2023 Retail Asia Forum-Manila

Yukiko Tsukamoto is a member of Bain & Company’s Financial Services and Consumer Products practices. 

She has more than 15 years of consulting experience across a range of industries in Japan, North America and Southeast Asia, including food and beverage, retail, luxury goods, credit cards, insurance, and investment funds for multinational clients. Yukiko co-leads the firm’s Tokyo Sustainability practice.  

Yukiko earned her MBA from Harvard University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics from Keio University. 

Gina Yu-Aquino is a member of Bain & Company’s Consumer Products, Retail, and Performance Improvement practices. 

Over more than 10 years in management consulting, Gina has advised clients on strategy, merger integration, and operational improvement, as well as led diligence and value creation efforts. She is an expert on our proprietary Brand Accelerator and Revenue Growth Management solutions. 

Gina's key case work has included: 

Charting the five-year growth plan and full potential identification for a key F&B retail chain; 

Developing the cross-category growth acceleration program for a regional food and beverage player, sparking revenue growth across five different categories; 

The diligence of a ~$100 million deal for a U.S. private equity firm, identifying specific levers for value creation and financial performance improvement. 

She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in Marketing from Singapore Management University. 

Graham Coates is a British national with extensive international management experience in numerous culturally diverse locations such as Asia (twenty eight years), Europe (eight years) and the United States (four years). He has demonstrated a record of sustained profitable growth, building world-class organizations and driving change for global, multinational and family owned corporations and entrepreneurial companies in the United States, Europe and Asia. Graham is skilled in P&L, Operations, Merchandising, Marketing, Customer Development, Business Development and Logistics. 

Graham's General Management expertise combines a unique leadership style of motivating, mentoring and strategic and tactical know-how to foster performance improvement. Over the years, he has honed these skills towards managing and motivating large teams through significant change, while achieving great results and improving bottom line performance via innovative programs both in back-end and frontline operations. He brings with him a wealth of experience that cuts through many retail formats and cross functions. 

He is a visionary executive with global experience in conceptualising ideas, seizing opportunities, building operations, and creating new business development initiatives. He has carved out a blended career path in all functions to seamlessly partner at all levels of company. He is a sound decision maker with savvy that gives the flexibility and ability needed to adapt to the dynamics of the market place. 

He is an expert strategist with special focus on managing start-ups, turnarounds and rapid growth companies in emerging markets. He is recognised for sound fiscal management and delivering P&L results that enhance profitability, reduce costs, and optimise shareholder value. 

Graham is currently the First Vice President and Head of Megaworld Lifestyle Malls, Philippines' pioneer of the Live-Play-Work township concept. He is managing all the business aspect of the company from managing the P&L to operations, leasing, creatives, brand and marketing. 

Graham was previously the COO for Century Properties Inc., one of the Philippines' leading Real Estate Developers. He was tasked with building their first ever high-end mall within Makati City, the central business district of the Philippines. 

Graham was the CEO for Metro Gaisano Group, a position that he was headhunted for by Amrop International, after having formerly worked with the Robinsons Retail Group as general manager for six years. 

In the Philippine context, he has the unique advantage of being very familiar with all retail formats, the working environment of the country and the specific demands and challenges that the Philippines has for any senior executive. He has a permanent Residence Immigration status in the Philippines. 

Graham also has his own retail consultancy company GMC management consulting, which he runs with his wife focusing on executive search and working as an advisor on several retail companies.

Mehdi is a Partner based in Thailand. He has over 11 years of experience in marketing sales, distribution, e-commerce and digital within the FMCG and healthcare industries across Asia, Europe and Latin America. Mehdi brings with him an excellent track record in strategy formulation, business development and large-scale expansion growth within top tier MNCs in the personal care, healthcare and food industry. He holds a B.A. in International Business Management from Edinburgh Napier University and a Masters in Management from EDHEC Business School. 

Kaye is a Business Consulting Partner in SGV & Co, a member firm of EY. She has extensive experience in finance transformation programs, and helped companies envision the future of their finance function and create a transformation program from design to implementation. She also focuses on helping multinational companies set-up their shared services or global business services in the Philippines.

Anna is a Risk Advisory Partner at Deloitte Southeast Asia and is Deloitte Philippines’ first female Country Risk Advisory Services Leader. She concurrently leads Deloitte Philippines’ Cyber Risk Services and is its Financial Services Leader. Anna has over 23 years of experience in the fields of Cyber Risk Management, Information Technology Security Strategies and Technology Implementations. 

Her portfolio of Cyber Security Services includes Security Strategy and Governance, Vulnerability Management, Security Implementations and Security Operations for Financial Services, Utilities and Power Companies.  

She helps companies navigate the complex requirements of Data Privacy, Cyber Security and emerging risks brought about by new technologies and business trends such as Digital Transformation, Cloud, Mobility, IOT, RPA and Artificial Intelligence. 

Anna graduated from the University of the Philippines Diliman with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Accountancy, and holds a Masters of Science degree in Information Management from Ateneo Institute of Technology. She is both a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Information Systems Auditor. 

Bernard Ong is the President of Ace Hardware Philippines.

He has 33 years business leadership experience, including 22 years in general management and 5 years in global marketing. He has run businesses or led projects in diverse industries including FMCG (P&G, Unilever), metals (Reynolds), energy (Shell) and financial services.

At Unilever, Bernard was responsible for branded retail initiatives covering 2000+ stores in all 6 continents in 2001 to 2005.

Bernard joined Ace Hardware in 2012 and has helped the Philippine team reach significant milestones.

In 2017, Ace Philippines became the largest Ace franchise chain in the world. In 2022 and 2023, Ace Philippines was awarded Retail Asia’s back-to-back Hardware Retailer of the Year-Philippines. The company was also awarded Retail Asia’s ESG Initiative of the Year-Philippines in 2023.  

Bernard earned his MBA from IMD in Switzerland. He has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Economics from the University of the Philippines in Diliman.

Pavan Powar is a seasoned professional with 10+ years of experience in business and strategy roles. He currently heads Strategy and Marketplace for SariSuki, a hyperlocal eGrocery platform that provides consumers with the freshest produce at the best value. Prior to moving to the Philippines, Pavan was part of the growing startup ecosystem in India. He spent 3 years at Indian E-Commerce giant Flipkart in various roles across strategy and business development. Post which he's worked exclusively with early stage startups, helping them to drive sustainable growth. Outside of work, Pavan is a PADI Certified Scuba Diving Instructor and also enjoys playing football, cricket and tennis.

Jerome is a Principal with the Deal Advisory Services team of R.G. Manabat & Co. (KPMG in the Philippines) and is the Country Leader for KPMG Private Enterprise as well as the lead for the Consumer and Retail sectors. He has over 24 years of experience in the areas of investment banking, corporate finance, and financial advisory, having been previously connected with several investment banks and financial institutions such as Amalgamated Investment Bancorporation, Dharmala Capital Investment & Trust Company and UBP Capital Corporation. Jerome also has over 7 years of retail experience and was the Chief Operating Officer of TechnoMarine Enterprises Philippines, Inc. and Techno Time Pte. Ltd. (Singapore), a wholesaler and retailer of luxury watches and jewelry.

Jerome graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Management Economics from the Ateneo de Manila University and is a Chartered Valuer and Appraiser conferred by the Institute of Valuers and Appraisers in Singapore. He also has an Advanced Certificate in Advising the Family Business and an Advanced Certificate in Family Business Governance from the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners - Central Licensing Training International in partnership with the University of Manchester in the UK.

Ms. Rosemarie Bosch-Ong is the Senior Executive Vice President and COO of Wilcon Depot who has made a significant impact in the home improvement and construction retail industry with her knowledge and experience in marketing, administration, and operations.  

Rosemarie has been in the industry for more than 40 years, starting out as the Purchasing Manager of then Wilcon Builders Supply, Inc. in 1984. In addition to her integral role in Wilcon, she is also the Chairwoman of the Philippine Retailers Association, serving as President for six years. She is also heavily involved with various advocacies and organizations, taking on leadership positions in Wilcon Foundation as President, Board Director at WomenBiz Philippines, Chairman of Trade at the Philippine Chamber Commerce and Industry, and Founding Director of Proptech Consortium of the Philippines to name a few. In addition, she’s a regular columnist for the Philippine Star with her column, “Rose to the Occassion”. 

She received an MBA with Distinction from the De La Salle University, and an undergraduate degree from the University of the East, Philippines. She also took Digital Transformation at Insead with distinction. She is a loving mother to her son, Amos Timothy, and a devoted wife to Antonio(+). 

She has been invited to numerous forums, conferences as resource speaker, panelist or keynote speaker sharing her insights, expertise and experience in Retail, operational practices, Economics and Digital Transformation 

Because of her tenacity, she has been recognized and have won International and National Awards such as the Philippine Daily Inquirer Woman in Power Awardee 2023, World Women Leadership Congress 2023, Philippines Women Leader-Hall of Famer, University of the Philippines Goad Oblation Award 2023, International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge Award 2018 among others. 

Joseph Albette “Albet” Roble-Buddahim is the Chief Marketing Officer of PRIMER Group of Companies, where he is responsible for leading the various marketing and creative teams across the Group in both traditional and digital channels. 

PRIMER Group of Companies has both B2B / Industrial and B2C / Retail business. In Philippines Retail group, PRIMER brands is more than 100 (includes TUMI, Agnes B., The North Face, Columbia, Jansport, Birkenstock, Hydroflask, Herschel, POLER, World Traveller, Delsey, Freewaters, Sledgers, Reef, Rockport, Osprey, Tretorn, Travelon, Native, Moleskin, etc.) and concept stores (R.O.X., GRIND, The Travel Club, ResToeRun, BratPack, etc.) 

Albet is also the Co-founder of Katapult Digital Corporation and the Chief Marketing Capability Strategist of Mansmith & Fielders. He is a Certified Professional in Marketing/CPM, Digital Marketing/CDM, Management Consulting/CMC and Coaching/CPC. His previous roles provided him with breadth and depth of expertise in Marketing, eCommerce, Media and Brand-building from P&G, AVON, L’OREAL, Publicis Group and IPG Mediabrands. 

Julian Cua is a Filipino Partner at BCG Manila and leads the firm’s Center for Consumer Insights in the Philippines. Since joining BCG in 2010, he has worked primarily on Digital Transformation programs focused on growth and delivering innovative experiences for consumers. Julian also carries and MBA from London Business School and has worked previously at Amazon in the UK.

Marco has over a decade of experience in technology, supply chain and retail. As the Commercial Director APAC for Cegid, he helps large specialty retailers solve complex retail challenges ranging from O2O execution, staff enablement, country compliance, to China expansion. Today Cegid powers 85,000 stores for 1,000 brands globally, with a leading cloud POS and unified commerce platform.

Samuel Powell has recently been appointed as the CEO of HMR Philippines, after almost a decade of successfully growing the HMR Group’s auction company. During his tenure as CEO of HMR Auctions, he established the Philippine’s first live public automotive auction and developed the country’s largest online auction platform – HMR Bid. Specializing in the liquidation of commercial assets.

Samuel now leads HMR Philippines, the industry leader in full-service asset management for retail consumer returns. They offer logistics, refurbishment and omni-channel sales solutions to extract maximum value from every surplus asset, all while minimizing landfill by ensuring assets are re-purposed in the circular economy.

In his leisure time, Samuel enjoys playing tennis as well as co-managing a fantasy football team with his 11-year-old son.

I'm Marcela D Luca , and I'm honored to be here at this conference. With a career spanning more than 25 years in the retail industry, I've developed a deep expertise in successfully navigating the complex and ever-evolving retail landscape. From my roles as a retail executive in both the United States and Southeast Asia, I've honed the skills necessary to thrive amidst the constant shifts in consumer behavior, emerging technologies, and market trends.

My passion lies in strategically adapting to change, identifying emerging opportunities, and leading teams through transformational periods in the retail sector. I've not only witnessed but actively participated in the industry's transformation, from traditional brick-and-mortar retail to the digital age.

I'm eager to engage in discussions, share my experiences, and learn from fellow industry leaders here at this conference. Together, we can explore the strategies and insights that empower us to thrive in the dynamic world of retail.