4As Philippines shares latest result of Happy Survey 3 at its 2nd GMM of the year

The 4As Philippines convened its member agencies for its second General Membership Meeting (GMM) of the year last Monday, April 20, at the Makati Diamond Residences, bringing together respective agency leaders for a day of key discussions on creativity, talent, and the evolving state of the profession.

Creativity and excellence take center stage. Portia Catuira (left), TBWA\SMP Managing Director and Chairman of the 28th AOY Awards, presents this year’s honors, and Third Domingo (right), IdeasXMachina Group Founder and CEO and President of the Creative Guild of the Philippines, shares insights on creativity for the Kidlat Creative Festival 2026.

The program showcased major industry milestones, including the launch of the 28th Agency of the Year (AOY) Awards and Kidlat Creative Festival 2026. Also, the 4As inducted its newest member, Jayme Headquarters, with Founder Merlee Jayme, Chairmom and Chief Creative Officer, and Edg Samson, Chief Client Officer and Founding Member, formally taking their oath as part of the association. A key highlight of the GMM was the presentation of insights from the third wave of the 4As Happy Survey, which continues to track the evolving employee experience across member agencies. The discussion centered on emerging patterns shaping the workplace—particularly the growing importance of sustainable workloads, strong people leadership, and clear career development pathways in supporting long-term engagement.

Industry leaders examine evolving workplace realities. Dan Ryan Catalan, Lead Researcher at Populist PH, presents key insights from Happy Survey 3, sparking conversations on strengthening employee experience across member agencies.

The findings point to a shared opportunity for agencies to strengthen the foundations of their employee experience—from reinforcing leadership and mentorship capabilities, to ensuring that systems for growth, recognition, and support remain credible and felt by teams. While peer relationships continue to play a vital role in day-to-day resilience, the conversations highlighted the importance of building stronger organizational structures that can sustainably support talent across all career stages. Overall, the survey served as a springboard for deeper, more constructive dialogue among members—encouraging agency leaders to collectively re-examine operating models, people practices, and long-term talent strategies in a rapidly evolving industry landscape.

Agency heads tackle opportunities for growth in industry. Leaders of respective member agencies engage in a panel discussion on workforce sustainability and evolving challenges within their organizations during the 4As Philippines 2nd GMM.

The GMM concluded with a panel discussion with Golda Roldan, CEO at VML Philippines; Tats Cruz, Chief Creative Agencies Officer at Publicis JimenezBasic; Joy Garcia, Chief Operating Officer at Octopus & Whale; Dan Ryan Catalan, Lead Researcher at Populist PH; Lenard Quirante, Human Resources Director at McCann Philippines; and Arvi Villacin, CEO & Chief Digital Officer at SVEN. JC Valenzuela, CEO and Co-Founder of Propel Manila, moderated the session. The discussion surfaced shared priorities around workforce sustainability, with leaders exchanging perspectives on how agencies can continue to deliver high-quality work while evolving systems, structures, and leadership approaches to better support their people.