Philam Life appoints Mr. Ariel Cantos as its New CEO

Philam Life is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Ariel G. Cantos as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective June 24, 2016.  Mr. Cantos succeeds Mr. Axel Bromley, who has decided to relocate to the United States for personal reasons.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Cantos held the role of CEO of BPI-Philam, the bancassurance joint venture of Philam Life and the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), the leading bancassurance operation in the Philippines.

Gordon Watson, Regional Chief Executive, AIA Group, said, “I am delighted that Aibee is assuming the role of CEO of Philam Life. Aibee has spent his entire career with Philam and has successfully held a range of senior leadership positions over the course of his long career. I am confident that Aibee will help lead Philam Life to new levels of growth and success. I would also like to acknowledge the work of Axel Bromley, who helped to lay the foundation for Philam Life’s transformation journey. We wish Axel and his family all the best in their next chapter of life back in the United States.”

Mr. Cantos,known among peers as “Aibee,” joined Philam Life as a management trainee and over a career spanning almost 30 years,subsequentlyheld a number of senior roles, including Profit Center Head of Accident & Health Products, Sales Director of Manila Agencies, and Sales Director of Provincial Agencies. His most recent position at Philam Life was Senior Vice President and Chief Agency Officer, where he led over 450 agency leaders and 6,000 advisors, before joining BPI-Philam in 2013.

As CEO of Philam Life, Mr. Cantos will lead a team that is united in its commitment to achievePhilam Life’s Vision to become the undisputed leader in life insurance and wealth management in the Philippines.

Mr. Cantos said, “I am truly honoured to have the opportunity to lead Philam Life. The outlook for our Company is extremely bright, as we continue to strengthen our distribution channels by advancing our Premier Agency strategy as well as driving bancassurance growth and expanding our portfolio of corporate clients. We will also continue to invest in new technologies and modern facilities to ensure that our advisors are well equipped to provide the best possible experienceto our large customer base as we help them to lead longer, healthier, and better lives.”

Philam Foundation builds 65 classrooms after Typhoon Juan and Sendong

Year in and year out, the Philippines falls victim to natural disasters. By the time storms leave, communities are left behind destroyed, affecting the lives of many—especially children. Not only do their homes get ruined but their schools get devastated as well. In order to help the children return back to a state of normalcy, Philam Foundation heeded the call of the Department of Education to rebuild classrooms in disaster affected communities.

After Typhoon Juan and Sendong devastated the country in 2011, Philam Foundation committed to build sixty-five classrooms within five years. The first eight Philam Paaralan classrooms were built in Isabela, and six more in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City.

From left to right: AIA Regional Chief Executive Officer Gordon Watson, Dep Ed Undersecretary Mario Deriquito, BPI-Philam Chief Executive Officer and President Ariel Cantos, and Philam Foundation President Max Ventura


Philam Foundation President Max Ventura called the project timely, as back during Philam Life’s 65th year, the Foundation decided to focus on empowering the Filipino children through healthy education as their primary thrust. “Building in the aftermath of Typhoon Sendong, Pablo and Yolanda, or Typhoon Haiyan as it was internationally called, only highlighted what Philam Paaralan is all about: giving children a healthy education and building communities,” said Ventura.
With more than enough time before their deadline, Philam Foundation has already gone above and beyond the original commitment, successfully constructing eighty-five classrooms in the past three years.

Each Philam Paaralan is typhoon-resilient, and built with complete facilities: desks, tiled flooring, blackboards, electric fans, and lighting fixtures. As part of their vision to give each child a healthy education, each classroom is also fitted with Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) stations, to promote a healthy and clean lifestyle.

“We could not have accomplished this feat without our many project partners, the Department of Education, as well as the local governments where we built our classrooms,” said Ventura. “Thanks to these gracious organizations and people, we were able to not only build classrooms, but also hope,” he concluded.

According to Ventura, Philam Paaralan is more than the sum of its parts, more than the funds raised, and more than the number of classrooms built. “It is about the lives it has touched, the communities it has revived, and the children it has nurtured,” he said.

Even after achieving remarkable results, they have yet to show signs of slowing down. Philam Foundation commits that their 100th classroom will be completed by July of 2016. Considering that each classroom is able to hold about fifty students, a total of 5,000 children will immediately benefit from this project. Since future generations will also utilize the structures, the number of lives touched by these buildings becomes multiplied tenfold.

For more information on Philam Foundation, visit http://www.philamlife.com