PSE overhauls board to lead AI shift, multi-billion peso tech IPOs
Jose T. Pardo (left) and Ramon S. Monzon (right)
The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) has elected three new directors, including Dutch information technology expert Niek Johan van Veen, whom the bourse sought out to guide its transition to artificial intelligence (AI).
In a briefing after the PSE’s annual stockholders’ meeting, newly reelected PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon S. Monzon said Van Veen was elected as an independent director alongside Asian Institute of Management President and Dean Jikyeong Kang. Philippine Equity Partners Inc. President Lorenzo Andres Roxas was also elected as a regular director.
The three replaced independent director Vicente Panlilio, broker-director Wilson Sy (who stepped down for health reasons), and Edgardo Lacson. Lacson gave way to PSE Chairman Jose T. Pardo, who was elected as a regular director after reaching the nine-year term limit for independent directors.
Monzon noted that Van Veen is an IT and AI expert, adding: “We really sought him out because, as you know, the PSE is basically a technology company. All our trading platforms are IT-based. We're embarking on our AI transition to be able to use AI. So, we sought out a director who could guide PSE in its IT and AI journey. And I think Niek van Veen will fill those shoes.”
Meanwhile, Monzon said Kang will also bring valuable insights to the PSE: “We think her international expertise will bring some good parts of governance to the exchange.”
Aside from the three new directors, those reelected alongside Monzon and Pardo include: independent directors Peter B. Favila and former Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro; Cecille L. Ang (representing San Miguel Corporation); Marilyn A. Victoria-Aquino (representing PLDT); Jose Arnulfo A. Veloso (representing the GSIS); and broker-directors Diosdado M. Arroyo, Jaime J. Bautista, Eddie T. Gobing, Anthony M. Te, and Ma. Vivian Yuchengco.
The new board will be tasked with guiding the bourse through volatile market conditions driven by both global and domestic economic challenges, as well as competition from the cryptocurrency market.
On the brighter side, the PSE is looking forward to improving investor sentiment with two giant initial public offerings (IPOs) already in the pipeline: the $1.5-billion Mynt-GCash offering and the ₱24-billion Vitro REIT market debut.