Joel C. Valdes

Rotarian Joel C. Valdes joined the Rotary Club of Manila in 1995 upon the sponsorship of PP Archit M. Bartolome. He is currently RCM's Vice President-elect while performing his appointment as RCM goodwill ambassador to the Bay Area in California. His ongoing service project involves cleft lip and cleft palate surgery missions developed for hundreds of indigent Filipino children at the Sta Ana Hospital in partnership with the city government of Manila, the Rotary Clubs of San Bruno, Sangju-Central, Shanghai, the Rotary International, District 3810, and District 5150.

Joel, as friends refer to him, is married to Sarah Coronel-Valdes since 1988. They have four children and two grandchildren. Joel is an AB Economics graduate of the Ateneo de Manila in 1978 and thereafter he completed his Masters in Business Administration from the Asian Institute of Management in 1983. As an investment banker, Joel's professional career spans over four decades with the combined years of public service as well as corporate/ infrastructure finance expertise.

In 2001 he accepted the appointment as Undersecretary of the Department of Finance by a former economics professor and Philippine president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Joel became instrumental to numerous transactions contributing to nation building in terms of financial management break throughs, state asset privatization, infrastructure development, and corporate governance, to name a few. He established his own eponymous corporate vehicle in 2007 focused on providing various financial advisory and funds arranging services to corporates and infrastructure projects.

Joel likewise held numerous positions with non-government organizations in varying capacities such as the Philippine-Swiss Business Council, Institute of Corporate Directors, Institute of Solidarity for Asia, Management Association of the Philippines, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, AIM Alumni Association, and the Ateneo de Manila Alumni Association, among others.