Chief information officers in the ASEAN displayed not only their robust community but also their commitment to sustaining digitalization efforts for the region at a recent gathering in Makati City.

The 8th ASEAN CIO Association (ACIOA) Forum and Exhibition on 18 and 19 September lived up to its theme of “Empowering C-Suites: Pioneering ASEAN's Sustainable Digital Future with AI, Cybersecurity and Green Innovation" by tackling digital challenges and opportunities as well as beefing up their ranks with a sustainability officer.

Jonathan C. Pineda, OIC senior vice president and CIO of the Government Service Insurance System, said, the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics in the workforce can present both opportunities and challenges, not just in the Philippines, but all over ASEAN.

At the same time, Benjamin Goh, senior vice president for Deep Cybersecurity Capabilities of ST Engineering, said, “There is certainly an urgent need for advanced AI-driven defenses against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. As technology rapidly evolves, so do the tactics of cyber adversaries, making it crucial for us to stay ahead with cutting-edge solutions.”

The event co-hosted by the Philippines CIO Association and CIOF Foundation saw a cybersecurity expert from Google Cloud, Steve Ledzian, stressing persistent threats from ransomware groups and “pig-butchering” scammers and how businesses and CIOs can counter them. Ledzian also presented cybersecurity solutions such as the Security AI Framework and best practices for security operations centers.

ACIOA also appointed Jeremiah T. Pampolina, chief sustainability officer, chief compliance officer and vice president for investor relations and corporate planning of local property developer Sta. Lucia Land Inc. as a member of its executive committee on green and sustainability.

Pampolina said he will share his experience to support the organization’s sustainability initiatives.

Baljit Singh, head of planning strategy and governance of Malaysia’s 5G authority Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), spoke on green and sustainability during the second day of the forum.

Singh stressed the importance of innovation being governed, its results measured and its environmental effects reduced to achieve benefits. He also cited one of DNB’s best practices: external validation.

“You need to get your subject matter expertise externally validated because it brings credence to your team,” he told CIOs at the forum venue in Dusit Thani Manila. “And that’s what we do at DNB. We put a lot of external validation to our thought process, our governance, our frameworks, our approach.”