Transformation Summit to spark “Change by Choice”
TO HELP Cebu’s information technology (IT) and business process management (BPM) industry keep up with changing global market demands, this year’s Transformation Summit will bring together a panel of speakers who are experts in their fields.
Jonathan De Luzuriaga, president of the National ICT Confederation of the Philippines and the Philippine Software Industry Association, will deliver the keynote address titled “Choices for Our Future.”
According to Wilfredo “Jun” Sa-a, managing director of the Cebu IT-BPM Organization (CIB.O) which is organizing the summit, de Luzuriaga will talk about different choices available for companies to scale up and for startups to develop more products and services, taking into consideration the global scenario.
Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Undersecretary Monchito Ibrahim will also deliver a message from the department.
“We have to change by choice so as not to be changed by the flow. We have to chart our future and deliberately bring ourselves to a place where we want to be,” said Sa-a, who is also the summit chairman.
“We continue to pursue the higher value services. It is a challenge but made easier with the very collaborative ecosystem in Cebu. It is very easy to bring the academe, industry, the government and the rest of the ecosystem to work together,” he added.
“Change By Choice” is the theme of the 2019 Transformation Summit on Monday, May 6, at The Grand Ballroom of Summit Galleria Hotel in Cebu City from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Lexmark senior manager Bill Santillan will also be talking about the company’s shift to global business services, while Accenture Inc. Delivery Center lead for technology Arvin Yason will discuss “future-proofing” the workforce.
Coders Guild founder Joey Gurango will also talk about making Cebu City the first “City of Coders” in the Philippines. Gurango recently finished training senior high school teachers in Cebu City in coding. According to Sa-a, this was part of CIB.O’s efforts to help prepare the workforce to the needs of the industry by making sure that these teachers, in turn, train their own students. Based on the latest list of top 10 jobs in the gig economy, four out of the top five jobs will require coding or programming background.
A panel discussion with the speakers titled “Bolder Choices” will be moderated by Melanie Ng, past president of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
For the afternoon session, Franklin Pasayloon and Kristine Villaba, center directors for Sykes Synergis and Sykes Robinsons Galleria, respectively, will be having a talk titled “Keeping the Maverick Spirit Alive.”
They will be talking about the Sykes’ new direction. Sykes, which is known as the pioneer in the contact center business in Cebu, is also co-presenter of the 2019 Transformation Summit.
Rishi Pradhan, Conduent chief executive officer of Philippines and Malaysia, will talk about exploring new sources of talents, while Wipro Limited will be flying in their global head of automation and transformation Somit Kapoor to discuss the company’s intelligent automation and emerging technologies to build and sustain the digital culture.
Cognizant Philippines director for life sciences digital operations Jeannette Go Sy will have a talk entitled “Life Science Thru the Digital Lens.”
An afternoon panel discussion on choices that defined and will define Cebu will be moderated by IT Business Process Association of the Philippines past president Jomari Mercado.
“Though the annual industry event is important in the success of Cebu’s IT-BPM industry, we should all take note that Cebu is indeed lucky to have committed organizations or individuals dedicated to see their city develop progressively,” Sa-a said. (PR)