MANILA — The adobo Festival of Ideas will be happening this coming December 5, 2019 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater, Resorts World Manila, with “The Connectivity Economy”, as this year’s festival theme. We’ll be taking a look at how the modern economy is fueled by collaboration over competition, how unexpected connections are leading to an endless array of possibilities, and the role creative and innovative thinking plays in achieving business and sustainability goals.
There are billions of cogs that spin in this world, but we believe they fall under fifteen main sectors: Data & Technology, Sustainability, Education, Entertainment, Infrastructure, Food, Business, Science, Health, People, Mobile, Makers, Arts & Culture, Sound, and Media & Communications.
In today’s Connectivity Economy, each sector is connecting in unexpected ways that hold great potential to change the world, and we have invited several individuals who we believe embody that. See our full list of Agents of Innovation below:
SESSION 1: Innovation For Good
Issa Guevarra-Cabreira
Managing Partner, 917 Ventures
MOBILE + DATA & TECHNOLOGY + BUSINESS + PEOPLE
Currently the Managing Partner of 917 Ventures — Globe’s corporate incubator arm creating businesses beyond telco services — Issa Guevarra-Cabreira is an experienced mobile innovator with a demonstrated history of working in the telecommunications industry. Prior to Globe, she was Category Marketing Manager at Kraft Foods, Philippines (now Mondelez), looking after global brands Tang, MaxwellHouse, and Kool-Aid.
Anthony Thomas
President & Chief Executive Officer, GCash
MOBILE + DATA & TECHNOLOGY + BUSINESS + PEOPLE
Anthony Thomas joined Mynt as its Chief Operating Officer in 2015, and was part of its founding leadership team. He was appointed President and CEO in 2017. Under his care, Mynt has reached over 7 million GCash users, making GCash leading in mobile payments through its Scan-to-Pay technology.
Minette Navarrete
Co-founder and President, Kickstart Ventures, Inc.
MOBILE + DATA & TECHNOLOGY + BUSINESS + PEOPLE
Minette Navarrete is Vice-Chairman and President of Kickstart Ventures, Inc. She is a member of the Ayala Corporation’s Innovation Advisory Council, and of Globe’s Innovation Advisory Board. She is a Senior Vice President at Globe Telecom, focusing on New Business, and a member of the Board of Directors of AdSpark, Globe’s digital advertising subsidiary. Minette has held CEO/COO positions in various industries, ranging from scrappy Philippine startups to iconic global companies.
SESSION 2: Shoppertainment in the Age of E-Commerce
Neil Trinidad
Country Chief Marketing Officer, Lazada Philippines
DATA & TECHNOLOGY + BUSINESS + PEOPLE
Neil Trinidad is the Country Chief Marketing Officer of Lazada Philippines, the country’s leading e-commerce platform. He has over 16 years of experience in marketing and sales across FMCG, tech and e-commerce. Trinidad spent 15 years of his career in Unilever, where he worked in local, regional and global marketing roles and handled over 15 brands. He left Unilever as a Marketing Director before joining Google Philippines as an Industry Partner to Telco, Travel and QSR clients. Neil is also an Entrepreneur and co-founded two e-commerce health food delivery businesses, Ketos of Manila and The Sugar-Free Bakery. In his current role in Lazada, Neil’s mission is to accelerate the growth of e-commerce through technology and shoppertainment.
SESSION 3: Title: Future Agency Model – The Connected Brand Builders
Tuomas Peltoniemi
EVP Managing Director for APAC, R/GA
MEDIA COMMUNICATION + BUSINESS + PEOPLE
For his session, he will be touching on the “Future Agency Model: The Connected Brand Builders,” and how the purchasing power and expectations of Gen Z and Millennials are driving brands out of their comfort zones, forcing them to think and behave differently to create a competitive advantage. This session will explore how R/GA is helping them do it. EVP Managing Director APAC, Tuomas Peltoniemi, will unpack how the structure, capabilities and approach of R/GA is building thriving Connected Brands.
SESSION 4: The Rice Revolution
Patrick Renucci & Rachel Renucci-Tan
Co-Founders of Chen Yi Agventures
TECHNOLOGY + FOOD + MAKERS + BUSINESS
The husband and wife duo are the genius minds behind Renucci Rice, whose Dalisay brand was just named as the world’s third best according to the World Rice Conference held recently. The two lived busy lives in Paris, Patrick as the owner of one of the largest printing companies in the city, and Rachel the fund manager of a multi-million dollar fund that invests in different countries.
After seeing the onslaught that Yolanda brought to Leyte, they decided to come home to the Philippines to build a state-of-the-art milling facility that would help provide farmers in Leyte a better livelihood. Through their efforts, they have been able to help increase yield as well as improve the quality of the rice grains produced in Leyte. This “Rice Revolution” will be the core of their session for the adobo Festival of Ideas 2019.
SESSION 5: If There’s an Industrial Revolution 4.0, then What is Family 4.0?
Calvin Soh
Founder, One Kind Ideas + One Kind House
EDUCATION + ARTS & CULTURE
Calvin Soh is a former CCO, now father, urban farmer, GIY stick creator, designer of One Kind House, investor, entrepreneur, consultant, occasional chef, speaker, co-creator time traveller, author of Big Red Dot and ex-advisor SIPI. For his session at the festival, he will be tackling how to future ready children and yourself for jobs that don’t exist yet. He asks a question: If there’s an industrial revolution 4.0, then what is family 4.0?
He expounds, “That was the question I asked. How do I prepare my mother for retirement 4.0? How do I prepare my children for the age when machines makes their careers obsolete? What is education 4.0? What are the life skills needed? I will take you through the journey of how my son did a Ted X talk at 12, Kickstarter at 13, internship at angry birds at 14 and now studying in Helsinki at 16. We all have to build our own One Kind House. Transforming a family is almost the same as transforming a company. You can’t fire the kids, that’s all.”
SESSION 6: JOLLY TO THE WORLD: Working Together to Spread the Joy of Eating to Everyone
Dondi Gomez
Chief Marketing Officer, Jollibee Foods Corporation
FOOD + BUSINESS
Holding a successful and global track record in the restaurant industry, Dondi Gomez is currently the Chief Marketing Officer of the Jollibee Foods Corporation. With a background in marketing strategy and marketing management, Dondi is a marketing executive with strong FMCG experience from Unilever and business consulting background from Ernst & Young.
SESSION 7: Why Influencer Marketing Matters, and How to Do It Right
Alexander de Leon
Head of Product Marketing, Instagram Asia-Pacific
MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS + MOBILE + ENTERTAINMENT
Currently heading the overall product strategy and go-to-market initiatives for Instagram Asia-Pacific, Alexander de Leon spent prior of his career at Google and YouTube, working across both technical and business development roles. With such a grasp on how social media works, he will be touching on the influencer marketing trend, why it’s important, and what the trend really is about. Coming along with him is his special guest Isabelle Daza, a Filipina actress, television host and model. His session is called “Why Influencer Marketing Matters and How To Do It Right.”
SESSION 8: The Panda Bear and Digital Transformation
Richard Bon Moya
National Technology Officer, Microsoft Philippines
BUSINESS + DATA & TECHNOLOGY + PEOPLE
The Asus Expert Series in partnership with Microsoft Philippines is bringing in Richard Bon Moya, Microsoft Philippines’ National Technology Officer, into the festival. Moya has a comprehensive experience in public sector operation, reform, change management, and good governance. He was Undersecretary for the Department of Budget and Management, helped craft the National Expenditure Program, and was also a consultant for the World Bank. He is known in the public and private sector as an expert in technology and e-commerce.
In line with this year’s theme, Moya will be discussing the future of business and governance, and why private and public entities can no longer ignore the need to become more digital in his session entitled “The Panda Bear and Digital Transformation”.
SESSION 9: Fashion, Way Beyond Next Season
Xin-Yi Wong
Sustainability Manager, H&M Southeast Asia
SUSTAINABILITY + BUSINESS
Xin-Yi Wong is the Sustainability Manager for H&M Southeast Asia; appointed to drive the company’s sustainability strategy for retail within the region. Having been with H&M for 6 years and previously working with its Marketing and Communications department, Xin Yi has years of experience engaging customers and stakeholders in sustainability.
Wong will be talking about how the brand is working its way to make the business sustainable not just in terms of growth and earnings potential, but also in terms of longevity and environmentally friendly practices.
She expounds, “From the beginning, H&M has been a leader in democratizing fashion. Today, that means making it sustainable: it’s the only way the company can keep making great fashion and design available to many people, for many years to come. Join us as we discuss how H&M is using its size and scale to catalyze systemic changes across its own operations, entire value chain and the wider industry.”
SESSION 10: Mission to Make Sustainable Living More Commonplace
Rondell Torres
Senior Sustainable Business Manager, Unilever Philippines
BUSINESS + SUSTAINABILITY + PEOPLE
Rondell Torres is currently leading the charge for Brands with Purpose, Selling with Purpose, and Sustainable Value Chain for organization – collaborating with partners from all levels and functions of the organization as well as partners from business, NGOs, and government to drive successful sustainability initiatives at scale. He will be talking about their “Mission to Make Sustainable Living More Commonplace” at this year’s adobo Festival of Ideas.
SESSION 11: The Future of Sound Now
Vic Icasas
President & Managing Partner, Hit Productions, Inc.
SOUND + BUSINESS
Vic Icasas is the President and Managing Partner of the multi-awarded sound studio Hit Productions, where he started his career almost thirty years ago as a composer and audio producer. He also serves as consultant for Beyond the Box and Digital Walker, and was formerly the Reviews Editor for gear website Technoodling. Vic is also the co-founder of Singapore-based startup Wika Media.
Icasas will take the viewers on a journey of the current state of how we perceive and use sound and audio in our daily life – via music, podcasts, headphones, voice assistants, gadgets and apps, hoping to inspire individuals with a fresh approach towards what they hear around them. His session is called “The Future of Sound Now.”
SESSION 12: Defining a Nation Through Architecture+Design
Royal Pineda
Co-Founder & Lead Architect, BUDJI+ROYAL Architecture+Design
INFRASTRUCTURE + SUSTAINABILITY
Known for his distinct, responsive design and practical construction using various sustainable and innovative technologies, as well as a lead advocate for Modern Filipino Architecture+Design, Arch, Royal Pineda is a staunch believer in the value of mixing modern and traditional elements, and fusing indigenous materials with artisanal methods. Arch. Royal Pineda’s session will be called “Defining a Nation Through Architecture+Design.”
SESSION 13: How Art and Artificial Intelligence Will Affect Your Health
Carlo Almendral
Managing Partner, Adaptive AI
ARTS & CULTURE + DATA & TECHNOLOGY + SCIENCE + PEOPLE + HEALTH
Carlo Almendral has founded and led companies across markets with a focus on AI for social change, and is currently the Managing Director of New-York based Adaptive AI. He is also known as a pioneer in social gaming, and a staunch philanthropist who serves at the Innovation Council for the UN’s World Food Programme and Board Trustee at For The Women Foundation.
In his session, Almendral will talk about new breakthroughs in adaptive technology, particularly how screens in a room can now contain customized art made to evoke certain emotions. In this talk ‘How Art and Artificial Intelligence Will Affect Your Health‘, Almendral will explore the effects and discuss clinical studies performed about how art can change a patient’s experience in a hospital. Most modern hospitals around the world have more art than hotels but the pieces are often overlooked or an afterthought of the architecture.
SESSION 14: How Space Connects Us All
Reina Reyes
Head of AC Analytics, Ayala Corporation
SCIENCE + INFRASTRUCTURE
With a Ph.D in Astrophysics, Reina Reyes’ career in science goes a long way. Her involvement in her field has contributed to the country’s national development, as proven by her Gawad Lagablab Award, and she is now the Head of AC Analytics at Ayala Corporation and the Host of Science Says at the Knowledge Channel. She’s been touted as “The Filipina Who Proved Einstein Right” after publishing her research on testing general relativity. At the festival, she will be talking about “How Space Connects Us All.”
Humans have always looked up to the sky for inspiration. With the democratization of space, it is now within reach for private companies and emerging economies like the Philippines. Thousands of orbiting satellites shape our lives on Earth— from navigation to communication, astronomy to agriculture, hazard mapping to asset monitoring. Touring the Moon, living in Mars, and mining asteroids are no longer science fiction. All of us invited to be part of this new space age.
Catch these agents of innovation in this year’s festival. Tickets are available through our website www.adobofestivalofideas.com/tickets/ or ticket2me.net/e/4067/tickets at PHP 5,000 at regular price and PHP 2,000 for students, inclusive of coffee and lunch. There’s also a group package of 10+1 tickets for PHP 50,000. For further inquiries, reach out to the adobo FOI team through our website at www.adobofestivalofideas.com or shoot an email to events@adobomagazine.com, or call up (+632) 884 50218.
