MANILA, PHILIPPINES — DDB Group Philippines reaped top accolades at the Asia Pacific Enterprise Awards (APEA) – Regional Edition 2024 recently held in Bangkok, Thailand. The integrated marketing communications group was recognized for Corporate Excellence while Gil Chua, DDB Group Philippines Chairman and CEO, was named “Master Entrepreneur.”
Master Entrepreneur Award
Gil received the “Master Entrepreneur” award for demonstrating outstanding business leadership, including the tenacity and perseverance to continually innovate, providing the vision and direction to his group of companies. As Chairman and CEO of 11 companies, Gil has always endeavored to provide Filipinos with meaningful employment that empowers them and enables them to be productive members of society.
Anna Chua-Norbert, DDB Group Chief Culture Officer and Managing Director of DDB Philippines and Bent & Buzz, accepted the Master Entrepreneur award on behalf of her father, Gil, who could not attend the awards ceremony due to unavoidable circumstances.
In her acceptance speech, Anna thanked the award-giving body for recognizing the contribution and vision of the DDB Group Philippines Chairman and CEO, thus making him part of the very distinguished roster of APEA Master Entrepreneurs in the region.
“When he was a young business executive, Gil Chua’s dream was to create jobs for his fellow Filipinos so that they will have the option to work in the Philippines instead of being forced to work abroad, away from their families. Fast forward to today, he loves to say that, more than the material reward, the best thing about being Chairman and CEO is that it enables him to make a positive difference and uplift the lives of his fellowmen and the people around them. His wish is for this award to inspire and challenge his peers, colleagues, and friends to use their blessings, talents, and resources to become entrepreneurs too,” Anna shared.
Corporate Excellence Award
Meanwhile, Diane Chua, Tribal Worldwide Philippines Managing Director, came up on stage to accept the Corporate Excellence award given to DDB Group Philippines for having demonstrated effective talent mobilization and organizational capability to deliver consistent business results, while remaining aligned with the organization’s purpose.
“It’s really a great honor to be the first integrated marketing communications agency to receive this award. It’s a validation that it’s good business to put our people first and deliver emotionally charged creativity that harnesses the power of human emotions to help brands achieve their objectives and address their business challenges while creating positive change in society. We dedicate this award to all our people, our clients, our trusting partners, our Execom, and of course, our very supportive families,” Diane said.
DDB Group Philippines was established in 1992 as a result of the groundbreaking partnership between local industry pioneer Advertising and Marketing Associates (AMA) and New York-based global marketing communications network DDB Worldwide. It has evolved into a full-service marketing communications group composed of award-winning creative business solutions agencies that do mainstream advertising, digital solutions, media services, public relations, branded entertainment solutions, and data analytics.
A regional program that celebrates entrepreneurial excellence across 16 countries and markets, the Asia Pacific Enterprise Awards (APEA) – Regional Edition brings together business leaders and enterprises to foster innovation, fair practices, and growth to foster sustainable economic and social progress in Asian economies.
