BIZ BUZZ: DOF changing of the guard

You first read about it here in October last year, and it now seems that the changing of the guard at the Department of Finance (DOF) will finally happen. The decision-makers apparently just let the Christmas holiday season pass before rocking the boat.

According to the grapevine, lawmaker Ralph Recto is scheduled to take over the finance portfolio on Jan. 15 after he takes his oath on Jan. 12.

We also heard that the current Finance chief, Benjamin Diokno, has politely declined the offer to take up the new post of chair emeritus of Maharlika Investment Corp.

However, the former Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor may return to the local central bank to take the sixth (and last) Monetary Board seat, which has long been rumored to be reserved just for him.

Ahead of this crucial movement in the economic team, Diokno has reduced his public engagements as finance secretary.

But while Recto has agreed to lead the DOF, the question now is how long he will agree to stay.

After all, there are talks that the veteran lawmaker is also interested to run for Batangas Governor in 2025. —Doris Dumlao-Abadilla

IPO prelude? Wildflour scouts for investor relations expert

Wildflour Cafe + Bakery is starting the new year with expansion on its mind and a major hiring spree to boot in preparation for its next stage of growth.

The fast-growing restaurant chain, cofounded by president and CEO Ana Lorenzana de Ocampo, issued a hiring notice for a wide variety of administrative roles.

These are the sort of jobs you see when an organization is rapidly professionalizing its ranks.

These include a human resources head, system and operations head, senior brand and purchasing manager, IT manager and data engineering personnel. The group is also scouting for experts to raise its public profile so content production and social media jobs were posted.

Most curious of all was the need for an investor relations officer (IRO), especially given the talk that Wildflour is among the firms interested in listing on the Philippine Stock Exchange.

A skilled IRO will be critical if the firm is indeed moving to take in outside money or even an eventual initial public offering (IPO). Of course, being listed comes with additional regulatory and fiduciary responsibilities. We expect Wildflour will be no tame flour even after this happens. —Miguel R. Camus INQ