Francis is an Independent, Non-executive Trustee of the Company. He currently sits as the Chairman of the Governance BoardCommittee and a member of the following Board Committees: Executive; Finance, Budget and Investment; and Related Party Transaction. He is 62 years old and a Filipino citizen.
Directorships and Experience
Francis is a Senior Partner and member of the Special Committee and Executive Committee of the Angara Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law (ACCRA LAW) Offices. He is the President of Shareholders’ Association of the Philippines (SharePHIL). He is an Independent Director of the following companies: Energy Development Corporation (a Publicly Listed Company), Rural Bank of Pamplona, Producers Savings Bank, Corporation, and Tower Development Bank, Inc.; while he is a Director of Union Bank of the Philippines (a Publicly Listed Company). He is also a Trustee of Judicial Reform Initiative, Inc., CIBI Foundation, Inc., and FINEX Research & Development Foundation, Inc. He sits as the Chairman of Committees of the following Associations: National Competitiveness Committee of the Management Association of the Philippines and Judicial System Working Group of the National Competitiveness Council. He is a Co-Chairperson of the Sub-Committee of the Philippine Supreme Court on E-Commerce Law and member of the Philippine Supreme Court Sub-Committee on Commercial Courts. He is a Professorial Lecturer at the Philippine Judicial Academy and a Law Professor at the School of Law, Ateneo de Manila University and School of Law of San Beda University. He is a Philippine Contributor to the Compliance Complete (Thomson Reuters International online publication) and a Columnist (Point of Law) in Philippine Daily Inquirer. He was a former President and Chief Executive Officer of the Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. and Securities Clearing Corporation of the Philippines. He previously served as a Chairman of the Philippine Stock Exchange Foundation, Inc. and Capital Market Development Center, Inc. He was also a former Director of The Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc., Securities Clearing Corporation of the Philippines, and Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corporation. He also previously served as a Trustee of Securities Investors Protection Fund. He was a former member of the Capital Market Development Council. He is a member of the Financial Executive Institute of the Philippines.
Francis has received numerous awards and accolades during in his professional career. Among his most recent awards are: Commended External Counsel of the Year 2016 by In-House Community Counsels; Punong Gabay Award from the Philippine Council of Deans and Educators (PCDEB); Professorial Chair in Commercial Law from the Philippine Supreme Court, Philippine Judicial Academy and the Metrobank Foundation, Inc.;Advocacy Management and Shareholder Rights Advocacy Awards from BizNewsAsia;Certificate of Commendation from the Supreme Court of the Philippines; Outstanding Alumnus, San Jacinto Seminary and San Jacinto Seminary Alumni Association andCertificate of Appreciation from Capital Market Institute of the Philippines.
Academic Qualifications
Francis earned his Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, and Bachelor of Philosophy, magna cum laude, degrees from University of Santo Tomas. He finished his Bachelor of Laws (Second Honors) degree from the Ateneo de Manila University. He then graduated with Master of Laws from the University of Pennsylvania, USA. He is a member of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Philippine Bar Association, New York State Bar Association and the American Bar Association. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD).
Recent Seminars attended
In 2017, Francis attended an Annual Corporate Governance Training Program by the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) in Metro Manila, Philippines.