Leading fiber broadband and technology solutions provider Converge ICT Solutions Inc. has elected former Senior Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe as its new chairperson during the company’s organizational Board meeting following its Annual Stockholders’ Meeting.
Perlas-Bernabe becomes the first female chairperson of the company’s Board of Directors, succeeding veteran business leader and former Transportation and Public Works secretary Jose De Jesus, who will remain as an independent director.
De Jesus, who served as Converge chairman since the company’s listing on the Philippine Stock Exchange in 2020, said Perlas-Bernabe’s leadership signals “a new era of fairness and accountability” for the company.
Perlas-Bernabe joined the Converge board in May 2023 and previously chaired the company’s Remuneration Committee and Related Party Transactions Committee.
In accepting the role, Perlas-Bernabe said she is honored to lead the board as Converge continues its transition from a fiber internet provider into a future-forward technology company. She also highlighted the importance of diversity in leadership, noting the limited number of women serving as chairpersons among publicly listed firms in the country.
Also elected to the board were former Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr., Reyes Tacandong & Co. Chairman Manuel Felipe Reyes, former Naver Cloud CEO Woengi Park, and Converge founders Maria Grace Uy and Dennis Anthony Uy.
Perlas-Bernabe served in the Philippine judiciary for 26 years, including stints as associate justice of the Court of Appeals, Regional Trial Court judge, Metropolitan Trial Court judge, and technical assistant at the Office of the Court Administrator.
The Supreme Court also previously recognized her service by establishing the “Senior Associate Justice Estela M. Perlas-Bernabe Exemplary Career Jurist Award” in honor of her zero-backlog record throughout her judicial career.
She is also a member of the Panel of Arbitrators of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre since February 2025.
