Top Businesses and Leaders in the Philippines Honored at the Asia Pacific Enterprise Awards (APEA) 2024

MANILA, Philippines, Dec. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Asia Pacific Enterprise Awards (APEA) 2024 Philippines Chapter celebrated the achievements of remarkable Filipino business leaders and enterprises on December 11 at Hilton Manila. Organized by regional NGO Enterprise Asia, the APEA is Asia's largest and most prestigious award networking platform, spanning 16 markets annually.

This year, the APEA focused on "Celebrating Inclusive Entrepreneurship", recognizing visionary business leaders and organizations whose initiatives and strategies have actively contributed to the realization of an inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystem in the Philippines.

A distinguished panel of judges meticulously evaluated over 150 nominees, assessing each entrepreneur and organization based on their coherence. This rigorous process determined the winners across four categories: Master Entrepreneur, Inspirational Brand, Fast Enterprise, and Corporate Excellence.

Since 2007, the Awards has been organized all over the region with past recipients comprising Taiwan's Douglas Tong Hsu, Hong Kong's Francis Lui and Lawrence Ho, TTC Vietnam's Dang Van Thanh, Thailand's Supaluck Ampuj, Cuckoo Malaysia's Hoe Kian Choon, Indonesia's Hary Tanoesoedibjo and Mochtar Riady, India's Adi Godrej, and the Philippines' Dennis Anthony Uy.

"As we recognize the outstanding achievements of our awardees, we celebrate their unwavering determination, resilience, and ingenuity. Their stories inspire us to envision a future where success is shared and opportunities are universal," the Chairman of Enterprise Asia, Dr. Fong Chan Onn, announced in an uplifting welcome speech.

Manuel B. Villar, Jr., Chairman of Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc., received the prestigious Entrepreneur Of The Year Award for his contribution in shaping a better livelihood for the Filipinos. Regarded as the 'Father of the Philippine Real Estate Industry', Villar's companies have built more than 500,000 houses for middle-class Filipino families. Today, he continues to dedicate his life towards ensuring the life path he took from poverty to success may be experienced by all Filipinos.

Award winners under the Master Entrepreneur category include Gil G. Chua, Group Chairman & CEO of DDB Group Philippines and Enrico Dee, President & CEO of Foodee Global Food Concepts, who were honored for their outstanding leadership.

Century Pacific Food, Inc., Hilti Philippines Inc., and Watsons Personal Care Stores (Phils.), Inc. were among the recipients of the Inspirational Brand award. Businesses recognized under the Fast Enterprise category include DigiPlus Interactive Corp. and I-Fern Corporation. Lastly, among the top companies taking home the Corporate Excellence award were GOAC Group Of Companies and Nimbyx.

PR Newswire was the Official News Release Distribution Partner for the Asia Pacific Enterprise Awards 2024 Philippines Chapter. Media partners included BusinessWorld, Dailywire.asia and SME Magazine.

AWARD RECIPIENT LIST OF THE ASIA PACIFIC ENTERPRISE AWARDS (APEA) 2024

 PHILIPPINES CHAPTER

ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR CATEGORY

NAME

COMPANY

INDUSTRY

MANUEL B. VILLAR, JR.

 

CHAIRMAN

VISTA LAND & LIFESCAPES, INC.

PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT

MASTER ENTREPRENEUR CATEGORY

NAME

COMPANY

INDUSTRY

DR. VICTORIA G. BELO

 

FOUNDER, CEO, AND
MEDICAL DIRECTOR

     BELO MEDICAL GROUP         

BEAUTY & PERSONAL
CARE

ALEX A. MABAQUIAO, JR.

 

CEO

BLUERISE HOLDING ENT.
CORP.

PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT

GIL G. CHUA

 

GROUP CHAIRMAN &
CEO

DDB GROUP PHILIPPINES

PROFESSIONAL &
BUSINESS SERVICES

ENRICO DEE

 

PRESIDENT & CEO

FOODEE GLOBAL FOOD
CONCEPTS

FOOD & BEVERAGE

DR STEVE MARK GAN

 

CHAIRMAN & CEO

GAOC GROUP OF
COMPANIES

HEALTHCARE,
PHARMACEUTICAL &
BIOTECHNOLOGY

TOMMANNY TAN

 

PRESIDENT & CEO

I-FERN CORPORATION

DIRECT SELLING

PAOLO KALAW

 

FOUNDER & CEO

NIMBYX

HEALTHCARE,
PHARMACEUTICAL &
BIOTECHNOLOGY

ELMER M. LAPEÑA

 

EXECUTIVE MANAGING
DIRECTOR

SAGA PH

PROFESSIONAL &
BUSINESS SERVICES

SHELMAR KITCH LA
VICTORIA

 

CEO & CO-FOUNDER

SMART HOME PHILIPPINES

CONSTRUCTION

FRANCO M. PEDREGOSA

 

PRESIDENT & CEO

THE FIGTREE PROPERTIES
OPC

REAL ESTATE

DIANE ISABEL CHUA

 

MANAGING DIRECTOR

TRIBAL WORLDWIDE
PHILIPPINES

PROFESSIONAL &
BUSINESS SERVICES

RONNIE L. SIASOYCO

 

CHAIRMAN & CEO

TRION GROUP

ELECTRICAL &
ELECTRONICS

TENGKU JADEEYAH
ABANG

 

FOUNDER & CEO

TWIN RAMS MEDIA GROUP
OPC

PROFESSIONAL &
BUSINESS SERVICES

MATHIEU GUILLAUME

 

PRESIDENT & CEO

VIENOVO PHILIPPINES, INC.

AGRICULTURE

                                              FAST ENTERPRISE CATEGORY                                                    

COMPANY

                       INDUSTRY                    

BENT AND BUZZ

PROFESSIONAL & BUSINESS SERVICES

BLUERISE HOLDING ENT. CORP.

PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT

DIGIPLUS INTERACTIVE CORP.

ENTERTAINMENT

I-FERN CORPORATION

DIRECT SELLING

NOVODENTAL

HEALTHCARE, PHARMACEUTICAL &
BIOTECHNOLOGY

S5 FRANCHISE SYSTEM INC.

INDUSTRIAL & COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS

SMART HOME PHILIPPINES

CONSTRUCTION

TRION TRADE, INC.

ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS

VIENOVO PHILIPPINES, INC.

AGRICULTURE

                                              INSPIRATIONAL BRAND CATEGORY                                            

COMPANY

INDUSTRY

BELO MEDICAL GROUP

BEAUTY & PERSONAL CARE

BLUERISE HOLDING ENT. CORP.

PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT

CENTURY PACIFIC FOOD, INC.

CONSUMER GOODS

HILTI PHILIPPINES INC.

CONSTRUCTION

NIMBYX

HEALTHCARE,
PHARMACEUTICAL &
BIOTECHNOLOGY

RENT.PH

REAL ESTATE

RIPPLE8

PROFESSIONAL &
BUSINESS SERVICES

WATSONS PERSONAL CARE STORES (PHILS.), INC.

RETAIL

CORPORATE EXCELLENCE CATEGORY

COMPANY

INDUSTRY

DDB PHILIPPINES

PROFESSIONAL &
BUSINESS SERVICES

DIGIPLUS INTERACTIVE CORP.

ENTERTAINMENT

EXIST SOFTWARE LABS, INC.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & ICT

GAOC GROUP OF COMPANIES

HEALTHCARE,
PHARMACEUTICAL &
BIOTECHNOLOGY

NIMBYX

HEALTHCARE,
PHARMACEUTICAL &
BIOTECHNOLOGY

SOUTHVILLE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL AND COLLEGES

EDUCATION & TRAINING

VISTA LAND & LIFESCAPES, INC.

PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT

VIVENTIS SEARCH ASIA, INC.

PROFESSIONAL & BUSINESS
SERVICES

About Enterprise Asia

Enterprise Asia is a non-governmental organization in pursuit of creating an Asia that is rich in entrepreneurship as an engine towards sustainable and progressive economic and social development within a world of economic equality. Its two pillars of existence are an investment in people and responsible entrepreneurship. Enterprise Asia works with governments, NGOs, and other organizations to promote competitiveness and entrepreneurial development, uplift the economic status of people across Asia, and ensure a legacy of hope, innovation, and courage for future generations. Please visit www.enterpriseasia.org for more information.

About Asia Pacific Enterprise Awards

Launched in 2007, the Asia Pacific Enterprise Awards is the region's most prestigious award for outstanding entrepreneurship, continuous innovation, and sustainable leadership. The Award provides a platform for companies and governments to recognize entrepreneurial excellence, hence spurring greater innovation, fair business practices, and growth in entrepreneurship. As a regional award, it groups together leading entrepreneurs as a powerful voice for entrepreneurship and serves as a by-invitation-only networking powerhouse. The program has grown to encompass 16 countries/ regions and markets all over Asia. For further information, please visit www.apea.asia.

** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **

Top Businesses and Leaders in the Philippines Honored at the Asia Pacific Enterprise Awards (APEA) 2024

Shutterstocks' partnership with Lightricks is the first of a new data licensing approach that builds new ways for training AI models

JERUSALEM and NEW YORK, Dec. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Lightricks, a global leader of AI-powered creative technology, today announced it is partnering with Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE: SSTK) to license and use Shutterstock's extensive video asset library. This collaboration will empower Lightricks to train its open-source video generation model, LTX Video (LTXV), using high-quality HD and 4K video assets. Lightricks is the first global partner to train on Shutterstock's industry-first "research license," a unique option that reduces the entry barrier for open-source model training.

 Leveraging the research license model mirrors Lightrick's vision to expand access to creative tools, while driving high quality generative AI results ensure creators' have protection for their content from the outset. By first integrating a research licence, startups and AI companies can build and refine AI tools on premium, licensed data before making a larger commitment in a full commercial license. This approach also offers a cost-effective path to accessing high-quality data at the research and development stage, addressing a key challenge many new or established companies may face in training AI models.

"This long-term partnership with Shutterstock marks a strategic milestone for us, building on our licensing initiatives from the past year, including agreements with major broadcasters and key content providers." said Zeev Farbman, Co-founder and CEO of Lightricks. "At our core, we're committed to building powerful, accessible creative tools. This collaboration not only enhances our ability to train AI models with premium, diverse video data, but also elevates the quality and relevance of our generative video tools for our growing community of professional creators and enterprises."

This partnership also continues Lightricks' AI mission to drive access to creative tools, while driving high-quality generative AI results. By incorporating Shutterstock-licensed video data, Lightricks strengthens its training models, ensuring they are built on robust, industry-recognized datasets that respect the creativity of filmmakers and broadcasters. This announcement follows Lightricks' release of LTXV 0.9 to the open-source community in November 2024. By leveraging Shutterstock's premium HD and 4K video data, Lightricks aims to prioritize quality in its next model update, enhancing results for users while advancing its open-source initiatives.

"With our innovative research license model, we empower partners to train their AI models using trusted, licensed data from the start," said Daniel Mandell, Global Head of Data Licensing & AI at Shutterstock. "We're thrilled to collaborate with Lightricks on their cutting-edge video tools and remain committed to delivering the data assets they need to achieve long-term success."

Shutterstock's expansive library—consisting of more than one billion royalty-free assets, including images, videos, music, 3D models, templates, and more—provides one of the largest and most diverse global media datasets available for multimodal model training.

About Lightricks
Lightricks is a global leader in developing AI-powered creative tools that empower creators and brands. With innovative products like Facetune, Videoleap, and the recently launched LTX Studio, Lightricks is transforming the creative landscape.

About Shutterstock, Inc.
Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE: SSTK) is a premier partner for transformative brands, digital media and marketing companies, empowering the world to create with confidence. Fueled by millions of creators around the world and a fearless approach to product innovation, Shutterstock is the leading global platform for licensing from the most extensive and diverse collection of high-quality 3D models, videos, music, photographs, vectors and illustrations. From the world's largest content marketplace, to breaking news and A-list entertainment editorial access, to all-in-one content editing platform and studio production service—all using the latest in innovative technology—Shutterstock offers the most comprehensive selection of resources to bring storytelling to life.

Learn more at www.shutterstock.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **

Lightricks Partners With Shutterstock for Video Training Data to Advance Open Source LTXV Video AI Generative Video Model