Globe Telecom

𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗲'𝘀 𝗔𝗜 𝗞𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗻 When I assumed the role of Chief AI Officer for Globe Telecom last year, one of the first things I did was to make the rounds with various partners, existing and new, to get a better view of the landscape and learn what was out there. One thing that was obvious is that every engagement they had were all heavily use-case driven. $500K USD for an HR chatbot. $2M for an outbound voicebot. And that's not surprising or necessarily bad either. It was an arms race. Management was hungry for AI and the fastest "dish" to serve was, in a lot of ways, fast food. My team, ecosystem colleagues (Karl Kendrick Chua and Alexander G. Seminiano probably think I am starting a restaurant), and partners are surely sick of hearing me use the kitchen analogy. Julian Cua for sure, because he and I have actually extended the story to a Haruki Murakami-esque level already, while Varun Dayal and Adam Govan have always thankfully indulged. On Carl Cruz's first week, during an early meet and greet, one of the things he first asked our AI Group was, "are we ahead?" -- If we're going to talk about whether Globe has a bunch of dishes on the table? No. We're not ahead. A lot more companies or telcos globally or in the region certainly are. But I'd argue that most of those served are fast food. Where we feel and believe we may be ahead is how we're thinking about, or by this time, actually building AI for Globe -- and that's starting with the kitchen, not the dish. When Ernest put the hat on me last year, one of the things we absolutely agreed on was not to rush. He and I didn't want a Big Mac or a Jolly Spaghetti -- not that anything is wrong with fast food. But first, we wanted every employee to be a chef; second, for robust customer needs, we wanted an evolving kitchen that allows us to build an extensive menu over time that can serve quick snacks or 14-course meals, if need be. In short, it was ensuring that we lay the right foundation first. So where are we now? We're starting to bring in some of the appliances into the kitchen, important starter ones like an electric range, a blender, and a small fridge. For employees, we set up a pantry with a microwave so they can quickly cook their own meals (a post on our democratization success soon). For our customers, we're working on a nice lunch menu we hope to serve this year that builds on a lot of the existing foundational "CLM" recipes we have. We believe so strongly in how AI can truly transform the way we serve our customers that we want to do it right -- manage our FOMO, build for the future, while still executing at speed.

I recently had the opportunity to return to my roots during my first regional immersion with Globe Telecom's Cavite team, engaging with retailers, subscribers, and students in Dasmariñas and surrounding areas. It was a full-circle moment for me, a throwback to my early days as a sales trainee at Unilever, going door-to-door in the markets we covered. That experience taught me a valuable lesson I still carry with me to this day: no customer is too small, and every conversation matters. It was inspiring to see how Globe is changing lives with GFiber Prepaid, a game-changing product that’s making high-speed internet affordable and accessible, built specifically for Filipino households. Winning the market isn't just about selling products in volume but deepening connections with our customers and delivering solutions that make a real impact in their lives. A huge thank you to the Globe senior leaders who joined me on this trip— Darius Jose Delgado, Rebecca Eclipse, and Renato Manuel Jiao, just to name a few. Most importantly, thank you to the Globe team in Cavite for their incredible warmth and hospitality. This journey reminded me that true leadership begins with listening, understanding, and showing up for the people who matter most: our customers. #GoForwardTogether #CustomerFirst