LANDBANK President and CEO Gilda E. Pico receives her award from Enterprise Asia President Dato William Ng and Enterprise Asia Chairman Tan Sri Dr. Fong Chan Onn during the APEA 2014 Awarding Ceremony held at Dusit Thani Hotel, Manila
LANDBANK President and CEO Gilda E. Pico joins the roster of the country’s finest business leaders with her recent conferment of the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards (APEA), Asia’s most coveted award for entrepreneurs.
Pico’s solid commitment for development has steered LANDBANK to consistently demonstrate continual growth in the areas of developmental banking, increasing the Bank’s loan portfolio from P143 billion in 2005 when she first assumed her post as Acting President of LANDBANK to P303.9 billion in 2013; adopting technological solutions for operations; doubling total ATM count from 608 to 1,315 to date; and establishing LANDBANK presence in all 81 provinces in the country; among others.
“The esteemed award not only recognizes our efforts in leading one of the country’s top universal banks but a motivation for us to pursue development programs that contribute to the country’s economic growth,” said Pico.
APEA’s Outstanding Category Award is given to outstanding leaders who have greatly contributed to the growth of their respective businesses and organizations.
APEA’s tough judging structure incorporates a pre-screening process of research and analysis, compulsory site visits and market audits and series of interviews for each of the shortlisted candidates.
Since its official launch in 2007, APEA has already recognized 1,200 top business leaders and entrepreneurs in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, Hong Kong, India and China. The award provides a platform for companies and governments to recognize entrepreneurial excellence, hence spurring greater innovation, fair business practices and growth in entrepreneurship.
This year’s international advisory panel included Senator Paulo Benigno Aquino IV, Former Minister of Human Resources of Malaysia Tan Sri Datuk Seri Dr. Fong Chan Onn, Former Chairman of Tourism Malaysia Datuk Seri Dr. Victor Wee, and Secretary General of World Islamic Economic Forum Foundation Tan Sri Ahmad Fuzi Haji Abdul Razak.