I first had the pleasure of meeting Matthew at PASIAWorld 2023<\/strong>\u2014before CPO Thailand, before the CPONext Southeast Asia Edition. Even then, I remember walking away from our conversation thinking:<\/p>\n \u201cHere\u2019s someone who doesn\u2019t just get procurement\u2014he gets what\u2019s coming next.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n He was razor-sharp on the role of AI. Grounded in ethics. And above all, deeply human in how he thought about leadership.<\/p>\n When I met him again this year, his message had only become more powerful.<\/p>\n As the AVP, Head of Category Management for ICT and Head of Contracts Management for SCM at Meralco<\/strong>, Matthew operates in one of the most complex, high-stakes environments in Southeast Asia. He\u2019s not just managing sourcing\u2014he\u2019s guiding enterprise-wide transformation at scale.<\/p>\n But what makes Matthew stand out isn\u2019t just his title. It\u2019s how he leads\u2014with clarity, compassion, and conviction.<\/p>\n Matthew isn\u2019t chasing AI hype\u2014he\u2019s putting it to work where it matters:<\/p>\n But he\u2019s never lost sight of the core truth:<\/p>\n \u201cAI can make procurement faster and smarter. But the CPO still needs to lead with judgment, with clarity\u2014and with people in mind.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s this balance\u2014between enablement and responsibility\u2014that defines his leadership.\\<\/p>\n I remember his take on leadership clearly from PASIAWorld:<\/p>\n \u201cProcurement is no longer a cost center\u2014it\u2019s a trust center.\u201d<\/p>\n He leads with both strategic command<\/strong> and emotional intelligence<\/strong>\u2014setting direction, yes, but also mentoring his team, building trust, and creating space for growth. It\u2019s rare to see a leader blend performance and people so seamlessly.<\/p>\n When most people talk about AI in procurement<\/a>, they jump straight to automation. Matthew goes deeper.<\/p>\n He\u2019s one of the few voices in the region talking honestly about:<\/p>\n \u201cIf your AI can\u2019t explain its decisions\u2014or worse, if it hallucinates\u2014your procurement credibility is at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n That insight has stayed with me.<\/p>\n Matthew understands that Southeast Asia isn\u2019t one unified market\u2014it\u2019s a mosaic of policies, supply dynamics, and cultural expectations. He thrives in that complexity.<\/p>\n Whether it\u2019s:<\/p>\n He brings a regionally grounded mindset to everything he does.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t template procurement across SEA. You need to localize the strategy, then scale it with precision.\u201d<\/p>\n What can the next generation of leaders take from Matthew Quimba\u2019s playbook?<\/p>\n From Rai A. De Jesus\u2019s strategic mindset<\/strong><\/a> to Matthew Quimba\u2019s ethical AI stewardship<\/strong>, we\u2019re witnessing a new kind of procurement leadership take root in Southeast Asia\u2014one that\u2019s bold, digitally fluent, and deeply values-driven.<\/p>\n In Part 3<\/strong>, we\u2019ll spotlight a digital-native procurement leader scaling intelligent automation and Agentic AI in real time.<\/p>\n But until then, remember this:<\/p>\n Becoming a great CPO isn\u2019t about doing it all.<\/strong> Want to see how Zycus supports modern CPOs with Agentic AI<\/a>, guided intake<\/a>, and ethical automation?<\/strong> Related Reads:<\/strong><\/p>\n The AI-Ethical Strategist: Matthew Quimba of Meralco If Rai A. De Jesus gave us the playbook for strategic agility in procurement, then Matthew Quimba delivers the operating system for ethical, AI-powered leadership. I first had the pleasure of meeting Matthew at PASIAWorld 2023\u2014before CPO Thailand, before the CPONext Southeast Asia Edition. Even then, I remember […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":173,"featured_media":266456,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2728],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[2158],"class_list":["post-226328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-procurement-leaders"],"acf":[],"authors":[{"term_id":2158,"user_id":173,"is_guest":0,"slug":"kunjal","display_name":"Kunjal Suri","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9440a2c1e1beab240072c59da3347b2e7572181ff9383d8fc3d1b396322a28f7?s=96&d=blank&r=g","author_category":"","last_name":"Suri","first_name":"Kunjal","job_title":"","user_url":"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/kunjal-suri\/","description":"Kunjal Suri is a talented writer with a passion for all things technology. She graduated with an MBA in Marketing from XIME Bangalore in 2020, where she honed her skills in crafting compelling content. Kunjal\u2019s love for technology and her ability to convey complex concepts in a clear and accessible manner make her articles a valuable resource for readers. With a keen eye for detail and a deep understanding of the industry, Kunjal provides insightful perspectives on the latest technological advancements. Her expertise and dedication to sharing her knowledge make her a valuable voice in the tech writing community."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.zycus.com\/freshz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.zycus.com\/freshz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.zycus.com\/freshz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.zycus.com\/freshz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/173"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.zycus.com\/freshz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226328"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dev.zycus.com\/freshz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226328\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.zycus.com\/freshz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/266456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.zycus.com\/freshz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.zycus.com\/freshz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.zycus.com\/freshz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226328"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.zycus.com\/freshz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=226328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The New Model CPO: Matthew Quimba, Meralco<\/h2>\n
![\"Matthew](\"https:\/\/dev.zycus.com\/freshz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Matthew-S.-Quimba.png\")
<\/p>\n1. Tech-Forward, but Human-Led<\/h3>\n
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2. Leading with Command and Compassion<\/h3>\n
3. AI Ethics: Procurement\u2019s Next Big Responsibility<\/h3>\n
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4. Mastering the Southeast Asia Mosaic<\/h3>\n
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Lessons for Aspiring CPOs<\/h2>\n
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\nBuild transparency, governance, and human checks into your systems.<\/li>\n
\nGreat leadership is not about control\u2014it\u2019s about connection.<\/li>\n
\nSEA demands local fluency. Context matters.<\/li>\n
\nStay humble. Share knowledge. Lift your team as you rise.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nLooking Ahead<\/h2>\n
\nIt\u2019s about doing what matters\u2014with clarity, courage, and character.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nRequest a Demo<\/a><\/p>\n\n