DIGIHEALTH

Ravi Govindan

An entrepreneur before entrepreneurship became a buzzword. Armed with 45 years worth of real-world expertise in building companies from the ground up, Ravi founded Mercatus Capital in 2006, to nurture and invest in the next generation of start-up businesses. Ravi’s other successes range from growing his own law practice into a multi-partnership firm, to building properties across the Asia Pacific region, to being instrumental in the launches of several IPOs on the Australian and Singaporean stock exchanges.

Ravi was also the Executive Chairman and President of Fisher Scientific Inc. for the Asia Pacific region. Currently, Ravi — having taken a back seat to focus on his family and personal interests — is the Chairman Emeritus of Eight Mercatus, where his philanthropic support and expertise remain vital.

Johnny Chotrani

Johnny is the Chairman of the Philippines-India Business Council (PIBC), a subsidiary designated “India Desk” under the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI). He has been working on bringing the Philippines and India together, way back from 2002, officially beginning during his term as President for the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Philippines). He is also the appointed Country Chair for the ASEAN-India Business Council (Philippines). He has represented the Philippines in various ASEAN meets under the umbrella of the ASEAN-India Business Council and has made it his personal interest passion in furthering the business relationship between India, the Philippines, and the ASEAN Countries.

Rtn. Johnny has been residing in the Philippines for close to four decades and has also made his personal passion of watch appreciation into e-commerce with close to fifty stores nationwide, carrying a portfolio of various Swiss Brands among others with a focus on Automatic Watches. Mr. Chotrani is also a telecommunication consultant of various hospitals.

Roberto “Obet” M. Pagdanganan

Chairman of the Board of E-HealthCore, has had an extensive experience in private sector and government service as well as in civil society organizations.  Starting as a management trainee in 1968, he held various senior technical and marketing management positions at Unilever Philippines until he joined the government when he was appointed OIC Governor of the province of Bulacan in March, 1986. He went on to serve as Bulacan Governor for 12 years during which time he was elected as National President of the League of Provinces for 3 terms and founding Chairman of the League of Leagues later renamed Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines. He had also served as Chairman of the Cooperative Development Authority, Secretary of Department of Agrarian Reforms, Secretary of Tourism, Chairman of Philippine International Trading Corporation, and founding Chairman of PITC Pharmaceuticals Inc, now known as PPPI, which launched the “Botika ng Bayan” Program to promote safe and affordable generic medicines.

Governor Pagdanganan is presently also Chairman of Medicines Transparency Alliance, (MeTA) Inc., and Health Retirement and Tourism Alliance (HeaRT). He is also a member of the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines where he has served as National President for four terms. He is also a Past President of the Rotary Club Of Manila, the first Rotary Club in Asia, and Past District Governor of Rotary International District 3810. 

Gov Pagdanganan graduated with the degrees of Bachelor of Chemical Engineering, summa cum laude, in 1968, and Bachelor of Laws in 1990, from Manuel L. Quezon University. He obtained a Masters in Business Administration at Dela Salle University in 1980. He was also granted a Doctorate in Education Management, honoris causa, by the Bulacan State University in 1995. He is presently a part-time professorial lecturer at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines Open University System and an Eminent Fellow at the Philippine Public Safety College.

Jocelyn Socao-Alumno

Joyce is a staunch advocate for the Globalization of Healthcare, International Trade in Health Services and Medical Tourism. She spearheaded various initiatives in the development of the Philippines as a global healthcare destination including the Philippine Medical Tourism Program that was launched in 2006. Joyce founded HealthCore in 2010 with the vision to make the country a premier healthcare and tourism destination by introducing international quality standards in the healthcare and hospitality industry evidenced by achieving globally-recognized Quality Accreditation seals. 

Joyce was the former Country Head for Aster DM Healthcare (Philippines), formerly Regional Representative of Temos certification based in Germany, Representative for NABH International and by Swiss Approval International for ISO certifications in healthcare and hospitality services. In 2015, she was licensed as a National Assessor for the Accommodation Sector by the Philippines’ Department of Tourism. In addition, she authored the Philippine Medical Tourism Compendium and served as Contributing Editor to Philippine Daily Inquirer for the Philippine Health and Wellness Travel section. She worked for 12 years in investment banking where she held various positions.  

At present, she is the appointed Patient Safety Ambassador for the ASEAN region by the Patient Safety Movement Foundation based in the US, Part-Time Faculty in NEU-School of International Relations, and ISO 9001:2015 Certified Lead Auditor. 

Joyce finished B.S. Tourism, Cum Laude and Most Outstanding Student, from the University of Santo Tomas and completed her MBA from the Ateneo Graduate School of Business.

Dr. Bu  Castro

Dr. Castro is a Physician-Lawyer-Pathologist-Medico Legal Consultant. At present, he serves as the Vice President for Luzon at the Philippine Hospital Association and Director of the Private Hospital Association of the Philippines. He was a one-time legal adviser of the WHO-PRO on Public Health Legislation and a lecturer of Master Degrees at Philippine Christian University on Public Health, Hospital Administration, Best Practices and Quality Assurance on Public Health. 

Dr. Castro has been elected former President of the following associations: Philippine Medical Association; Philippine Hospital Association; Philippine Society of Pathologists; and Philippine Association of Forensic Medicine. He was also the former Chairman and current member of the PMA Commission on Ethics, Chairman of the Committee on Ethics of the Philippine Hospital Association. He serves as a Legal Adviser to the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines. Concurrently, he is the Medical Director of Bernardino General Hospital II and current Medical Director of the Center of Excellence of Drug Research Evaluation and Studies.