Prof. Wilfrido “Willy” Victor Esguerra Arcilla is a seasoned practitioner and renowned speaker in the fields of Marketing, Branding and Advertising as well as Leadership and Strategy. He is known in the industry by the moniker “The Brand Healer” because of his extensive experience and proven track record in helping turn around troubled companies by revitalizing ailing brands. He has over 30 years of work experience across the Asia-Pacific region in various roles of marketing and sales, advertising and media, corporate planning and general management in US Fortune 500 companies like Procter and Gamble Philippines, SC Johnson & Son Indonesia and The Coca-Cola Company China as well as Philippine conglomerates like San Miguel Corporation (in Greater China, Philippines and International), the RFM Branded Food Group in the Philippines and in URC Asia-Pacific (Vietnam-Thailand-China-Hong Kong-Malaysia-Singapore-Indonesia).
He played a leadership role in refreshing an old and fading San Miguel Beer in Hong Kong and Greater China in 1997, launched the phenomenally successful San Mig Light in the Philiippines in 2000 which revived the local beer market; reinvigorated Sprite in China in 2004 to become the leading CSD brand in the world’s largest consumer market; and resurrected C2 RTD Tea in Vietnam in 2006 after two attempts.
He is a recipient of the Agora Award for Marketing Excellence in Asia-Pacific from the Philippine Marketing Association and a Special Citation from the Catholic Mass Media Awards for Best Business Column. He holds a B.S. Business Administration from the U.P. Diliman and an M.S. Industrial Economics from the Center for Research and Communication, the economic think-tank of the University of Asia and the Pacific.
Raised in a family of ten physicians, Willy Arcilla learned to apply the principles of medicine in formulating marketing solutions to business problems to relaunch brands and rehabilitate companies. Known as “The Marketing Doctor” or “The Brand Healer”, he believes “Healthier Brands are Wealthier Brands” and conducts public and in-house Marketing Leadership Clinics to build “Stronger People for Stronger Brands”.
Willy Arcilla now serves as the Senior Advisor on Branding and Marketing of Wong+Bernstein, an Asian Strategic Consulting Group and for Octopus Branding, a one-stop branding shop, an Angelpreneur of the Go NeGOsyo movement and a Kapatid Mentor for the Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Agriculture, and a Professor of Marketing at Ateneo Graduate School of Business in Rockwell, Makati.
He was the National Consultant for “Brand Equity Development” of the Department of Trade and Industry to mentor thousands of MSMEs nationwide enhance their capabilities in Marketing-Branding-Advertising to enable them not only to “Go Global”, but to “Win Global” in an increasingly competitive world market.