BIZ BUZZ: Januszczak leaves UBX
MANILA, Philippines The era of leadership changes continues. This time, Union Bank of the Philippines bid adieu to John Januszczak, president and CEO of UBX Philippines, its open finance platform.
Not much was said about his sudden departure, only that, “We appreciate and respect John’s decision to focus on personal priorities at this point in his life, and we wish him the best,” UBX chair Jose Emmanuel Hilado said in a statement on Tuesday.
“We would like to thank John for his contributions and dedication to UBX during his leadership term,” Hilado added.
Januszczak had been leading UBX since its launch in 2018, when it was first established as UnionBank’s financial technology venture capital arm.
Januszczak will be succeeded by UBX chief commercial officer Mario Domingo once he officially steps down on Monday, June 16.
READ: BIZ BUZZ: UnionBank, ATRAM trust units merger sealed
Of course, Januszczak is not leaving UBX without taking a bow for his achievements.
He leaves the company just months after securing a new Japanese investor, conglomerate SBI Holdings Inc.
In 2023, UBX also managed to near the P100-billion mark for gross transaction volume, and Januszczak had vowed to reach P1 trillion in the next five years.
Let’s hope they achieve this under new-ish leadership! —Meg J. Adonis
Wanted: Converge director
Converge ICT Solutions Inc. is now looking for a new member of its board of directors after the resignation of Francis Lim this month.
Lim, who joined the company in 2020, has started his term as the country’s new chair of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
“While his term with us has come to an end, we are elated that he will now lend in the service of government at the SEC his peerless legal expertise and deep know-how of the capital markets,” Converge CEO and cofounder Dennis Anthony Uy said.
“Without a doubt, his leadership of this important regulatory body will further lead to a robust, efficient and fair market functioning that will drive more businesses to flourish and attract fresh investments,” he added.
Lim served as a member of the Converge board committees on corporate governance, risk oversight, related party transactions and remuneration. —Tyrone Jasper C. Piad
Hotline for illegal cutting of coco trees?
The government is looking to set up a dedicated hotline not for handling emergencies, but for cracking down on illegal coconut tree cutting nationwide.
According to the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries, a resolution has been issued to beef up enforcement efforts against this illicit activity and safeguard the country’s coconut resources.
The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) welcomed this proposal from the council but recommended creating regional hotlines instead of a centralized hotline to swiftly respond to unauthorized coconut tree cutting.
READ: The prospects of coconut oil in the biodiesel economy
“I would like to suggest that this [hotline for reporting illegal coconut tree cutting] be done by region, not only a central one. We can provide that, not only a one-for-all hotline, it can be designated by region and down to provinces,” PCA Administrator Dexter Buted said in a meeting held by the council.
Aside from the hotline, the PCA reiterated its previous proposal to form a Bantay-Niyog group, fashioned after the Bantay Dagat program, to protect coconut trees from illegal logging.
We currently have a law in place, the Coconut Preservation Act of 1995, that penalizes individuals or entities for cutting down coconut trees without the necessary permit.
With the proposal to establish hotlines in every region or province, are these initiatives enough to preserve the country’s coconut resources and revive the local industry? —Jordeene B. Lagare
