Security Bank expands, diversifies board composition

PHOTO from Security Bank

Security Bank Corp. has expanded its board composition to include four more members, creating a 15-member panel with greater diversity in terms of expertise and gender distribution alongside more independent directors.

The bank recently obtained approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to amend its articles of incorporation and increase the number of board seats to 15 from the previous 11.

With such imprimatur, the four directors who were elected during the April 2017 shareholders meeting will now formally assume their responsibility as board members of Security Bank. They are: Social Security System Commissioner Diana Aguilar, Asian Institute of Management (AIM) president Jikyeong Kang (independent), former Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez (independent) and former PLDT Inc. and Smart president Napoleon Nazareno (independent).

Apart from her responsibilities at the SSS, Aguilar is a member of the board of governors of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines. She serves as director in several companies including Ionics, Philippine Seven Corp., Philex Petroleum Corp., Gate Distribution Enterprises, Electronic Commerce Payment Networks and Wenphil Corp.. She is the chairman of SB Capital Investment Corp., a board member of the Capital Markets Development Board and treasurer of the De La Salle Santiago Zobel School. She holds an MBA degree majoring in International Finance from Pepperdine University in California. She holds a BS degree majoring in Computer Science from De La Salle University in Manila.

AIM president and dean Kang, a Korean national, was the director of the DBA Program and director of the Postgraduate Center at the Manchester Business School, where she was instrumental in propelling the full time MBA program’s ranking in the Financial Times to 22nd in the world in 2007 (from a rank of 47th in the world in 2002). She earned her PhD from the University of Minnesota, her Master’s degree from Colorado State University, and her Bachelor’s degree from the Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea.

Former Tourism czar Jimenez has over 35 years of experience in advertising, leading the rise of many home-made Philippine brands. He graduated from the University of the Philippines with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts, major in Visual Communication.

Nazareno chairs AIM’s board of trustees and the board of governors. His business experience over the last 30 years covered a broad range of industries including packaging, bottling, petrochemicals, real estate, telecommunications and information technology across several countries. He completed his Master’s Degree in Business Management from AIM and also completed the INSEAD Executive Program of the European Institute of Business Administration in Fountainbleu, France. He was conferred a Doctor of Technology degree (Honoris Causa) by the University of San Carlos in Cebu City.

Security Bank’s board is chaired by Alberto Villarosa, with Alfonso Salcedo Jr. as president and chief executive officer. Principal stockholder Frederick Dy is the chair emeritus of the bank.

With this board composition, the bank now has six independent directors versus the regulatory requirement of five independent directors.

“The board members have a diversity of experience and competencies, as well as diversity in nationalities, with board representation from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the USA, complementing the Filipino-Chinese in the board of Security Bank. There are also three women in the bank’s board,” the bank said in a disclosure.

The independent directors will lead the following committees: Kang will sit in the corporate governance committee; Philip Ang in the nominations and remuneration committee; Nazareno in risk oversight committee; James Hung in the audit committee; and Jimenez will chair the related party transactions committee.

Rafael Simpao Jr. will continue to chair the executive committee while Commissioner Aguilar will chair the trust committee.