for GE Capital, and was an officer in the US Marine Corps. He has MBA and MA degrees from The George Washington University and a BA degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

George M. Drysdale
Director, Ex-Officio
Chairman and CEO, Marsman Drysdale Group

George Marsman Drysdale is Chairman and CEO of the Marsman Drysdale Group, a diversified Philippine-based holding and management company with interests in the agribusiness, healthcare, tourism, communications, and investment management industries.

Mr. Drysdale also makes direct private equity investments in high growth communications, media and consumer beverage companies. Since 1994, Mr. Drysdale has been an investor in the San Francisco Giants baseball team.

Prior to joining the Marsman Drysdale Group in 1991, Mr. Drysdale was a venture capitalist, first as General Partner of Hambrecht & Quist Venture Partners of San Francisco (1983-1987), and then as a managing General Partner of Westar Capital, a management buyout firm. From 1981 to 1983, Mr. Drysdale practiced corporate, securities, and tax law for Davis, Polk & Wardwell, a Wall Street law firm.

Mr. Drysdale served three terms as the President of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines and four terms as the Chairman of the twenty-nine member chambers of the Asia-Pacific Council of American Chambers of Commerce (APCAC).

Donald R. Felbaum
Director, Ex-Officio
Managing Director, Optel

Don Felbaum’s professional career spans more than twenty (20) years of involvement in Technology Sectors including Telecoms, IT-Enabled Services, and Information and Communications Technology (ICT), among others. His business experience covers more than twenty-five (25) countries worldwide.

Don also has broad general management experience, a team leadership style, with entrepreneurial vision. His excellent interpersonal and communication skills and hands-on management style have helped his clients over the years.

Further, Don has significant experience in business development including start-ups, mergers and acquisitions and project funding. He is active in various Directorships and Advisory Boards with a number of both local and foreign companies.

Luis Bonguyan
President, AmCham Mindanao

Board Member, Development Bank of the Philippines

AmCham Philippines Staff Members

Victoria Co
Membership Manager
TEL.: 8818-7911 LOC. 221
vicky@amchamphilippines.com

Mc Lawrence Bensal
Manager, AmCham Center for Training and Development
TEL.: 8818-7911 LOC. 227
mc@amchamphilippines.com

Maria Cristina Teves
Accounts Receivable Associate
TEL.: 8818-7911 LOC. 210
cristina@amchamphilippines.com

Jeanne Angela Moreno
Industry Development Specialist
TEL.: 8818-7911 LOC. 213
jeanne@amchamphilippines.com

Joan-Eleanor Sabroso
Chapter Office Manager, North Luzon
TEL.: +639279123248
joan@amchamphilippines.com

Ruthcel Aragon
Chapter Membership Manager, Visayas
ruthcel@amchamphilippines.com

Ernie Aala
Admin Services/Driver
TEL.: 8818-7911 LOC. 212
ernieaala@amchamphilippines.com

Roy Fulgado
Admin Services/Photographer
TEL.: 8818-7911 LOC. 212
roy@amchamphilippines.com