Bringing cultures together

Diverse cultures came together at the recently concluded Philippine Wine Fiesta, a showcase of the most expansive array of wines hosted by the Straits Wine Company at the Axon, Green Sun in Makati City.

Now on its fifth year, the festive evening of exquisite food, excellent wines, impeccable music and socializing was powered by PLDT HOME Fibr.

PLDT VP and HOME marketing head Gary Dujali said, “We are pleased to take part in this esteemed celebration among a broad community. More than providing a limitless selection of wines, the Philippine Wine Fiesta offers a world-class experience that guests can take with them wherever they go. The company espouses this notion as it goes beyond delivering a powerful broadband by bringing topnotch experiences to its consumers.”

Over 15 winemakers came to Manila for this annual event bringing with them over 100 wines for guests to taste and experience. Wines from France, Italy, Austria, New Zealand, USA, Argentina, Australia and India were made available for guests, who also had a chance to enjoy free master classes at the event. A sensational dinner featured a multi-course degustation menu paired with signature and limited vintages of wines.

The Philippine Wine Fiesta proved to be a one-stop venue for shopping, tasting and learning about wine. The event catered to the broadest wine community comprising all novices and connoisseurs.

Straits Wine Company general manager Julian Gagliardi said, “This year, we are pleased to celebrate this event with the introduction of the fastest 1Gbps speed of PLDT HOME Fibr.”

In addition to good food and fine wines, the event also featured an exclusive crowd, which included some of the country’s first PLDT HOME Fibr 1Gbps customers.

“The company is set to bring this unique occasion to Fibr-powered villages, rolling out more world-class experiences for our consumers,” Dujali concluded.

(For more information, visit pldthome.com/fibr.)

Opportunity to appreciate

Marriott Hotel Manila, in line with the celebration of its Global Customer Appreciation Week (GCAW) with a theme “Opportunity to Appreciate,” threw a Halloween party at the Marriott Grand Ballroom.

The grand ballroom was spruced up with spooky décor, lights and sounds with entertainment courtesy of Mark Mabasa and friends.

Guests enjoyed the shrimps marinated with ginger garlic lime, farfalle with mushroom beef ragout and spiced shrimps curry, seafood raw bar, crispy suckling pig wrapped in crepe with spring onion cucumber, beetroot macaron, goat cheese cream and sous vide boneless chicken roulade.

Desserts included Mars chocolate mousse, dark and milk chocolate mousse, fresh strawberry and whipped cream, Halloween cupcakes, Spider Web cheesecake, Devil’s Food Cake and Ghoul’s Graveyard brownies.

In keeping with Marriott’s “Spirit to Serve,” the event was capped by treating 30 street children from Pasay City. The hotel staff fed the little ones and let them enjoy the rides at Star City. They also handed them bags filled with Christmas treats and toiletries.

(For bookings and inquiries, call 988-9999 or visit manilamarriott.com, MarriottHotelManila on Facebook, or @marriottmanila on Twitter and @manilamarriott on Instagram.)

Citi’s warm welcome

Top executives of various multinational companies gathered together for a welcome reception for Marc Merlino, the global head of Citi’s Global Subsidiaries Group (GSG).

Citi Philippines CEO Aftab Ahmed hosted the reception at the Makati Shangri-La Manila, together with Global Subsidiaries Group Philippines head Martin Mihov. In Citi, GSG serves multinational corporate clients in more than 100 countries, looking after the specialized financial needs of the world’s foremost corporations.

It was Merlino’s first visit to the country as global head and he actively engaged Citi’s key clients to talk about the positive growth of the Philippine economy, and the opportunities in the rest of Asia as well. Ahmed assured clients of Citi’s commitment to bring into play a high level of expertise to support multinational corporations. Merlino expressed optimism about the promising future that awaits the country, and that Citi has invested in its infrastructure and people to continue enabling progress for its clients in the country and in Asia.

Merlino has worked for Citi’s corporate and investment banking business across Europe, Asia and the US for the last 27 years. He joined Citi in 1988 as a credit analyst in Frankfurt, Germany and has served in a variety of senior corporate banking positions. Before serving as global head of Citi’s Global Subsidiaries Group in 2013, he also had a stint as deputy president and head of corporate banking division of Citibank Japan Ltd. for five years.

Excellence in corporate governance

Philex Mining Corp. bested 263 others at the 2015 ASEAN Corporate Governance Awards held at the Manila Polo Club in Makati City recently. The company landed the top spot as a publicly-listed company in Corporate Governance in the Philippines. The company was also one of the Top 50 Publicly Listed Companies in the ASEAN Region. The ASEAN Corporate Governance Awards is considered as the region’s most prestigious in recognizing companies that implement good corporate governance in their operations and services.

(Follow me on Instagram @pepperteehankee.)