Ramon Lopez is the secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). His extensive government experience with the Presidential Management Staff (PMS), DTI, and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) in the early part of his career provided him with a solid background on macroeconomic and industry policy and program development that allowed him to adopt a more holistic approach when he moved to the private sector and became a top executive of a major Philippine food and beverage company for over 23 years. He led the entrepreneur advocacy Go Negosyo for 12 years until he was called to serve the country again under President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s administration as the DTI Secretary. He chairs several institutions under DTI such as the Board of Investments (BOI), the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), the Small Business Corporation (SB Corp.), the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), and several councils for MSME Development, Industry Development, Export Development, and Price Coordination. He also chaired the ASEAN Economic Ministers when the Philippines assumed Chairmanship in 2017. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of the Philippines and topped his Master’s degree in Development Economics at Williams College, Massachusetts.