Marie Antoniette Mariano, is the Vice President and Desk Head for Europe and North America in BDO Unibank Inc. She is responsible for expanding the reach of BDO in the foreign community she serves. With a strong background in corporate marketing and leadership, she was able to bridge the difference in culture between the nationalities she works with. Maan worked her way up with passion and determination from an entry-level position to her seat today. She has always embraced her womanhood in creating a difference in everything she does which made her land several board seats in the European Chambers where she is the only Filipina serving director. A single mother to three daughters who she considers her rock.

Anna Liza Vergara brings with her a wealth of experience spanning over 28 years with Marriott International and Hyatt Regency Manila. Her experience in the Front Office has won her the “Excellence in Driving Guest Experience” (EDGE) Award in 2011. Anna has also been appointed as a Countdown trainer for three (3) JW Marriott Hotel openings in the region.

She started her career as a Front Office Agent with Hyatt Regency Manila in 1992, where her leadership was recognized and she was promoted to Duty Manager in a short span of fewer than 2 years. Anna has held several positions in the Front Office until her first Executive Committee role as Director of Rooms Operations at the Renaissance Makati City Hotel. She joined Marriott Manila in 2009 as the Resident Manager and was promoted in 2012 to Hotel Manager. During this time, she was certified as a trainer for “At The Helm” classes that primarily focused on training Front Office leaders in the Asia Pacific.

Powered by sheer hard work and determination, Anna currently holds the position as the first Filipina to be a General Manager of a 5-star international chain in the Philippines and oversees the operations of Sheraton Manila since its opening in 2019.

Despite being appointed to a key position in the hospitality industry, she’s happily married and is a mother of two—balancing a career while raising her family and making sure to accompany her son to his baseball and football events while her eldest gets her support as she takes up law after college.

As one of the few Filipino women leaders in a Western- and male-dominated industry, Vergara continues to advocate for diversity and women empowerment as she takes the helm of a well-renowned international brand by the biggest travel company in the world—Marriott International.

Despite being at the top, Anna believes that her work as a general manager does not end within the property she is managing. Rather, she’s planting a seed as a woman breaking the glass ceiling in the hospitality industry—making way for greater opportunities not only for women but for all of those who are also building their own careers.

Responsible for the Regal-Manila ROHQ (Regional Operating Headquarters) operations in the Philippines. Manages business infrastructure to support current shared service activity and future growth initiatives. Provide leadership and direction to the local management team; develop and implement business plans to meet strategic corporate
objectives. Serves as site leader for all aspects of Regal Rexnord– Philippines Shared Services operation: (1) Office Facility, Technical infrastructure, Budget & Financial performance, effective organization structure, and personnel development (2) policies and procedures within site – including development, implementation, and continual improvement of processes.

In 2003, Lorena landed her first job as a Sales Consultant for pre-need products for Danvil Plans Inc. One of her clients invited her to interview for a position in Sykes Asia Inc., one of the leading BPOs in the Philippines. She qualified for the job as a Customer Service Representative handling international distributors of Emerson Power Transmission; this was February 2004. Her primary responsibility was to provide customer service and promote sales growth through specific inside sales activities. After two years (2006), she became a Team leader and managed nine staff. In 2007, she moved to a Training Lead position where she developed a comprehensive training program and coordinated training activities. In addition, she delivered training on processes, products, and systems for new and existing employees. In 2010, Emerson Electric ended its clientship with Sykes Asia Inc. All personnel handling support for Emerson were absorbed and then started employment with the latter. January of 2011, she was appointed as Manager for the Domestic Customer Service support, in which she provided leadership to 32 employees. Here, she was responsible for managing and coordinating customer service operations, developing new opportunities, and identifying process improvements for service quality and efficiency. Lorena has traveled to the US on many occasions since she started in the company. In her Customer Service Manager role, she traveled around the US to visit customers to review business processes and get feedback on the service received. These visits resulted in value-added programs to better support clients. Later on, she was promoted to Operations Manager (November 2012) and managed customer service, marketing, engineering, supply chain, and analytics functions. She led the course of designing and managing quality and productivity for the business and geared her team towards growth and development.