Top Google official to talk in forum organized by PhilDev

MANILA– The Philippine Development Foundation announced a new set of key presenters from various fields of technology, academe and entrepreneurship who will be joining the panel of the economic forum on Oct. 8 at the Manila Peninsula in Makati City.

With the theme “Harnessing Filipino Innovation and Entrepreneurship,” Manila “will become the convergence zone as innovative high-tech companies, entrepreneurs and key government officials promote a deeper understanding about investment in the Philippines and potential collaboration on business ventures,” organizers said in a press statement.

The forum is hosted by PhilDev’s US-based Filipino board of directors who are established entrepreneurs like Dado Banatao, PhilDev chairman of the board, president Catherine Buan Peterson and trustees and event chairs Winston Damarillo, chairman and founder of Exist Global Inc., and Sheila Lirio Marcelo, founder and CEO of Care.com.

Leading the group is Dr. Eric Brewer, vice president of infrastructure of Google, Inc. He has received awards like MIT Technology Review TR100 as one of the top 100 innovators in the world under the age of 35 in 1999.

Joining Dr. Brewer is Toby Stuart, an entrepreneurship expert and professor at the Leo Helzel chair in entrepreneurship and faculty director of the Lester Center of Entrepreneurship at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.

Also speaking at the forum is Dr. Jerry Held, the person responsible for Oracle’s most important products during a period of rapid growth in 1998, from $1.5 billion to $6 billion in annual revenues as its senior vice president then.

Arthur Tan, chief executive officer and president of Integrated Microelectronics, Inc., a subsidiary of Ayala Corp., Eric Manlunas, co-founder and managing partner of Siemer Ventures will also be mentoring the startups.

Except for Brewer, the speakers will also be mentoring the startup groups that will participate in Hack2Hatch in Cebu at Radisson Blu starting Oct. 5. (PR)