IABC Asia Pacific announces winners for 2023 Communicator of the Year Awards
The CEO of one of the biggest banks in the Philippines and a cross-cultural communication strategist from Australia clinched the top honors at the 2023 Communicator of the Year Awards.
Jose Teodoro K. Limcaoco, president and CEO of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), won in the Executive Leader category, while Maryanne Kepui, whose 20-year career spans government, corporate enterprise, and the not-for-profit sector, won in the Senior Communication Professional category.
The award winners will be honored in person at the 2023 Communicator of the Year Awards ceremony during the IABC Asia Pacific regional conference “Fusion 2023: Making Waves Together” in Bali, Indonesia on 4-5 September 2023.
As a leader who routinely calls employees to commend them for a job well done, Limcaoco, or TG, as he is more popularly known in the Philippines, has taken efforts to shape BPI’s culture built on the bank’s core values of being nurturing, acting with integrity, being customer obsessed, and pursuing excellence.
“I am truly honored and humbled to receive this award. I have always believed that nothing beats honest and sincere communication no matter one’s position or state of life. One has to listen well and understand where the other party is coming from to be able to communicate with clarity, conviction, and compassion. Banking is a business of trust, and we try our best every day to be worthy of this trust and confidence by living our core values—being nurturing, acting with integrity, being customer obsessed, and pursuing excellence—to truly make a difference in people’s lives,” he said.
Limcaoco has a solid professional background, having served as Ayala Corporation’s Chief Finance Officer, Chief Risk Officer, and Chief Sustainability Officer from 2015 to 2021. He was also the President and CEO of AC Ventures Holding Corp, and was a director of publicly-listed companies such as Globe Telecom, Inc., Integrated Micro-electronics Inc., and SSI Group, Inc. He also served as a director of a number of Ayala group companies including those involved in education, energy, infrastructure, industrial technologies, and healthcare.
Kepui, who brings a multi-disciplinary approach to her work, is an accomplished senior communication professional who has applied her expertise to projects ranging from high-profile, national government change campaigns to multi-billion dollar hospital infrastructure projects and transformation initiatives for global mining companies. She has also served on numerous not-for-profit associations, including most recently as the secretary of the Australia Papua New Guinea Association. Her super power lies in her ability to strategize and make sense of complex information and communicate it in such a way that inspires people to think, feel, or do.
“I’m thrilled to be awarded the title of this year’s Asia-Pacific Senior Communication Professional of the Year,” Kepui said. “The communication function plays a pivotal role in shaping conversations, and influencing the narrative that follows to inspire action. As businesses define ways of working that encompass digitisation, sustainability and diversity and inclusion, the need for clarity and transparency is at an all-time high. This is where we, as communication specialists, can really shine.”
The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), which has 11 chapters in eight countries and members-at-large in the Asia Pacific region, recognizes every year outstanding individuals who have demonstrated communication excellence.
IABC APAC chair Jyoti Khan said this year’s winners have demonstrated integrity and excellence in their long careers as leaders who can communicate with impact.
“It is not enough to communicate well. What we need is to communicate with impact and actually influence and inspire others to act and make a positive difference in their own spheres of influence. It is clear that the winners this year demonstrated that. They did not just settle for good communication. They communicated with purpose and impact,” said Khan.
IABC APAC vice chair and awards director Kane Errol Choa said the winners have set an example for enduring success through communication.
“Through the varied experiences of the winners and how they wielded the power of communication in their careers, we revalidate the importance of recognizing and celebrating the transformative impact of communication. Effective communication is a critical component of any successful organization and our winners have demonstrated how communication can be a powerful tool to achieve organizational goals. Thanks to our awardees, we now have new leaders to emulate and learn from,” said Choa.
The past winners of the IABC Asia Pacific Communicator of the Year Awards include Kate Carnell (Executive Leader) and Gabrielle Dolan (Senior Communication Professional) in 2020, Sia Papageorgiou (Senior Communication Professional) in 2021, and Charlie Agatep (Executive Leader) and Aniisu Verghese, Ph.D. (Senior Communication Professional) in 2022.
The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) is a global network of communication professionals committed to improving organizational effectiveness through strategic communication. With over 10,000 members in more than 70 countries, IABC serves as a resource for professionals who want to excel in the field of communication and advance their careers.
Get to know this year’s winners by watching their interviews online at IABC Asia Pacific Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube accounts.
