Dispo, Banatao join Cirtek

LAGUNA-based electronics manufacturer Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corp. has named a top local investment banker its new president and the most famous Filipino-American technopreneur in Silicon Valley new adviser to the board, in a bid to raise its profile in the global electronics market.

Cirtek, which is listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange under the ticker “TECH,” announced the appointment of Roberto Juanchito “Jojo” Dispo as president and vice chair. At the same time, Fil-Am billionaire Diosdado “Dado” Banatao was named adviser to the board. Both appointments took effect on Monday.

“As Cirtek moves from strength to strength and scales up its business activities, technology capabilities and geographic presence, Dado Banatao’s expertise and industry foresight will be invaluable to the company’s future,” Cirtek chair Jerry Liu said in a disclosure to the PSE.

“Likewise, Jojo Dispo’s proven track record as an investment banker, capital markets expertise, and extensive business network will further strengthen Cirtek’s already very capable management team as it pursues strategic asset acquisitions here and abroad,” he added.

Dispo, who recently retired from First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC), is a seasoned investment banker with more than 17 years of considerable experience in capital raising, investments, strategic acquisition and asset management. He was credited for creating successful financial products such as retail Treasury bonds, OFWs (overseas Filipino worker) bonds and the country’s first exchange traded fund (ETF). He has also led several of the country’s largest and landmark equity and debt capital markets deals.

Before joining FMIC, Dispo had worked for the Philippine government with stints in Department of National Defense, Department of Trade and Industry, and Department of Finance. His last government post was Deputy Treasurer of the Philippines with the rank of Assistant Secretary and he was credited for key debt and capital markets reforms such as issuance of long term Treasury Bonds, bonds re-Issuance as well as the rollout of the electronic treasury system, the Registry of Scripless Scurities (RoSS) that phased out physical Treasury bills and bonds.

Banatao is a renowned Silicon Valley pioneer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who has been credited with developing several key semiconductor technologies such as five-chip set, system logic chip set for IBM’s PC-XT and PC-AT and graphic accelerator chip using his invention of local bus.

Raised in the small town of Mallabac in Cagayan Valley, Banatao – the child of a farmer and a housekeeper – rose from humble beginnings to create semiconductor technology that revolutionized personal computing. He is the founder and managing partner of Tallwood Venture Capital which invests in tech start-ups.

Banatao was also part of SiRF, a pioneer in the commercial use of GPS technology for consumer applications after this technology has been declassified by the US government.

Through its subsidiaries, Cirtek is primarily engaged in two major activities: (1) providing full service/turnkey solutions including wafer probing, wafer back grinding, assembly, and packaging and final testing of semiconductor devices, and (2) offering complete manufacturing solutions for value-added, highly integrated radio frequency, microwave and millimeterwave technology products.

With more than 50 years of combined operating track record, Cirtek’s products cover a wide range of applications and industries, including communications, consumer electronics, power devices, computing, automotive, and industrial segments.