Roberto de Ocampo, OBE, is a Founding Partner of the Centennial Group International, and Chairman of Centennial Asia Advisors. He was the president of the

Asian Institute of Management The Asian Institute of Management (AIM) is a highly acclaimed management school and research institution located in Makati in The Philippines. Established in partnership with Harvard Business School,, AIM Historical Highlights. in 1968, it is ...

. He was chairman and CEO of the Development Bank of the Philippines in 1989. From 1992 to 98, he served as Secretary of Finance under President

Fidel V. Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military officer to reached ...

. Thereafter, he was named Finance Minister of the Year by several organizations from 1995, 1996, and 1997. He is currently the Chairman of Philippine Veterans Bank.

Family and education

De Ocampo graduated from

De La Salle University De La Salle University (), also referred to as DLSU, De La Salle or La Salle, is a private, Catholic coeducational research university run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools with main campus in Taft Avenue, Malate, Man ...

(1962) and the Ateneo de Manila University (1967) where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics (''cum laude''). He has a Master in Business Administration from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

(1970) and a post-graduate diploma from the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

(1971). He is married with four children.

Public service

De Ocampo began his career in public service in 1972. He pioneered the rural electrification program. He was then recognized as the youngest administrator in the history of the national government and received the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines (TOYM) award in 1975. After working as a senior loan officer at the World Bank, he was appointed chairman and CEO of the

Development Bank of the Philippines The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) is a state-owned development bank headquartered in Makati, Philippines. It is primarily tasked to provide banking services to cater to the needs of agricultural and industrial enterprises. It has 1 ...

(DBP) in 1989. Under his leadership, the DBP won national and international recognition and was named "the world's second soundest bank" by ''The Banker'' magazine. For his groundbreaking initiatives in the field of development banking, he was presented with the very first "Man of the Year Award" by the Association of Development Finance Institutions in the Asia-Pacific (ADFIAF) in 1997. As Secretary of Finance, de Ocampo introduced and implemented a number of important policies and measures, particularly in the areas of

economic liberalization Economic liberalization, or economic liberalisation, is the lessening of government regulations and restrictions in an economy in exchange for greater participation by private entities. In politics, the doctrine is associated with classical liber ...

, privatization and tax reform. This resulted in the Philippines’ return to international capital markets after a decade-long absence, the first fiscal surplus in twenty years, and an unprecedented and sustained combination of healthy economic growth, low interest rates and single-digit inflation. The liberalization of the banking and insurance industries opened up these sectors to foreign investment and marked the exit of the Philippines from a nearly continuous thirty years of IMF economic rehabilitation and reform programs.

Awards

By 1995, these accomplishments were hailed by the international finance community. In 1995, he was named "Finance Minister of the Year" by Euromoney Magazine—the first Filipino and second ASEAN finance minister to be so recognized. In 1997, he was again cited as "Asian Finance Minister of the Year", this time by the ''

Asiamoney ''Asiamoney'', a financial publication established in 1989, has now merged with other key capital markets publications from the Euromoney Institutional Investor Group: ''Euroweek'', ''Total Securitization'' and ''Derivatives Week'', to form ''Glo ...

'' magazine. In September 2001, he was named to the Ordre National de la Legion d' Honneur by the Republic of France with the rank of Chevalier for his successful efforts and initiatives to promote closer Philippine-France relations. On the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, Roberto de Ocampo received from

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his contribution to the development of UK-Philippines relations for over four decades. De Ocampo, now recognized as an Honorary Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. He has also been awarded the Philippine Legion of Honor, the highest honor conferred on Filipino civilians by the Republic of the Philippines in 1998 for his outstanding contributions to the country.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ocampo, Roberto de Living people Secretaries of finance of the Philippines De La Salle University alumni Ateneo de Manila University alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics Ross School of Business alumni Ramos administration cabinet members Asian Institute of Management people Year of birth missing (living people)