The Manila office of Weber Shandwick definitely had its hands full organizing and coordinating the 15th Forbes Global CEO Conference where top names in business were present as delegates and speakers.
The leading global public relations and communications firm tapped its Manila office to partner with Forbes Media to spearhead publicity and promotions for the three-day major event held at the vast theater of Solaire Resort and Casino in Parañaque. (Solaire incidentally is starting to glitter with a lot of exciting shows, among them the upcoming staging of the iconic Les Miserables in March next year.)
Opening the session last Monday was Forbes Media chair and editor-in-chief Steve Forbes, who talked about politics and the global economy, warning that things will become a bit messy in the US—yet will eventually result in positive developments.
Some 400 of the world’s biggest billionaires, tycoons, multinational CEOS, entrepreneurs with global economy. Among them are Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Tessie Sy-Coson (SM Investments Corp. and BDO Unibank were co-hosts), International Container Terminal Services Inc. chairman and president Ricky Razon (whose Bloomberry resorts is the owner of Solaire Casino, if we may add), San Miguel president and COO Ramon Ang and a host of other names in the country’s who’s who list in business.
Under the theme “Toward a Winning Vision,” the Forbes Global CEO Conference centered on visionary leadership—or how companies can best conceive and articulate a winning vision to drive their businesses forward, one that is based on their core values and purpose. Speakers from all over the world also shared insights on topics such as the world economy, investment strategies, energy, technology and innovation, emerging markets, leadership, succession and philanthropy.
Naturally, top editors ad well as business reporters from the local media (print and broadcast) covered the event, seeking to interview Steve Forbes, Mike Perlis (president and CEO of Forbes Media) so one can only imagine the difficulty of having to accommodate all these requests for one-on-ones but we must say Weber Shandwick’s Philippine office delivered.
“It’s both an honor and a privilege to partner with Forbes Media for this prestigious gathering and play host as a country for the Forbes Global CEO Conference at the same time. Weber Shandwick has a strong corporate presence in today’s landscape and this partnership is a validation of the best business practices Weber Shandwick has been doing in and out of the country,” remarked Diana Lesaca, Weber Shandwick Philippines’ president and COO.
“The Philippines is experiencing aggressive economic growth and the Forbes Global CEO Conference is an excellent platform to spur discussions on how to sustain that growth or elevate it further,” Lesaca added.
MH 370 wreckage in PH?
Reports are surfacing that the wreckage of the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 that disappeared in March last year may have been found in an island called Sugbay here in the Philippines. The reports say Malaysian authorities were tipped off about it, with parts of the plane as well as the Malaysian flag reportedly discovered by a teenager who was hunting for birds. Locals are claiming they saw the fuselage as well as skeletal remains of what could be the passengers of the ill-fated plane.
There is strong suspicion that the reports could be a hoax since the island does not fit the flight path, with the plane taking off from Kuala Lumpur and headed for China. Investigators believe the plane may have turned south (taken a turn for the worse, one of our buddies quipped) going towards the Indian Ocean before it disappeared.
Let’s hope this is not an elaborate hoax coming from people who have nothing better to do—because this is definitely not funny.
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Cheers! to the staff of Watsons at SM Marikina who are developing a reputation not only of good customer service but honesty. Apparently, customers who are careless enough to leave their smart gadgets (iPhones, tablets and android phones) at Watsons were able to recover them because the staff (pharmacy and in-store assistants) are very vigilant and keep a logbook of lost items. And before they turn over the lost item, they double check your identification and ask for other details to prove ownership, like you have to input the PIN to unlock the phone, or describe the item cover for example.
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