Meet the new Benilde HiFi director
Nico is an entrepreneur who has had over eight (8) years of experience in Retail and Manufacturing, and four (4) years in the Higher Education Space.
In 2015, he founded a Filipino local company that designed and assembled timepieces locally. The brand was able to gain recognition from the market and was selected to represent the Philippines as the Official Timepiece of the ASEAN50 Special Celebration (2017) and the 30th South East Asian (SEA) Games (2019). Apart from his knowledge in the technical production of watchmaking, Nico is well experienced in Public Relations, Brand Development, Graphic Design, Web Development, Sales and Marketing, Import/Export Operations, and Compliance Management.
By education, Nico is a published Atmospheric Physicist with his primary field of research being Ozone studies. He provided the first local Ozone Column data and study in the Philippines in collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States (US). Nico is knowledgeable in Materials Science including Failure Analysis, Elemental Composition and Analysis, and Materials Synthesis and Development. Nico is immersed in entrepreneurial studies on Digital Transformation and Product Management, and Design Thinking for Innovation. At present, he has been exploring the adoption of Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies for watchmaking and other industry applications locally in the Philippines.
His corporate experience was primarily spent in a multi-national FMCG where he managed Production and became a Continuous Improvement Six Sigma practitioner focusing on Manufacturing Operations. He also developed products for the company going through Innovation & Renovation Processes. As part of his work and management training in corporate, Nico was immersed in working in the various functions of the company including Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain Management, Technical, Finance, Human Resource, and Corporate Affairs. He had also worked briefly at the De La Salle — College of Saint Benilde in 2016 as Project Manager for the Benilde Prize and was a Part-time Personal Effectiveness Lecturer at the De La Salle University from 2014–2017.
Through DragoNation of the Dragon Foundation in Hong Kong, Nico was able to network and build friendships with young Chinese professionals across the globe who belong to various industries. Within the network, he became fond of learning about the various start-up landscapes in various markets — especially Hong Kong, Singapore, and China. And with his involvement in the Order of the Knights of Rizal as Knight Commander of Rizal (KCR), he strengthened his passion for history, heritage, and education.
Today, Nico is part of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the De La Salle Alumni Association (DLSAA) and is the President of the DLSAA — College of Science (COS) Chapter.
In his return to De La Salle — College of Saint Benilde, now as the Director of the Hub of Innovation For Inclusion (HiFi), Nico intends to revitalize HiFi by implementing new structures and standards geared towards spotlighting others and bridging everyone inside the College and beyond the walls of the institution. With access to quality education continuing to be a prevalent institutional void, especially in emerging economies, he remains passionate in becoming an enabler in the sector. Aligned with the ministry of the Lasallian Brothers and the mission of teaching minds, touching hearts, and transforming lives, Nico is ready to strengthen HiFi’s foundation and spirit, and to take HiFi to greater heights.
