SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairperson and Administrator Wilma “Amy” T. Eisma was adjudged a winner in this year’s search for the “100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World” (Global FWN100), which recognizes women of Philippine ancestry who are influencing the face of leadership in the global workplace.
She will receive the award during the 14th Filipina Leadership Global Summit scheduled on October 25-29 in Toronto, Canada.
The Global FWN100 award, which is handed out by the San Francisco, California-based non-profit association Filipina Women’s Network (FWN), cites women who have reached outstanding status in their respective professions, industries and communities.
Marilyn Mondejar, founder and CEO of Global FWN100, said that in winning the award, Eisma will be joining “an esteemed group of accomplished Filipina women worldwide who are advocating with FWN to increase the socioeconomic, professional, political and educational power of Filipina women as leaders and policymakers.”
Eisma, a lawyer by profession, was nominated in the “Builders” category, one of the eight categories of the award. This recognizes women who have demonstrated exceptional organizational impact at a large workplace environment, deep passion for a cause, and high potential and skill with measurable results in the public or private sector.
She won under the Tertiary Economic Sector for service industry, which covers nominations for government, finance, education, legal, and travel/tourism professions, among others.
According to the Global FWN100 Selection Committee, winners of the award are chosen through a rigorous vetting process which includes determination of the nominee’s global Filipina imprint, personal interview, review of the nomination and answers to criteria questions, social media and internet vetting, and a chat with the nominee’s references and/or nominator.
The scoring is based on the nominee’s activities and projects of the last three years, and around three factors: leadership, challenge, and ownership, or the degree to which the nominee took charge of the challenges she faced for the initiative, project or activity.
Among the winners of the Global FWN100 search last year was Vice President Leni Robredo, who was nominated for the “Nicole” award.
For this year, the awards body accepted a total of 85 nominees from 14 countries across the globe. Fourteen of these were for the Builders category where Eisma won.
Eisma’s selection as one of the most influential Filipinas in the world today was announced after she was appointed on Sept. 25 as the first woman Chairman-Administrator of the SBMA, which manages the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, a key industrial and commercial area in the Philippines today.
Before taking over as CEO of the Subic agency starting January 2017, Eisma served for 15 years as corporate, government and regulatory affairs manager of PMFTC, Inc., the Philippine affiliate of Philip Morris Intl. where she worked closely with local tobacco farmers and farming communities all over the country, thus earning for the firm international acclaim for farmer programs, best practices systems and leading innovations in agriculture labor relations, communication programs, and government relation strategies in supply-chain setting.
Eisma also provided direction, supervision and management of the company’s public affairs and contribution programs that received international awards in corporate social responsibility (CSR). Her knowledge in government processes, culture and engagement also helped bring about the enactment of the Philippine Tobacco Regulatory Act of 2003 and the amendment to the Excise Law in 2005 and 2012.
Before her stint with PMFTC, she served as chief of staff of the Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry from 2000 to 2001, and as Head Executive Assistant and Legal Counsel to the House of Representative’s Majority Floor Leader from 1998 to 2000.
Eisma is a member of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the Ateneo de Manila University’s College of Law. (Dante M. Salvana)