Cesar V. Purisima

Cesar V. Purisima is the Secretary of Finance of the Philippines, appointed by President Benigno S. Aquino in 2010, and the Chair of the Economic Development Cluster of the President’s Cabinet. He briefly served as Finance Secretary in 2005 and Trade and Industry Secretary from 2004 to 2005.

Purisima is currently a member of the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Governor for the Philippines at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Governor for the Philippines at the World Bank, and Alternate Governor for the Philippines at the International Monetary Fund. In 2015, he served as the Chair of the APEC Finance Ministers’ Process and Chair of the Vulnerable 20 Group of Finance Ministers. In 2011-2012, he served as Chairman of the ADB Board of Governors. In May 2012, he chaired the 45th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors which was held in Manila.

Secretary Purisima has been recognized as Finance Minister of the Year six times in five consecutive years, a first in the history of the Department of Finance and the Philippines.

He was first recognized by London-based financial news source Emerging Markets as 2011 Finance Minister of the Year for Asia for his strong policy track record and steadfast commitment to maintaining economic stability. A year later, he was named 2012 Finance Minister of the Year by business and finance magazine Euromoney for his careful and successful stewardship of the Philippine economy whose growth stood against the challenging global macro-economic backdrop. He was once again the choice of Emerging Markets for 2013 Finance Minister of the Year for Asia for his success in steering an economic policy that has led to upgrades in the Philippines’ credit rating to investment grade. In the same year, he was cited by the international publication The Banker as 2013 Finance Minister of the Year for Asia Pacific for elevating the status of the Philippines in the international community. In 2015, he was awarded Finance Minister of the Year 2014 by FinanceAsia for his leadership in driving the comeback story of the country. Most recently, in 2016, he was given a repeat award by FinanceAsia — Finance Minister of the Year 2015 being his second consecutive recognition by the publication —marking the completion of the economic turnaround of the Philippines.

Before his stint in government, Secretary Purisima, a Certified Public Accountant, has had extensive work experience in public accounting both in the Philippines and abroad.

From 1999 to 2004, he served as Chairman and Managing Partner of the country’s largest professional services firm, SGV & Co. (a member firm of Andersen Worldwide until 2002 and presently member firm of Ernst & Young Global). From 2001 to 2002, he was also Area Managing Partner for Asia-Pacific for Assurance and Business Services of Andersen Worldwide, making him the first and only Filipino so far to head the Area practice of a Big 4 accounting firm. In Ernst & Young Global, he was a member of both the Global Executive Board and Global Practice Council.

Purisima was the Alumni Merit Awardee for the Kellogg Graduate School of Management in the 2014 Northwestern Alumni University Awards, making him the first Filipino awardee from Kellogg and among the first Filipinos to receive such a distinction from the University. He was conferred by the Republic of France the Chevalier de l’ Ordre national du Merite (rank of Knight) in the economic domain in 2001 for bringing together France and the Philippines. He was named Fellow of the Eminent Southeast Asians Programme of the Singapore International Foundation in 2003. In the Philippines, he has been granted the highest awards in accountancy by the Professional Regulation Commission and the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Purisima was conferred Doctor of Humanities, Honoris Causa, by the Angeles University. He obtained his MBA from the JL Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, and his bachelor’s degree in commerce from the De La Salle University.