APAC Digital Leaders Champion Interview Shorts – Ernest Cu, CEO, Globe

Wednesday 28 Oct 2020 |

The aim of the APAC Digital Leaders Champion program is to promote and champion the innovation and business leadership of leading CEOs and digital leaders from across the APAC region. As part of this program, a series of short interviews have been developed.

In this interview, Julian Gorman, Head of APAC GSMA, and Ernest Cu, CEO of Globe, has discussed the following topics:

  • As one of the longest-serving MNO CEOs in SE Asia leading it from 3G to 5G and during that time changing Globe’s market share significantly, what are the key insights of Ernest to his success and the success of Globe?
  • Globe’s effort to implement 5G Technology has made the Philippines the first country in Southeast Asia to roll out 5G. What is the plan of Globe to introduce 5G nationwide and how this technology can give the Philippines’ businesses an unrivaled edge in the market?
  • Africa is often referred to as the home of Mobile Money, but Globe was one of the pioneers and has now partnered with Ant Financial for Gcash. Across SE Asia we are also seeing many non-telco payment systems. Is the golden age of Telco Mobile Money services in the past and what is Ernest’s advice to other Telco CEOs now for financial services?
  • Globe is a leader in offering digital services like GCash and HealthNow in Philippines. What are the opportunities that Ernest sees in digital services in the post-COVID era?
  • Ernest is on the Board of a number of companies and associations in the Philippines across industries and within the Ayala Group. Does he draw advantage for Globe from his participation in these other companies and what is his advice to other telco industry leaders for involvement in other industries and beyond core telco?
  • Much of the hype and interest during COVID has been on the acceleration of digital transformation by adopting digital services like Zoom. What do we need to do as an industry to help advance MNOs impact beyond COVID19?