#EachforEqual

Peter Kell is the New Zealand Ambassador-designate to the Philippines. He was the Deputy Head of Mission and Consul General at the New Zealand Embassy in Tokyo from February 2015 to April 2019 and Acting Ambassador from April to July 2019. Before that, he served in Wellington for five years in the Human Resources Division and Chief Executive’s Office before undertaking a secondment to the Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. His last role in Wellington was as Principal Adviser to the Deputy Secretary of the Americas and Asia Group. He has also served in Honiara, London and twice before in Tokyo. He is a graduate of Kyoto University and Victoria University of Wellington. Before taking up his assignment in Manila, he spent three months on intensive Filipino language training. His interests include singing, playing guitar, fencing and karate. He is married to Riko a Japanese National, and they have two teenaged sons.

Nanette Medved-Po is an award-winning film actress, TV host, model, philanthropist and businessperson in the Philippines. She is the founder of Generation Hope Inc. and Friends of Hope Inc. which produces both company branded and co-brand consumer goods. 100% of profits from the "Hope" line of products are devoted to improving both the public school education space as well as smallholder farmer productivity through its agriculture interventions. Nanette is also the founder of the Plastic Credit Exchange, Inc. (HOPEx), a non-profit entity that offers businesses and consumers an easy and responsible way to be accountable for plastic.
Nanette graduated with degrees in Finance and Entrepreneurship as Summa Cum Laude from Babson College in Wesley, Massachussetts in 1998. In 2012, she was invited to join the World Wildlife Fund Philippines National Advisory Council where she currently serves on its Board of Trustees. In July 2019, Nanette was also welcomed by Winrock International to be a part of their Board of Directors in Arlington, Virginia.

In 2017, she was recognized as one of Forbes’ Heroes of Philanthropy. In that same year, HOPE won the grand prize in the Developmental Social Enterprise Awards by Price Waterhouse Coopers Philippines. HOPE was also awarded as the 2015 Best New Brand and Best Community Initiative by the Global Bottled Water Awards in Lisbon,Portugal. Recently, she received the NGO Leadership Award and Social Innovation Leadership Award from the Philippines Leadership Awards.

Anna Liza Vergara is a true example of a seasoned hotelier with more than 25 years of trusted experience in the hospitality industry. A woman of excellence, Vergara was recently appointed as the General Manager of the newly opened Sheraton Manila Hotel, and is a proud first Filipino woman general manager of a 5-star international branded hotel in the Philippines.

She worked her way up the ranks with focus on front office management. Her starting point in the industry was in Hyatt Regency Manila as a Front Desk Agent, and in only 2 years, advanced as a Duty Manager. Her move to the New World Renaissance Makati City Hotel (now New World Makati) started her long relationship with the Marriott International. Her highly commendable leadership paved the way for her to grow her responsibilities through the years as its Director of Room Operations that oversees several departments such as Front Office, Laundry, Housekeeping and Recreation.

As Marriott expands in the Philippines, Vergara is top of mind of the company to lead the pre-opening team of their flagship full-service brand, Marriott Hotel Manila, back in 2009. Her vital role as its Resident Manager, and eventually, as the Hotel Manager after 3 years, enabled consistent excellent ratings on TripAdvisor and annual brand standard audit. She has driven the 570-room property to successfully launch guest services innovations, loyalty programs, and its expansion projects such as the 8,000 sq. meter Marriott Grand Ballroom and West Wing - making Marriott Hotel Manila a forerunner as a MICE hotel destination in the country. She led and conducted At The Helm courses – a leadership academy for front office management – across properties in Asia Pacific. In 2011, she received the prestigious EDGE award (Excellence in Driving Guest Experience).

In her current role, Vergara manages a 386-room hotel that boasts of outstanding facilities that seamlessly connect business and leisure such as a co-working space, multiple dining options, meeting spaces, spa, and recreational areas for adults and kids. It is under her leadership to establish and flourish the Sheraton brand in the integrated Resorts World Manila complex.

Vergara is an empowered woman even outside work being happily married to Carlo with 2 kids, Alisha and Gab who are 20 years old and 12 years old respectively. She walks her talk about work-life balance being able to spend her leisure time as an all-around “soccer, softball and baseball mom.