Taguig, Philippines – HR professionals and industry experts gathered for a two-day CHRO Series Philippines 2025 conference, held February 12th, to discuss the evolving landscape of human resources and the future of work. The event, themed “CHRO Insights: Navigating the Future of HR in Philippines,” featured keynote speakers, panel discussions, and interactive roundtables.
Day 1, held on February 12th, offered attendees a packed agenda of insightful keynotes, engaging panel discussions, and interactive roundtable sessions, all focused on navigating the rapidly changing world of work.
The day began with registration and networking, followed by a welcome address and opening remarks from Audrey Arayata, Consultant at Fearless Inc., setting the stage for a day of learning and collaboration.
Gina Ordonez, Senior Vice President & Chief People Officer at PLDT Group, delivered a powerful keynote on “Reimagining HR Value Creation in 2025 and Beyond.” She challenged attendees to rethink HR structures and functions to adapt to the evolving business environment, emphasizing the importance of building identity, agility, and scalability to navigate the future of work. Ordonez also offered practical advice on evolving holistic workforce transformation and change management.
Joe Buot, Group CHRO at Maxicare Healthcare Corporation, followed with a compelling session on “Pivotal Change: Cultural Transformation Journey – Is your Culture Working for or Against you?” Buot explored the redefining role of HR leaders as strategic partners in developing the right culture, integrating cultural transformation with digital initiatives, and prioritizing employee well-being.
Andrey Shipitkov, Regional Director – Asia at Coursera, then offered insights into “Building a Winning L&D Strategy for Workforce Empowerment and Organisational Effectiveness.” His presentation focused on bridging knowledge and skill gaps in developing a GenAI-ready organization, tailoring adaptive learning pathways, and measuring the impact and ROI of transformative learning.
Following a morning tea break, Vladimir Bozovic, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer at ZenHire, delved into the “Future of Recruitment: Balancing Innovation and Humanity in the Evolving Talent Landscape.” Bozovic examined the transformative role and ethics of AI in recruitment, exploring how businesses can leverage AI to boost efficiency, minimize bias, and enhance candidate matching.
A lively panel discussion on “Recruit to Retain: Talent Retention and Recruitment – Two Sides of the Same Coin” capped off the morning. Moderated by Kurly De Guzman, Career & Leadership Coach at KDG Career, Leadership & Coaching, the panel featured Patrick Patriwirawan Jr. from the Department of Labor and Employment, Marco Angelo Padernal from Robinsons Retail Holdings, and Luz Mercurio from Monde Nissin. The panelists shared innovative approaches to attracting and retaining top talent, emphasizing the strategic significance of investing in human capital for long-term success.
The afternoon was dedicated to interactive roundtable discussion groups, allowing attendees to choose a topic of close relevance to their area of expertise. Experts led discussions on creative employer branding, upskilling and reskilling, enhancing employee experience, HR automation, DEI metrics, and employee health and benefits. Each roundtable concluded with a sharing session, where the leader presented key highlights and takeaways from the group discussion.
The day concluded with afternoon tea, followed by insightful sessions on “Leveraging the Value of an Age-Diverse Workforce” presented by Kirk Patrick Alimaza, Country Head of People at AirAsia Philippines and an activity-based session on “Talent Acceleration: Strengthening HR Leadership with Strategic Talent Management,” led by Eric del Castillo, Vice President, HR – Philippines & ASEAN at Nissan Motor Corporation. The day’s events left attendees with much to consider as they look to the future of HR.
The conference continues with a workshop on February 13th focusing on building a human-centric culture. HREAP was one of the supporting organizations of the said event.