SRO at 1st FBA
annual conference
By INQ7.net

ONE of three groups of panelists at the Filipino Business Alliance conference: (L-R) Dado Banatao, former Milpitas Mayor Henry Manayan, Evelyn Dilsaver, Rod McLeod and Steven Schrenzel.

SAN MATEO, California--It was standing room only and the buzz in the air palpable as the first Filipino Business Alliance (FBA) annual conference, "Empowering the Filipino Entrepreneur," was held recently at the Marriott Hotel in San Mateo.

Even before the doors opened, men and women, most in business suits, gathered around the registration desks, excited about the afternoon's event, particularly since one of Silicon Valley's most celebrated Filipino entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, Dado Banatao, was the keynote speaker.

FBA members, headed by lawyer Denny Roja, managing partner for Acuity Ventures, made a great team effort in ensuring that the panelists were of top caliber, and the topics relevant, stimulating and, most of all, helpful to entrepreneurs. Margarita Chavez, conference chairperson, said that foremost in the group's vision is "to provide Filipino entrepreneurs access to resources necessary to succeed in mainstream capital and customer markets."

A bold challenge but not an impossible dream, as can be gleaned from the "top heavy" Filipino panelists who were composed of highly regarded entrepreneurs, founders, venture capitalists, bankers and technocrats. There was of course Banatao, CEO and chairperson of Marvell Technology Group and managing partner of Tallwood Venture Capital; John Ocampo, chairperson, Sirenza Microdevices; Allan Camaisa, CEO, High Technology Solutions; Dennis Fernandez, managing partner, Fernandez & Associates; Rey Bruce, CEO, BitMicro Networks; Robert Branzuela, CEO, Veracom; Sherri Burke, CEO, Nurse Provides; David Guo, CEO and partner, Third Wave; Nestor Duldulao, CFO, Goldilocks Bakeshop; Henry Manayan, CEO and chairperson, Transpacific Capital; Evelyn Dilsaver, SVP, Charles Schwab; and Roderick McLeod, Esq., partner, Morgan Lewis.

Steve Schrenzel, managing director of the Governance Group and Pete November, director of Business Services for Pacific Community Ventures, were specialists in their fields who added zest to the distinguished lineup.

CONFERENCE panelists (l-r) Allan J. Camaisa, Nestor Duldulao, Sherri Burke, Dennis Fernandez and John Ocampo.

The first panel discussion tackled the challenges businesses generally face in accessing capital markets. Other topics included recruiting the right management team, product development, manufacturing, sales and marketing, intellectual property and corporate governance. The panel also discussed the process by which CEOs select the board of directors, how to deal with them in turbulent times and how a company can get optimum mileage from the board.

Event sponsors included Filipino Americans on Boards, Merrill Lynch, Lucky Chances, Wells Fargo, Veracom Mitsubishi, Western Union, Washington Mutual and INQ7.net.

The conference committee chairs were Roja, Rachel Puno, Elaine Villamin, Imee DuBose, Esther Chavez, Margarita Chavez, Sherri Burke and Manny Tumaneng. With the success of the first conference, FBA is already planning its next event in March 2004.

For more information, e-mail info@filipinobusinessalliance.org or check out www.filipinobusinessalliance.org.

RELATED SITE:
Filipino Business Alliance