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 Life presents National Artist Vicente Manansala's paintings at the National Museum

Philam Life CEO Axel Bromley

The last time I made a visit to the National Museum was in high school and it was a school field trip. I had a vague memory of the museum, until I saw the movie "Night at the Museum". Now that I am older and wiser, I suddenly had an urge to visit our own National Museum,  to see what's iconic artifacts are inside and if its in mint condition, to ghost haunt, see the Spoliarium painting by the National Artist Juan Luna, and what the museum offers now that Im two and a half decade older. Until I got an invite from a PR friend.

Spoliarium 

Philam Life offers an exclusive tour of the Philam Life Gallery by National Museum Assistant Director Dr. Ana Labrador last June 16 together with Philam Life CEO Axel Bromley to the media guests. The building itself is newly renovated and painted, the hallways are clean, the exhibition room is well- lit and organized. We first passed by the "Spoliarium" painting by National Artist Juan Luna. Spoliarium is a Latin word for coliseum's morgue which refers to the basement of the Roman Colosseum where the fallen and dying gladiators are dumped and devoid of their worldly possessions.

 Philamlife brings the Vicente Manansala collection , another illustrious National Artist,  the late Vincent Manansala, had his work exhibited at the National Museum. Vicente Manansala was a cubist painter and illustrator of no small renown. He was commissioned by Philam Life to create murals for the Philam Life Head Office. Following his passing in 1981, he was posthumously proclaimed a National Artist in Painting on the same year.

The gallery houses Manansala's  art collection that depict Filipino life, rendered in the artist signature style of “transparent cubism”.

Philam Life donated Php 1 million to the Museum through the Philam Foundation. The sum will be
used for the further upkeep of the paintings at the Philam Life Gallery, and was received by Dr. Ana Labrador on behalf of the National Museum.

The Philam Foundation has also been cooperating with the National Museum in building classrooms in typhoon-affected areas under the “Philam Paaralan” program. They jointly built four new classrooms - two in Loon South Central Elementary School, in Loon, Bohol soon after the earthquake and two in Salug Elementary School in Guiuan, Eastern Samar, which was among the schools devastated by Typhoon Yolanda.

Philam Life’s new CEO takes pride in its Manansala collection. “As an art connoisseur myself, it is a privilege to be part of an institution that strongly supports the arts,” said Mr. Axel Bromley. He believes in the importance of developing education and promoting the advancement of Philippine arts and culture. “We hope that through this partnership with the National Museum, more Filipinos can appreciate our collection and have access to these precious artworks of National Artist Vicente Manansala.”

Visit The National Museum, the Manansala paintings are now available for public viewing. The best part is, admission is free.