Powerful Women
By Michael Alan Hamlin
August 8, 2003

You already know what last week's attempted power grab by allegedly overzealous military reformers means for Philippine business. So consider instead the 11 "most powerful women in IT" as profiled by Enterprise magazine recently, and what they mean for business. The initiative to acknowledge powerful women in IT rather than powerful men was inspired by a survey conducted among the top 50 IT corporations operating in the Philippines.

The survey found that out of 250 top IT executive positions surveyed, only 20, or eight percent, were held by women, although women make up about half of the total workforce. According to journalist Maria Estrella Manuel, the staff and editors naturally wondered what made these 20 women different from their peers. What accounted for their relatively unusual success in a male-dominated, high-profile sector?

It's not educational or professional background. The 11 women ultimately profiled have widely divergent educational backgrounds and career paths. The unifying factors, instead, appear to be innate intellectual depth, and an unconquerable determination to succeed. Which they have. Who are these women? Here's a glimpse, courtesy of Enterprise.

MARICOR AKOL
President, JITSE Philippine Foundation Inc.
Years in the industry: 27 years

Ms. Akol's is the country's chief champion of global standards. While Filipino ICT professionals' skills are frequently lauded, the country has trailed its neighbors in implementing international standards for establishing both companies' and individuals' knowledge and skills. Ms. Akol is changing all that to create opportunity both here and abroad.

CAROL CARREON
Vice-Chairman and CEO, BayanTrade
Years in the industry: 30 years

"The IT industry literally might not be the way it is without this woman," according to Ms. Estrella. She was founding general manager of the nation's largest ATM network, MegaLink, where she coordinated development among a consortium of 32 banks. Later, as the Managing Director of SAP Philippines, the local installed base grew five fold to over 100 companies. As founding president and CEO of BayanTrade, Carrol Carreon led the development of the Philippines' premiere B2B marketplace.

WILMA D. CRUZ
Chief Information Officer, PLDT Wireless Group (Smart Communications, Piltel, and ACES Satellite Communications)
Years in the industry: 22 years

Ms. Cruz was one of the key players in the planning, design, development, installation and continuous enhancement of the IT infrastructure that supports the 9.4 million GSM subscribers of the PLDT Wireless Group and its 5,400 employees.

NENITA LIM-CRUZ
President and CEO, Eastern Telecommunications Philippines Inc.
Years in the industry: 3 years

A relative newcomer, Ms. Lim-Cruz is the driving force behind the re-launch of Eastern Telecoms, turning this lumbering pioneer into a nimble competitor. As a result of her work, more than 50% of the country's local Internet traffic goes through the Eastern Telecoms network.

DITTAS FORMOSO
Director for Enterprise Services, Microsoft Philippines
Years in the industry: 18 years

Under her leadership, annual sales growth has approached 50 percent, despite a pullback in tech spending. In her previous capacity as president of the Philippine Computer Society, she presented the Filipino IT Code of Ethics to then President Fidel V. Ramos, and ensured that it was incorporated in the curriculum of tertiary schools offering IT-related courses.

LILIA C. GUILLERMO
Deputy Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Information Systems Group, Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)
Years in the industry: 23 years

Ms. Guillermo has been involved in almost all aspects of the BIR's document processing activities as a user, statistician, systems analyst, programmer, CIO, and Project Manager of the World Bank-assisted Tax Computerization Project. She is also the Bureau's permanent representative to the Information Technology and E-Commerce Council (ITECC) for the implementation of the Government Information Systems Plan (GISP).

ROSE MARIE C. HWAN
Country Manager, Imaging and Printing Group, Hewlett-Packard Philippines Corp.
Years in the industry: 10 years

Ms. Hwan fought back commoditization to lead the industry. HP holds 70.9 % of the laser jet printer market, and 50.4% of the inkjet market.

CYNTHIA ROMERO MAMON
President and Managing Director, Sun Microsystems Philippines Inc.
Years in the industry: 10 years

Here's another fighting back story, this time against Linux. Ms. Mamon is very involved in Outsource Philippines, a private sector initiative to launch a e-Services gateway to attract investment and opportunities for the Philippines.

MARY ANN D. TOLENTINO
Asst. Vice-President, Mobile Banking Department, Bank of the Philippine Islands
Years in the industry: almost 4 years

Under her leadership, Philippine Internet Commerce Society held the 1st National E-Commerce Congress, and Ms. Tolentino also organized the 1st Philippine e-government Awards.

JUDITH DUAVIT VAZQUEZ
Chair and CEO, Mod.Net.Ph Internet Infrastructure Inc.
Years in the industry: 6 years

She is the founding chairperson of INQ7.net, a leading Internet news site (and the country's top Web site) a joint venture between GMA Network, where she is a director, and Philippine Daily Inquirer. She co-founded Mod.Net.Ph, an Internet Infrastructure and Web-based security solutions provider.

JOJIE YAP
President, Pacific Internet Philippines Inc.
Years in the industry: 7 years

Despite the tech bust last year. The revenues of Pacific Internet Philippines increased from P480 million in 2000 to P504 million in 2001, with a compounded annual growth rate of 285% since 1998. It remains the largest local ISP.

And there you have it, the top 11 women in IT in the Philippines. I'm betting they'll have a lot more to do with our future than those guys at Oakwood did last Sunday.

(Michael Alan Hamlin is the managing director of consultancy TeamAsia and the author of three books on Asian economies and companies. His latest book is Marketing Asian Places, of which he is a co-author (Wiley, 2001), and he is currently at work on High Visibility: The Making and Marketing of Asian Professionals into Celebrities. Write him at mahamlin@teamasia.com.).

Copyright © 2003 Michael Alan Hamlin. All Rights Reserved.

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