RCBC executive feted in ‘Oscars’ of Philippine marketing industry

TAGUIG CITY, PHILIPPINES – Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC)’s Executive Vice President and Chief Innovations and Inclusion Officer Lito Villanueva was feted with the highly coveted Outstanding Achievement for Marketing Management in the Agora Awards held last January 19, 2024 at Shangri-La The Fort, Manila.

Launched in 1979, the Agora Awards is the Philippine Marketing Association’s annual recognition of the marketing prowess of individuals and organizations and their contributions to the development of the marketing profession in the country. Dubbed as the “Oscars of Marketing” in the country, it is considered as one of the most prestigious accolades given in the field of marketing in the Philippines.

Villanueva clinched the award after going through a thorough and competitive screening process by a panel of judges that included leading marketing leaders, industry visionaries, and past Agora awardees. The RCBC Executive was recognized for exhibiting marketing excellence in developing, launching, and scaling innovative digital solutions such as RCBC Pulz, RCBC Diskartech, and RCBC ATM Go under the RCBC Moneybela Barangayan Banking physical-digital or phygital blended banking experience.

Villanueva is spearheading the bank’s massive digital transformation journey as the head of the RCBC Digital Enterprise and Innovations Group. Under his leadership, the digital solutions that he and his team developed were considered among the growth pillars to RCBC’s immense growth being the Philippines’ fastest growing bank, leapfrogging from 8th position in 2018 to 5th position in 2022 in the list of the country’s largest privately-owned banks in terms of assets.

Villanueva said that the recognition is a testament to the skills, talents, and diligence of RCBC and its people in finding solutions that are not only innovative but relevant to every Filipino, here and abroad.

“Sustainability and inclusion are the main tenets of an organization towards achieving success. RCBC has tirelessly exhibited its ingenuity and never-ending commitment in making the wildest ideas into reality for the betterment of all Filipinos and the country. This is not my achievement alone, I share it with my digital and marketing teams, the whole bank, and its employees, as it is teamwork that has enabled RCBC to continuously reap the fruits of hardwork and out-of-the box thinking. In RCBC, we make things happen, now,” said Villanueva.

“The marketing profession is one of the most valuable endeavors that anyone can be involved in. The Agora Awards recognizes the indispensable role that marketers play in making solutions such as digital banking accessible and engaging to every Filipino,” added Villanueva.

RCBC emerged as the fastest-growing bank in the country, leapfrogging from eighth position in 2018 to fifth in 2022 in the list of the Philippines’ largest privately owned banks in terms of assets. Among its global and local recognitions include a four-peat award as the Philippines’ Best Bank for Digital by Asiamoney, the Eye on Innovation Award by Gartner, YouTube Challenger Award for its viral and out-of-the-box digital ad campaigns generating combined views of over 17 million, Grand Champion for Digital Payments and Financial Inclusion by the Bankers Institute of the Philippines, and Number 1 in the Philippine Best Customer Service 2023 survey by the Philippine Daily Inquirer and global research firm Statista.