Profile: 2015 DRAAE Awardee, Iris Louise Dorado
CitySavings VP Risk Management Iris Louise Dorado was named as the 2015 Don Ramon Aboitiz Award of Excellence awardee. This is the highest recognition given to team members and team leaders in the Aboitiz Group for their significant achievements and contributions to their respective companies, regardless of title or position (source: draae.aboitiz.com)
GETTING TO KNOW IRIS
Iris Louise R. Dorado joined City Savings Bank in January 2012 to spearhead the Bank's Enterprise Risk Management framework. She currently holds the position of VP-External for the Institute of Internal Auditors - Cebu and conducts training and workshops for IIA-Cebu. She has been Assistant Vice President for Audit since January 2009. She joined the Aboitiz Group in 2007 as Corporate Audit Manager of Aboitiz & Company, Inc. She was previously Region Finance Officer of Monterey Foods Corp. from 2005 to 2007 and Senior Internal Auditor of San Miguel Corporation from 2002 to 2005. A magna cum laude graduate of B.S. Accountancy from the University of San Carlos, she is a Certified Public Accountant (Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants), a Certified Internal Auditor (The Institute of Internal Auditors, Inc.— U.S.A), Certified Risk and Information Security Controls (Information Systems Audit and Controls Association, Inc. - Philippines) and a certified QA Validator (The Institute of Internal Auditors, Inc.— Philippines).
Iris has a track record for innovation. She doesn't settle for a "if it's not broke, don't fix it" mentality, challenging the status quo and always looking for ways to make things better. She believes in teamwork and works collaboratively with other departments in order to achieve business results. She leads by example and constantly seeks to improve her team's performance by promoting excellence and getting things done right. She truly embodies CitySavings' service principle of going the extra mile, as she has stepped up and performed beyond her job scope. Despite the challenges, she has led several teams —driving performance and accountability.
Iris is also known for her candor and her willingness to take tough stands, unafraid to challenge beliefs. She brings up risky issues and openly deals with them.
She is instrumental in successfully implementing Risk Management in CitySavings in just two years, creating a culture of managing and mitigating risks, and achieving a rating of 4.5 in risk maturity. Under her leadership she was able to develop and implement the following initiatives: Risk Management frameworks, RM communication plan, maintenance of operational risk registers, Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Program (ICAAP), Business Continuity Management (BCM) framework from Emergency Response Plans Incident (ERPI) and Crisis Management Plans (CMP), Business Recovery Plans (BRP) from corporate center down to the branch level.
Iris ushered the revival of the Bank's Information Security Management System (ISMS) concurrently with the RM program and BCM back in 2012. She was also able to implement the Security Incident Management System (SIMS) which contributed to the birth of the Internal Loss Events database, information of which established a database sufficient enough to support the lowering of capital charge for operation risks from 15 to 12. To this day, the Bank has built three years' worth of data.
Learning from the lessons of Typhoon Yolanda, Iris spearheaded the Records Management System — Archiving and Clean up project which allows the capture of a record life cycle from the time it was created, captured, maintained and disposed. To date, more than 2000 boxes of inactive files are already in the offsite storage locations of Lane Archiving Technologies — our partner offsite storage — thus, freeing up the branches of unproductive space and paper documents.
Interview with CitySavings Voice, the Bank's official publication
VOICE: How did you feel when your name was called as the winner for this year's DRAAE awards?
IRIS: Mixed emotions, disbelief, happy - very very happy. Joanxa was already saying "This is it Ms. Ris. This is it" and I was trying to shush her because I didn't really expect anything. Honestly, it still seems surreal.
VOICE: What contribution to the Bank are you most proud of? Why?
IRIS: Implementing the Enterprise Risk Management program up to a level 4.5 out of 5 within 3 years from a baseline score of 2.5 alongside and in parallel with the other governance frameworks such as Information Security, Business Continuity and Records Management.
Seeing also how the Bank has grown in terms of risk awareness and it being a top-of-mind is something that makes me happy.
VOICE: You're known as one of the bank's exemplary officer with a keen attention to detail and high standards for quality work. What are the leadership traits that you consider most vital in today's corporate world?
IRIS: Passion and dedication because with both, you won't stop doing what you love to do just because the going gets tough. You then become driven to produce results and when you are driven, you infect others. It's viral, actually.
VOICE: What are you most looking forward to working in the bank in the years to come?
IRIS: Before I came on board to CitySavings, I toyed with the idea of being seconded temporarily however, one person asked me: "Don't you want to be a part of CitySavings' growth?" With his uber confidence in the Bank's future, I trusted and jumped with eyes wide open. Looking back, I am happy that I did because I was part of the momentous growth. Now that we are venturing into new markets and new products, I want to be part of that too. I want to write my history alongside CItySavings for as long as I am needed. Honestly, I look forward to the day that there is a healthy appreciation for risk management and other control/governance function where we are not seen as a pain in the behind. Hahaha!
VOICE: Who or what inspires you?
IRIS: Knowing that you are appreciated, needed and trusted...that my opinion matters. It fuels my drive not just in my work life but also in my personal life.
ON A LIGHTER SIDE
VOICE: Tell us something only a few people know about you.
IRIS: I know how to bake and cook. My specialty is pasta but I can whip up a mean slow-cooked kalderetang kambing. I love to play Candy Crush Saga and was heartbroken when I had changed phones and I had to start from scratch when I already reached level 137!
I have a videoke machine at home and I love to belt out old songs. My repertoire includes Anne Murray, The Jets, Scorpions, Chicago. I absolutely love to sing Just Another Woman in Love. I can finish reading an entire novel of 300 to 500 pages in an hour or less (if no one disturbs me). I deactivated my Facebook account for around 4 years. I love travelling and I have more than 500 books. Lastly, I love ukay ukay and the shops in Manalili (Cebu's version of binondo) and I get some of my stuff there. It's the one carrying the clothes, not what or who you are wearing that matters.
VOICE: You're known for your strict diet regimen and exercise. Can you tell us more how you got into this health conscious habit?
IRIS: Very silly actually. We had a planned Boracay trip back in 2013, and of course being in Bora meant that you had to show some...you know what I mean (laughs). So 3 months before the trip, I already made some firm resolutions that I needed to let go of some of my fats and cliche as it sounds, the rest is history. But mind you, it was tough! I had to cut my protein, I ate salad in lieu of my one and only meal - lunch. I had to exercise twice a day. I had to increase my calorie burn but decrease my calorie intake. Hay, it was an uphill climb.
VOICE: How do you balance work and family life?
IRIS: Sunday is a holy day for me. Apart from it being the Lord's day, it's a family day for me. I recently re-adapted my stance in AEV where I firmly said no to the Blackberry because I didn't want to receive emails on days when you're supposedly on pause. I didn't ask IT to install on my phone the Notes Traveller.
VOICE: You're also known as a fashionista in the bank. Who is your style icon? Where do you get your fashion inspirations from?
IRIS: Surprisingly, I do not have a style icon. I went through several phases...grunge, emo, preppy, style victim...until I found my niche around my late twenties when I settled on "oozing with sex appeal but elegance personified" hahahahaha! Hirap nun i-achieve ha. Loud na kase ako in person, i-balance ko na lang sa style ko. Fashion inspirations are Sophia Vergara and of course, Angelina Jolie.