Dr. Rogel Mari D. Sese
Mr. Chris Buono
Managing Director
UPS
Chris Buono is the Managing Director of UPS Philippines. Prior to his appointment, he was the Vice President of Information Technology (IT) for the UPS Asia Pacific (APAC) Region. Based in Singapore, he was responsible for UPS’s IT application, infrastructure, IT procurement, telecommunications as well as IT governance which encompasses compliance, information security, and data privacy in APAC. In that role he also managed a 70-person team that is responsible for implementing, supporting, and maintaining technology for UPS and its customers across the region.
Having lived and worked in Asia for most of his 20-year career, Chris has a wealth of experience in developing and implementing robust IT solutions for warehouse management and logistics networks for customers across APAC and Europe.
Chris began his career with UPS in 2003 in APAC as an IT Solutions Manager. In 2006, he assumed responsibilities for UPS’s IT Implementation team. In 2012, he became Senior Manager for IS Client Solutions continuing his existing responsibilities as well as building UPS’s new Business Analyst team. He also played a key role in managing multiple areas of UPS’s APAC IT strategy.
In each role Chris led multiple IT projects that helped UPS’s clients to improve their supply chain systems and achieve their business goals. This included being part of a team that developed the technology for the Beijing Olympics in 2008 which successfully supported the event’s logistics and warehousing needs, delivering over 19 million items with a zero-accident operation rate.
Before joining UPS, Chris was an entrepreneur for several years, having set up an IT consulting company, a non-profit organization in the United States and a record label in Europe.
Chris holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Transportation and Logistics from Penn State University. He is passionate about nurturing the next generation of leaders and is an active facilitator and supporter of UPS’s Global Leadership College.
Program Leader and University Research Fellow
FEATI University
Dr. Rogel Mari Sese is one of the three astrophysicists in the Philippines and currently the President of Regulus SpaceTech, a pioneering space technology and education company in the Philippines. He took his undergraduate degree in Applied Physics at UP Los Banos and his Master’s degree in Physics at UP Diliman. He finished his Ph.D. Physics specializing in Computational Astrophysics at the University of Tsukuba Japan under the Mobukagakusho Japanese Government Scholarship Program. He has served are an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Mathematical Science and Physics at UP Los Banos and currently a University Research Fellow of FEATI University.
He spearheaded numerous researches in space development in the Philippines and was the project leader of the National SPACE Development Program under the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). He was instrumental in the filing of House Bills and Senate Bills pushing for the legislation of the Philippine Space Development and Utilization Policy and creation of the Philippine Space Agency. He also serves as the focal person for the Philippine Space Science Education Program (PSSEP) of the Science Education Institute (SEI) of the DOST. In addition, he is involved in numerous international space organizations such as the Universe Awareness Program, the Space Generation Advisory Council and the Southeast Asian Young Astronomers Collaboration, where is serves as the Founding Chairman.
He was awarded by the International Astronautical Federation as one of the 2012 Emerging Space Leaders, the first Filipino to ever receive such recognition. Just recently, he was named by Asian Scientist Magazine as one of the Top 100 Asian Scientists for 2018. He has extensively published numerous works and presentations in the fields of astrophysics, space education and space policy in various academic journals and conferences.
