Corporate Center
Meet our Risk professionals newly certified by PARIMA
Mairin Madrid | June 3, 2019
Risk Management practitioners from across the Aboitiz Group were officially recognized as Certified Risk Professionals at the PARIMA 2019 Manila Conference last May 22 held at Shangri-La at the Fort. The nine Aboitiz team members had taken and passed the rigorous two-hour exam for the PARIMA-ANZIIF Certified Risk Professional Certification Programme (PA-CRP).
The PA-CRP is globally recognized and a joint initiative between the Pan-Asia Risk and Insurance Management Association (PARIMA) and Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF). It is designed to help risk professionals delve into the practical application of risk management and develop key competencies that they need to thrive in their careers.
Ahead of their exam, the Risk Managers also took in a PA-CRP workshop as supplementary learning. Trainers Stacey Huang, Executive Director of PARIMA, and Kelvin Wu, Group Assistant General Manager, Risk Management, and Insurance of International SOS, presented key technical concepts, as well as real-life business applications using gamification techniques, in both ways, helped to better prepare the examinees.
Let’s meet the awardees and what they have to say about the certification.
Congratulations to all!
Michele Tan
Tell us a bit about your personal background and what is your role in the Risk Management team.
3+ years in UnionBank
Role in Risk Management?
Emerging & Strategic Risk/Risk Infrastructure
What is your advice to those who are planning to take the exam? Or How would you influence others to take the certification?
Exam is very theoretical and detailed so skimming/reading the end of chapter summary isn’t enough.
Christine Kempeneers
Tell us a bit about your background and what is your role in the Risk Management team and how many years have you been with Aboitiz.
AVP – Risk Management; Six years in Aboitiz — 3 years in UnionBank, 1 year in Aboitiz InfraCapital, and 2 years in AEV
What is your advice to those who are planning to take the exam? Or How would you influence others to take the certification?
I think the biggest mistake people make when taking the certification exam is doing it for the sake of being certified. I find that this adds unnecessary pressure on the examinee. Focus, instead, on the learning. Take this as an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the risk discipline. When I took the exam a year ago, I was fairly new to the AEV Risk Team. I felt that I needed to have a deeper understanding of the theory in order to better ground my actions and recommendations. Taking this perspective gave me an added incentive to go through the reading materials and getting certified was a bonus.
Connected to taking a learning perspective, set aside time to study. I cannot stress this enough. Try to avoid cramming so that you will be able to digest the books and get the most out of the PARIMA materials. You will notice how some concepts repeat themselves but within different contexts. This further contributes to expanding your understanding of what seem to be stand-alone ideas.
Last, find your tribe. It is a lot easier to study when you know that you have that support group. It doesn’t mean studying together all the time. You could review at your own pace and then the study group will give you a venue to check if you got the concepts right, to validate your ideas, or even just to blow off some steam.
Preparing for the exam does not have to be torture — have a positive attitude towards studying, set aside ample time and find that support group to get you through the certification.
Suzette Gonzales
Tell us a bit about your personal background and what is your role in the Risk Management team.
7 years in Aboitiz; AboitizPower Project Risk and Risk Finance Manager
What is your advice to those who are planning to take the exam? Or how would you influence others to take the certification?
READ. Take/Allot time to read these modules. It is normal to be intimidated by these modules being over a thousand pages. But these modules are written in a way that RM concepts, principles, and processes are easy to understand. To facilitate learning, it includes case studies which show the practical application of these RM principles and sample RM templates (which you may refer to when developing your own templates).
Through reading, not only that you validate your existing understanding of RM framework but you also learn new things and identify areas for improvement as well.
Ed Michael Monares
Tell us a bit about your personal background and what is your role in the Risk Management team.
Going 9 years [in Aboitiz] this coming November. My main role in risk management is to influence and help build more risk managers in the organizations at all levels. Elevating the risk-aware culture in Pilmico is my main goal.
What is your advice to those who are planning to take the exam? Or How would you influence others to take the certification?
My advice or tips to those who are planning to take the exam are as follows:
• Read the materials and understand the concepts
• There is less need to memorize the definition of the terms
• Take the practice exams several times until you perfect it
Harmone Naparota
Tell us a bit about your personal background and what is your role in the Risk Management team.
8 years in Aboitiz; AEV Physical Assets Security as the Security Systems & Information Officer
What is your advice to those who are planning to take the exam? Or How would you influence others to take the certification?
I am a testament to the fact that risk certification is not only for Risk Managers or to any person part of the risk management department. Risk is something that each one of us should know and understand. Risk is not just a theory and should not remain as that. The application of risk management should be integrated into all aspects of the organization. It enables us to better understand our processes and mitigate possible consequences that come with them. As our work evolves so shall we. Knowing risk allows us to take a step forward in knowing how we must keep our selves relevant to and better future-proof our organization.
The PARIMA Certification allows us to better understand risk. It simplifies the whole process such that none-risk practitioners like us would be able to understand the concept and how to apply them to our work. The integrated risk management portion of the modules helps you see how risk and each function in the organization work together in mitigating possible consequences that we might face. The certification may sound daunting, and it is, but don’t let that stop you. Again, stay relevant.
Mairin Madrid
Tell us a bit about your personal background and what is your role in the Risk Management team.
3 years in Aboitiz as Risk Manager – Business Risk Team
What is your advice to those who are planning to take the exam? Or How would you influence others to take the certification?
Follow a strict study schedule. Block off your weekends to read the textbooks.
Capture the objectives but at the same time understand them thoroughly.
Focus, pray, and give your best.
Noreen Vicencio
Tell us a bit about your personal background and what is your role in the Risk Management team.
11 years in Aboitiz; currently AVP Risk Management for AboitizPower
What is your advice to those who are planning to take the exam? Or How would you influence others to take the certification?
Review, not just for the exam, but to learn how we can better improve our capability to manage risks and opportunities in the organization. Personally, I found myself taking time during the reviews because I was gaining insights on how we can better operationalize and embed Risk Management in the way we do things. I’ve picked up so many ideas, and will definitely spend time going through the materials again.
Roberto Ronquillo
Tell us a bit about your personal background and what is your role in the Risk Management team.
I started working in the risk team in January of 2018 and have participated in risk finance, risk management, and business continuity. I am currently working on our Information Security Management System and Project Risk Management.
What is your advice to those who are planning to take the exam? Or How would you influence others to take the certification?
The best advice would be to relate each of the modules to how you currently practice risk management. This will give you a better understanding of the modules and affirm or flag what you have been practicing.
I believe it is critical that each risk manager takes this certification to ensure that we are aligned with international standards. But, just like any certification, we do not care about the piece of paper, we care about what it means.
Mark Louie Gomez
Tell us a bit about your personal background and what is your role in the Risk Management team.
4 years in Aboitiz; I head the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) of the Coal Business Unit overseeing and coordinating risk management initiatives at the operational level for AP’s coal power plants and joint ventures. Since I moved from another business unit and function just two months ago to assume my current ERM role, the PARIMA study modules have helped me a lot in the transition phase. However, I feel there’s still a lot to learn about risk management and I look forward to learning more from my peers and mentors here in AP and AEV.
What is your advice to those who are planning to take the exam? Or How would you influence others to take the certification?
My advice would be to allot some time to read the PARIMA “Summary Section” of the study modules to boost confidence. Taking the PARIMA certification workshop and mock exam also help a lot in integrating the learnings. I would influence others by sharing 2that the PA-CRF is a culmination of their learnings and experience but shouldn’t really define their full range of capabilities as risk professionals – so take the exam like there’s nothing to lose and everything to gain.
