Perry Rivera

COO, New Business Operations, Manila Water Company

Perry Rivera

COO, New Business Operations, Manila Water Company

Biography

Perry Rivera has been with the Ayala Group for 31 years and has held various appointments in Ayala Corporation, one of the Philippines’ oldest and largest conglomerates. Currently, he serves as a Managing Director seconded to Manila Water Company, Inc. (MWC) as Chief Operating Officer for New Business. For nearly 25 years, he has acquired expertise in PPP with focus on BOT and Concession models. He has also acquired extensive experience in general management in executive position covering corporate strategy, public policy and regulation, international business development and general management.

Mr. Rivera concurrently serves as President and CEO of Manila Water Philippine Ventures (MWPV) and President and CEO of Manila Water Asia Pacific (MWAP) which house at least 15 subsidiaries. Mr. Rivera led the company’s expansion in other cities in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. He devotes a considerable amount of his time looking for opportunities in Rest of the World including MENA region. MWPV and MWAP have a combined $600M asset base with a workforce of more than 650 employees.

Moreover, he serves as an Independent Director of the Toilet Board Coalition (TBC), the world’s first multi-discipline coalition of leading companies, government agencies, sanitation experts and non-profit organizations aiming to develop commercially sustainable and scalable solutions to the sanitation crisis.

He was also a Founding Member of The Academy of Regulatory Professionals, a community of recognized experts dedicated to the understanding of regulatory issues and practices, the development of new knowledge and the promotion of mutual professional growth organized by the Public Utility Research Center at the University of Florida. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the Global Change Institute (GCI) at the University of Queensland, Australia from 2017-2018. GCI is an independent source of innovative research, ideas, policy and advice for addressing the challenges of a rapidly changing world.

In September 2018, Mr. Rivera was appointed as the first Filipino board member of the International Water Association (IWA). Prior to his board appointment, Mr. Rivera achieved the distinction as the first Filipino IWA Fellow in 2016.

Mr. Rivera continues to be a resource person in various conferences on infrastructure and regulation and PPP initiatives sponsored by the World Bank/ International Finance Centre, Asian Development Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency, International Water Association, Singapore Public Utilities Board, by Academic Research Institutions such as The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Stanford University, and University of Tokyo, and by Government Agencies in Emerging Countries.

He earned his university degrees in Economics and Behavioral Science at the University of Santo Tomas (Philippines) and completed his graduate-level coursework in M.S. Economics at De La Salle University. In 2011, he completed the Advanced Management Program of Harvard Business School.

His book Tap Secrets: The Manila Water Story – An Exercise in Successful Utility Reform in Urban Water Sector, was published by the Asian Development Bank in 2014.