The Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA) has announced that its current president, Nora “Noya” Terrado, has resigned from its board effective end of June 2013 after she was appointed undersecretary for management services at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Terrado will formally take her oath of office in July.
The new acting president will be Joey Gurango, PSIA?s current vice-president, who is expected to continue Terrado?s term through December 2013. Gurango?s succession was determined via a board decision during a recent special meeting.
Terrado served nearly three terms as PSIA president, but 10 years in total serving in various capacities as either director or head of committees.
Her departure follows that of Bettina Quimson, a fellow director at the PSIA, who also joined the government as deputy executive director for e-services at the Information and Communications Technology Office (ICTO) of the DOST.
During Terrado?s presidency, PSIA strengthened the organization?s local and international imprint through numerous projects focused on the twin-goals of country branding and marketing, and capability development.
She has led various industry-academe-government collaborations in support of the government?s private-public partnerships for inclusive growth.
The local software industry is considered one of the higher-value sectors and is credited for contributing some $1.16 billion into the Philippine economy, employing nearly 60,000 software engineers and IT professionals.
Estimated revenue per full-time employee (FTE) per annum is approximated at $20,500.
Terrado saw the birth of the Software Products Incubation Group of the Philippines (Spring.ph) which promotes PSIA?s new focus on product development, innovation, and technopreneurship in addition to software services.
Spring.ph, co-founded by Gurango in 2011, aims to bring to market at least 10 globally-recognized Filipino-made software products by 2016, each generating $1 million in annual revenues.
Among the organization?s other achievements in recent years include annual trade missions and exhibitions at key markets to promote trade and investments into the country that generate businesses and jobs for Filipinos. This includes Japan, Australia, Asia Pacific, and the United States.
On the capability development side, PSIA member-firms have trained and employed some 3,000 new hires under a career entry course for software development funded by the Technical Skills Development Authority (Tesda).
PSIA has also helped the education sector specifically on Computer Science and IT curriculum development and updating. PSIA has conducted various training programs for IT teachers and has continually evangelized the IT path as one of the better career choices for both high school and college students.
The Enablement Seminar Series, PSIA?s signature program, was also Terrado?s brainchild, launched in 2010 and is now on its 18th run.
PSIA is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
