Arturo T. Valdez

Mr. Arturo T. Valdez, Filipino, is the newest member of the EDC Board of Directors, having been elected as an Independent Director during the July 13, 2011 Annual Stockholders’ Meeting.

Mr. Valdez served as Undersecretary at the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) from 2001 to 2004 and was appointed Special Envoy to the Middle East from October 2007 to March 2008. During his stint in government, he was instrumental in reforming the maritime industry and rationalizing the land transport sector. He was past president (1974 to 1986) of the National Mountaineering Federation of the Philippines, Inc., the largest organization of mountaineering clubs in the country. He conceived, organized and led the Philippine Mt. Everest Expedition which successfully accomplished the reconnaissance climb of May 2006 when the Philippine flag was first planted at the peak of Mt. Everest, and the “first and only women traverse” of Mt. Everest by three Pinays in May 2007, a feat unsurpassed in the history of Himalayan mountaineering until today.

Mr. Valdez graduated with an AB in Economics from the University of Santo Tomas (1970). He completed the special studies on Social Market Economy (1971), and Party Building and Parliamentary Government (1994) at Conrad Adenauer Foundation Institute in Germany.