Teresita T. Sy has been a member of the Board of Directors of BDO Unibank, Inc (BDO) since 1977, and currently serves as Chairperson of the Board. Concurrently, she serves as the Chairperson and/or Director of various subsidiaries and affiliates of BDO: BDO Private Bank, Inc., BDO Finance Corporation, BDO Capital & Investment Corporation, BDO Foundation, Inc., and BDO Life Assurance Company, Inc. Ms. Sy also serves as Advisor to the Board of BDO Network Bank, Inc.

Ms. Sy is the Vice Chairperson of SM Investments Corporation and Advisor to the Board of SM Prime Holdings, Inc. She also sits as Chairperson of the Board of SM Retail, Inc. A graduate of Assumption College with a degree in Bachelor of Arts and Science in Commerce major in Management, she brings to the board her diverse expertise in banking and finance, retail merchandising, mall and real estate development.

Nestor V. Tan is the President and CEO of BDO Unibank, Inc. He was elected to the Board of Directors on June 27, 1998. In addition to his role in BDO Unibank, Inc., he also holds the following positions in the BDO Group: Chairmanship of BDO Strategic Holdings, Inc. and BDO Network Bank, Inc.; Vice chairmanships and/or directorships in BDO Capital & Investment Corporation, BDO Finance Corporation, BDO Life Assurance Company, Inc., BDO Private Bank, Inc., and SM Keppel Land, Inc.; and Trusteeship of BDO Foundation, Inc.

In addition, he is currently the Chairman of the De La Salle University Board of Trustees; Chairman of Bancnet, the operator of the electronic payment system, InstaPay, and the ATM switching utility for Philippine banks; and Chairman of Mastercard Asia Pacific Advisory Board. He is the past president and chairman, and current Director of the Bankers Association of the Philippines.

Prior to joining BDO Unibank, Mr. Tan was Chief Operating Officer of the Financial Institutions Services Group of BZW, the investment-banking subsidiary of the Barclays Group. His banking career spans nearly four (4) decades and includes posts at global financial institutions, among them Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh, PA; Bankers Trust Company in New York, NY; and the Barclays Group in New York and London. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Commerce from De La Salle University and an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Dioscoro I. Ramos was elected to the Board of Directors of BDO Unibank, Inc. on January 9, 2016 and was appointed Lead Independent Director on April 23, 2021. Mr. Ramos concurrently holds Independent Director positions in BDO Private Bank, Inc. and BDO Securities Corporation. Mr. Ramos has been the Chief Executive Officer & Chief Investment Officer of RY&S Investments Ltd., Hong Kong since September 28, 2012. He was Head of Asia Financials Investment Research of Goldman Sachs Asia, LLC, Hong Kong from 1994 to 2011, and appointed Managing Director in 1998 and Partner in 2006. Prior to that, he was with Mellon Bank, N.A. with postings in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York, and Hong Kong. Mr. Ramos is a Certified Public Accountant. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Accountancy, cum laude, from the University of the Philippines; and a master’s degree in Business from Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

George T. Barcelon was elected Independent Director of BDO Unibank, Inc. on April 22, 2019. He is currently the President of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI). He is the visionary behind Integrated Computer Systems, Inc. (ICS), one of the Top 1000 companies based in the Philippines, dedicated to providing effectual IT Solutions for small to large-scale businesses and institutions. For 45 years, ICS has provided its customers with technological expertise and quality services. As the president of a company with 400 employees whose success depends on uncompromising leadership, imagination, and careful quality control, Mr. Barcelon seeks to promote the values of Integrity, Commitment, and Service Quality, the cornerstones upon which ICS was built. He is also a member of the Rotary Club of Makati, Philippines; and a board member of the Cardinal Medical Charities Foundation, Inc. in San Juan City, Philippines. Mr. Barcelon graduated cum laude from De La Salle University, Manila and received a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering.

Estela P. Bernabe was appointed as Independent Director of BDO Unibank, Inc. effective July 31, 2022. She was Senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. She served the Judiciary as Justice of the Court of Appeals, Regional Trial Court Judge of Makati City, Metropolitan Trial Court Judge of the same city, and as Technical Assistant in the Office of the Court Administrator, Supreme Court of the Philippines. She also worked in various private and government offices, namely, China Banking Corporation, Paramount Finance Corp., National Home Mortgage and Finance Corp. and Bernabe Perlas Morte and Associates. She has over 40 years of experience in public and private legal practice. 

She is concurrently an Independent Director of San Miguel Food and Beverage, Inc., Petrogen Insurance Corporation, and Converge Information and Communications Technology Solutions, Inc. She is likewise a member of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation for Liberty and Prosperity.

She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce (Banking and Finance) and graduated magna cum laude from St. Paul College of Manila, and obtained her law degree from the Ateneo de Manila University College of Law, graduating as class salutatorian. 

Vipul Bhagat was appointed as Independent Director of BDO Unibank, Inc. on January 8, 2022. Prior to this, he was an Independent Board Advisor of BDO. He was formerly the Deputy Head in the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Advisory Services Department at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in Washington, D.C., and was responsible for strategic sectors, including climate friendly projects. Previous to this, Mr. Bhagat was stationed in Asia for over eleven (11) years, most recently as Regional Head for PPP Advisory Services in South Asia (based in India), where he successfully launched and significantly grew the business advising Governments in the region on PPPs in infrastructure and social sectors and facilitating investment flows for projects. Mr. Bhagat has deep knowledge of the Philippines having been previously the Country Manager of IFC for the Philippines. He has been engaged in extensive operational work in infrastructure portfolio, advisory activities, financial sector investments, private sector investment banking, consulting and finance operations. Mr. Bhagat holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree from the American University, Washington, D.C. He is also a designated Chartered Financial Analyst and a Certified Public Accountant.

Jones M. Castro, Jr. was elected to the Board of Directors of BDO Unibank, Inc. on April 20, 2012. He was Lead Independent Director of BDO Unibank from December 7, 2013 to April 23, 2021. Mr. Castro has 49 years ofbanking expertise, with 42 years of international banking experience. From 2009 to 2011, Mr. Castro was the Area Head for South and Southeast Asia of Wells Fargo Bank, San Francisco. As Area Head, Mr. Castro had responsibility for 12 countries and managed 11 overseas offices with a total of 102 team members, and US$3 billion in loans. From 2006 to 2009, Mr. Castro was Regional Head for Latin America 1, including the Caribbean, of the Wachovia Bank, Miami, and likewise had responsibility for 25 countries, 3 overseas offices, 30 team members, and a US$1.8-billion loan portfolio. From 2005 to 2006, he was Executive Vice President and International Banking Group Head of the Union Bank of California, San Francisco. From 1990 to 1994, he was Senior Vice President – Controller of Bank of California, San Francisco, and from 1994 to 1997, he was its Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning in Office of the President. Mr. Castro is currently Trustee of PhilDev USA and PhilDev S & T Foundations, and is a Fellow at the Institute of Corporate Directors. Mr. Castro obtained his bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics in Economics and graduated cum laude from Harvard University. He received his master’s degree in Business Administration, Accounting & Finance from Stanford University.

Franklin M. Drilon was appointed Independent Director of BDO Unibank, Inc. on October 25, 2023. 

Atty. Drilon served in two (2) different branches of government in various capacities. In the Senate, he served as Senate President, Majority Leader, Minority Leader and Chairperson of the Committee on Finance, as well as the Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions, and Currencies. In the Executive, he served as Executive Secretary, Secretary of the Department of Justice and the Department of Labor and Employment.

Atty. Drilon is one of the country’s highly decorated Senator having served four (4) non-consecutive terms as Senator of the Philippines. He authored and sponsored numerous landmark laws including the GOCC Governance Act of 2011, Foreign Investments Act, Tax Incentives and Transparency Act and the Revised Corporation Code, to name a few. He also served as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, and the Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions, and Currencies.

Atty. Drilon also served as Chairman of Philippine National Bank and as a Director of Land Bank of the Philippines. He thus brings added perspectives on Philippine finance and banking policy, regulations and operations.

He is currently a Director of Phinma Education Holdings, Inc. and a Senior Counsel of ACCRA Law.

He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, law degree and Doctor of Laws from the University of the Philippines Diliman. He placed third in the 1969 Bar Examinations and worked as a private practice lawyer before joining the government.

Vicente S. Pérez, Jr. was elected Independent Director of BDO Unibank, Inc. on April 22, 2019. He is currently Chairman of Alternergy, a wind, solar and run-of river power developer and an Independent Director of DoubleDragon Corporation (formerly DoubleDragon Properties Corporation), a real estate developer. He is also a Non-Executive Director of Singapore Technologies Telemedia Pte, Ltd., the Temasek holding company for telecom, data centers and mobile technology. He is a member of the Advisory Boards of Bhutan Foundation, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, Geneva-based Pictet Clean Energy Fund, and the Yale Center for Business and the Environment. In September 2020, he was appointed Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of Bhutan in the Philippines. He was Philippine Energy Secretary from 2001 to 2005. Mr. Pérez briefly served in early 2001 as Undersecretary at the Department of Trade and Industry and as Managing Head of the Board of Investments. Prior to his government service, Mr. Pérez had 17 years banking experience, first in Latin America debt restructuring at Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh, and later in debt capital markets in emerging countries at Lazard in London, New York and Singapore. At 35, he became General Partner at New York Investment Bank Lazard Frères as head of its Emerging Markets Group. He was Managing Director of Lazard Asia in Singapore from 1995 until 1997, when he co-founded Next Century Partners, a private equity firm based in Singapore. In 2005, he was briefly a government appointed Director of Philippine National Bank until its privatization. Mr. Pérez obtained an MBA from the Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1983 and a bachelor’s degree in Business Economics from the University of the Philippines in 1979. He was a 2005 World Fellow at Yale University where he lectured an MBA class at the Yale School of Management.

Josefina N. Tan was Director of Banco de Oro Universal Bank (now BDO Unibank, Inc.) from February 3, 2001 to August 2005. She then became a Director of Equitable PCI Bank, Inc. from September 2005 until its merger with BDO Unibank in May 2007. Ms. Tan was re-elected to the Board of Directors of BDO Unibank (then Banco de Oro – EPCI, Inc.) on July 27, 2007. Concurrently, she is Board Advisor of BDO Private Bank, Inc. She is also Chairperson of the Board of Miriam College, Trustee and Corporate Secretary of the Development Center for Finance, and Trustee of the Laura Vicuña Foundation. She is also Treasurer of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Ms. Tan served as President and Director of BDO Private Bank, Inc. from August 29, 2003 to April 17, 2017. She was also Executive Vice President of the former Far East Bank & Trust Co.; Director and President of FEB Leasing & Finance Corporation; Executive Director and Trustee of FEB Foundation, Inc.; and Executive Vice President of FEB Investments, Inc. until 2000; and Director of Research & Publication of the Ateneo Graduate School of Business. Ms. Tan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Communication Arts from Maryknoll College, and a master’s degree in Business Administration from the Ateneo Graduate School of Business.