“What does it mean to lead when the ground beneath you is shifting?”
Democracies are tested. Communities are displaced. Filipina leaders face both unprecedented opportunity and unprecedented threat. This November, Summit 2026 convenes in Monaco to confront that reality — and to put a provocation to every delegate in the room:
What if four days could redefine your future as a Pinay leader?
We’re answering that question with Keynote Panels and Learning Track Sessions — six conversations in all, each one built to challenge how you lead.
We are bringing together FWN’s most prominent voices and global leaders for the Filipina Summit in Monaco on 15-19 November 2026 — don’t miss it! The best pricing for summit registration is ending on June 30, 2026. Go for it at ffwn.org/events.
POWER KEYNOTE: Owning Your Power
Power isn’t a title that can be revoked — it’s composure, clarity, and initiative that travel with you when everything else is taken away. Leaders from different industries get candid about reclaiming power on their own terms.
Eileen de Villa, MD, Global FWN100™ 2022 — Toronto's Medical Officer of Health, leading Toronto Public Health through the COVID-19 pandemic response; now Senior Fellow, University of Toronto
Lorna Patajo-Kapunan, Esq., Global FWN100™ 2016 — Senior Partner, Kapunan & Castillo Law Offices; 47 years in litigation and human rights advocacy; lead volunteer private prosecutor assisting the Philippines House of Representatives’ prosecution team in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Maria Beebe, PhD, Hall of Fame Forever Global FWN100™ Influential 2025 — Editor, FWN DISRUPT Leadership Book Series; President, Kaisipan, 20 years of professional experience in international development.
Denise Lopez, PhD, Global FWN100™ 2021 — Professor of Organizational Psychology, Alliant University; 20+ years advising on leadership, power, and inclusion across the U.S. and Asia-Pacific
Learning Track: LEADING SELF
The Practice of Composure
What does it actually take to stay grounded when everyone is depending on you? A university budget chief, a pharma communications executive, and a preventive cardiologist get personal about the practices that keep them steady under pressure.
Denise Bash — Senior Vice President, Strategic Account Development, The Lockwood Group (global pharma services); 25+ years in life sciences, healthcare services, and medical communications leadership, including roles at Pfizer and Eli Lilly
Editha Winterhalter, Ed.D., Global FWN100™ 2017— Associate Vice President for Budget & Strategic Business Operations, California State University, Northridge; directs CSUN’s $575 million annual operating budget and $75 million in strategic central resources; led campuswide AI-driven compliance and financial-transparency initiatives
Pamela R. Rama, MD, FACC, Globl FWN100™ 2023 — Non-invasive, preventive cardiologist; Chief of Cardiology, Baptist Medical Center Beaches; first President, American Heart Association Metro First Coast
INFLUENCE KEYNOTE: Expanding Your Influence
Influence is the currency every team leader needs and few are taught to build. Panelists share how they’ve turned conflict into alignment and difference into durable trust — without always holding formal authority.
Michelle Baltazar, Global FWN100™ 2024 — Editor-in-Chief, Money magazine (Australia); award-winning journalist, editor, and publisher; co-hosts the Friends With Money podcast
Natalie Garcia Lashinsky, Esq., Global FWN100™2021— Partner, Husch Blackwell; product liability and commercial litigation attorney who coordinates legal teams across the firm's practice areas for Fortune 50/500 clients worldwide
Sonia Delen, US FWN100™ 2007, Global FWN100™ 2013 — SVP, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, ret.; Executive Director, OneUp Film Studios
Learning Track: LEADING OTHERS
Building Trust Across Differences
Across marketing, people strategy, accounting, and global operations, four leaders get specific about what it actually takes to earn a team’s trust — and what happens when you get it wrong.
Donna Avellana Künzler, Global FWN100™2023— Zurich-based leader in process improvement and digital transformation, 28+ years’ experience; heads a Procure-to-Pay Process Excellence & Digital Transformation function
Estrella Parker, Global FWN100™ 2025 — Investor, board member, and advisor; former Chief People Officer/Chief Human Resources Officer; 20+ years guiding organizations through largescale growth, M&A, and culture transformation
Joycelyn David, Global FWN100™ 2022 — Owner & CEO, AVC (multicultural marketing agency); Founder, Tulong Technologies; author, “The Multicultural Mindset”
Malve Ildefonso, CPA, Global FWN100™ 2022 — Assurance Partner, Asset Management practice, BDO USA; 20+ years in public accounting across Philadelphia, Southern California, and the Bay Area; Los Angeles Business Journal “Women of Influence: Accountants,” 2024
SECURITY KEYNOTE: Ensuring Security
When the systems we rely on start to wobble, the organizations Filipina leaders steward become both a shelter and a target. This closing panel tackles strategic vision, change, and the protection of the people in your care — under real pressure.
Nora Galleros, CPA, CGMA, Glbl FWN100™ 2019 — Partner-in-Charge, Government and Not-For-Profit Group, Galleros Robinson; 20+ years auditing public-sector and nonprofit institutions; Past President, National Council of Philippine American Canadian Accountants
Charise V. Mason — Founder-CEO, Digi Chic Ltd.; cross-border data governance and cybersecurity strategist; built risk-control programs for international money transfer agents across Manila, London, and France
Gina Maria Garcia-Atienza, Global FWN100™ 2016 — Chairman of the Board, SunStar Media Group; President, SunStar Davao (Philippines)
Learning Track: LEADING AN ORGANIZATION
Stewarding Change At Scale
From biotech founder to nonprofit policy leader to firm partner to company chair — four very different vantage points on what it actually takes to build, scale, and transform an organization.
Cymbeline “Bem” Culiat, PhD, Global FWN100™ 2022 — Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder, NellOne Therapeutics Inc; molecular geneticist (PhD, Biomedical Sciences, University of Tennessee/Oak Ridge National Laboratory); discovered the NELL1 tissue-regeneration pathway; holder of 27 inventions/patents across eight countries
Kathy Lai, CPA, Global FWN100™ 2021 — California Market Leader and Office Managing Partner (Orange County), Crowe LLP; 20+ years in public-sector audit, performance, and risk. California accounts for about $175 million of Crowe’s $1.5 billion in revenue, spanning multiple teams, industries, and business units.
Rosemarie Rafael, Global FWN100™ 2023 — Chairperson and President, Airspeed (Philippine logistics company, founded 1985); EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women Asia-Pacific, Class of 2025; Chairperson, Women’s Business Council Philippines
Sofia Aragon, JD, BSN, RN, FAAN, Global FWN100™ 2022 — Executive Director, Washington Center for Nursing; President, National Forum of Nursing Workforce Centers; former Burien, WA City Council member; J.D., Loyola University Chicago
EPAHAYAGAN
