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My warmest greetings to the General Agents and Managers Association of the Philippines (GAMA) as holds its Annual Convention.

At the center of our thriving economy are the financial and insurance professionals who ensure that our citizens are well prepared for any contingency in life. Through their expertise, they provide our people with the capability to lead productive lives and enable them to become effective agents of social change.

As you adopt new methods and approaches to advance the personal growth and continued education of our specialists, you not only bolster their confidence to compete globally, but also secure the welfare and development of our populace. Let transparency, integrity and excellence drive your pursuits as we maximize the potential of every Filipino towards a more inclusive and sustainably progressive tomorrow.

I wish you all a productive and meaningful gathering.

RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE President Republic of the Philippines

With earnest joy, I congratulate the General Agents and Managers Association (GAMA) for another successful launch of its Annual Leaders Convention. Ever since its inception in 1995, GAMA has been an integral part in shaping the future of leaders in the insurance, investment and financial services industry.

Our country is currently at the frontiers of a wholly transformed nation with the many upheavals we are presently facing. Thus, it is upon our leaders to inspire their institutions to think out of the box with gamechanging innovations and solutions. It is pleasing to know that this year, GAMA has geared itself towards the future with the theme: “Go Beyond! Explore, Excite, Expand!” It is a spirit that we hope GAMA will be able to instill to its participants not just for this day, but for the many years to come.

In this age of innovation, we strongly hope that GAMA, its participants and its members, continue serving its purpose of promoting the professional development of the agency leaders in the insurance and financial services industry. In order to achieve a resilient industry that delivers only the best quality services, it is essential that we continue to build lasting networks with one another and expand these connections to other related industries as well. As GAMA Philippines continues to be an integral part of the Filipino financial services industry, we expect that it will never falter in enabling our industry leaders towards building globally competitive institutions. On this day, may you all be closer to engraving your mark in our society by adhering to GAMA’s mission of developing and building on the best and proven practices and skills in leadership, through far-reaching and lasting connections.

Once again, congratulations to you all.

DENNIS FUNA Commissioner Insurance Commission

“Limits, like fear, is often an illusion,” so said basketball legend Michael Jordan. While not exactly accurate, limits and fear can be thought of as synonyms. We tend to limit ourselves because of our fear of confronting it. Think about it, don’t you hesitate when you step out of your comfort zone? Don’t you sometimes dismiss a new idea because you don’t fully understand it? And don’t we sometimes avoid using new technologies simply because we want to stick to the tried and tested?

“Go Beyond: Explore, Excite and Expand,” our theme for the 23rd GAMA Leaders Convention, is exactly what we need to go beyond what we already know and are comfortable with. If there is anything we need to accept today, it is that change in defining not only our industry, but life as well. In order to adapt and succeed in the midst of rapidly changing profiles of our clients, ever-evolving social media , and an inter connected global economy, we need to change the way we look at ourselves, our team members, our profession and our industry.

This convention will provide a roadmap that we can customize to fit our needs. What works for one will not necessarily work for all. The many speakers who so generously provided their time should give us a diversity of strategies and techniques that we can apply so that we and our teams can go beyond what we have been accustomed to. You may think of this convention as a way to “disrupt” your success formulas or a necessary incentive to re-think leadership in the face of changing demographics. Yes, I am referring to the millennials — both as clients and as associates. The key to your continued success is in understanding how to speak to a variety of unique demographics, millennials and Generation Z included.

As always, it is teamwork that has made GAMA Philippines such a successful professional association, and my thanks to the leaders in the board from different companies working together for our common vision and values proposition. Thank you also to our GAMA staff, secretaries of different leaders who help us in sorting our convention kits, to GAMA past presidents for their continuous support, special thanks to life insurance companies who partner with us in GAMA Philippines in building, inspiring, providing support for us leaders to continually GO BEYOND and explore exciting expansion goals. Likewise, GAMA Philippines continues to grow with the support of GAMA International no less than the CEO, Ms. Bonnie Godsman, and director of membership of GAMA International, Mr. Joe Mossiman.

Fellow leaders, it has been a privilege to be your president for 2018 and I wish you a happy journeys as you GO BEYOND: Explore, Excite and Expand!

MELINDA MUYOT VERGARA President 2018 GAMA Philippines

The management expert Ken Blanchard once said, “None of us is as smart as all of us.” I think this best captures why we have a GAMA Leaders Convention. It brings together people who otherwise will not be even found in the same room together. The reality is that we each belong to companies that are competitive with one another. Over 364 days, we do battle with each other for potential business, clients and recruits. And yet, we set all that aside on this one day in the year where we selflessly share our best practices and powerful insights. This is why GAMA exists and continues to be relevant, especially in these times defined by constant change.

Think about it for a moment: why do we do this? Why do we share secrets to success? Why do we set aside our professional competition to encourage others to succeed even more? It sounds totally non-strategic, right? I think this is possible because sharing is at the heart of our profession. We impart the good news that is insurance and financial planning so that we can help secure their future. It’s selflessness of the highest order and that is why the Leaders Convention exists.

As you listen to the many presentations today, bear this in mind: all these speakers are here, voluntarily sharing the ways to their success. Blanchard is correct then. We may be smart, but when you put together many smart people, we emerge smarter than ever. So keep an open mind, set aside your biases, overcome your fears and leap right into the atmosphere of change that surrounds us. The Leaders Convention is designed to allow you to go beyond your comfort zones to discover that there is a vast universe of knowledge that can be tapped to ensure your continued success as leaders.

Happy convention to all!

RICHARD CHUA CHIACO 1st Vice-President and Leaders Convention Chairperson 2018 GAMA Philippines

A walk on the stage. An award to receive. A souvenir photo to be taken. While these may happen during awards ceremonies, the moment is really more significant than these. The award is a culmination of a year’s hard work to secure more lives, protect more families’ futures, and convince more Filipinos on the value of life insurance. No one knows more than our awardees how difficult those tasks are. And yet, here you are, GAMA awardees.

So congratulations are in order. Whatever GAMA award you may receive, let us celebrate the fact that you are now among the world’s best leaders in the financial services industry. Even if your end goal was not to receive recognition on stage, your journey in 2017 led you right here, and for this you must be proud of yourself.

After you receive your awards on stage tonight and take that first step back to your seats, that step is an important one as well. It means you have begun a new journey with possibly even higher goals and aspirations for yourself. And that means undertaking those difficult tasks over and over again: developing our teams to secure more lives, protect more futures, and convince more advisers about the critical importance of educating people about life insurance. Knowing you as I do, you will take that first step gladly and eagerly. And I know that your next journey will lead you right back on stage next year to once again receive recognition for a job well done.

Once again, congratulations to all our GAMA awardees. You are an inspiration to each other and to us all.

JEAN MOALONG 2nd Vice-President and Awards Night Chairperson 2018 GAMA Philippines