BIZ BUZZ: DA continues to fill up key posts

A former city administrator of Cavite is joining the ranks of the Department of Agriculture (DA) as one of its key officials.

The DA announced on Tuesday the appointment of Jerome Oliveros as undersecretary for special concerns and official development assistance-foreign aid/grants.

Oliveros, the former city administrator of Bacoor, Cavite, is tasked with overseeing the development and implementation of agricultural policies and projects aimed at improving the quality of life of disadvantaged and cultural community groups, children, youth, persons with disability, senior citizens and elderly.

He is also responsible for identifying and coordinating project proposals that can be backed by possible grants/aid from official development assistance or institutional donors and potential partners as well as monitoring these projects upon securing the funding.

Oliveros’ appointment is the latest change implemented by the DA headed by Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. as it strives to modernize the farm sector and boost food production.

May these appointments help bring about the changes that the DA hopes will lead to improved food security and better incomes for farmers and fisherfolk. —Jordeene B. Lagare

New Deutche Bank CEO

More and more foreign banks are bringing back Filipino talents to lead their Philippine operations. In the case of expatriate Pinoys, it’s a great opportunity to relocate back home and contribute to the motherland.

Deutsche Bank is the latest foreign bank to make such a move.

The German bank has named Rodolfo “Dino” Siason as chief country officer and head of corporate Bank for the Philippines effective April 1 (subject to necessary regulatory approvals).

Siason will succeed Michael Chua, who is retiring after working in the banking industry for nearly 30 years. Under Chua’s leadership, the local business achieved significant revenue growth and successfully executed a number of landmark transactions.

Siason brings to the table more than 20 years of banking experience. He spent nearly 18 years with Citibank in the Philippines, Singapore and the Czech Republic.  Most recently, he served as Citi’s head of treasury and trade solutions for the Central Europe cluster, based in Prague. He has held a wide range of roles across credit, client coverage and franchise management, with a strong focus on enabling clients to become more global.

“Dino will play a leadership role in taking our corporate bank in the Philippines to the next level. His global client coverage and product expertise combined with his deep local market knowledge, will help further differentiate Deutsche Bank in the Philippines,” said Burkhard Ziegenhorn, Deutsche Bank head of corporate bank for Southeast Asia and Australia.

“We are proud of our 48-year history in the Philippines and committed to growing in this increasingly important market. We’re delighted that our strong platform has attracted high quality talent like Dino, and look forward to him leading our franchise from strength to strength in the Philippines,” added Kaushik Shaparia, Deutsche Bank CEO for Emerging Asia and chief country officer for India. — Doris Dumlao-Abadilla