Emilio Benito Aquino is the first CPA-Lawyer appointed as Chairperson and CEO of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He will serve for a term of seven years. He assumed office last June 7, 2018. He was earlier appointed as SEC Commissioner on December 2, 2016.

After a successful decade-long practice as a CPA Lawyer, he returned to the SEC where he earlier on rose through the ranks to become the youngest Director of its former Prosecution and Enforcement (PED) and Non Traditional Securities and Instruments (NTD) Departments. He also headed the SEC Davao and Zamboanga Extension Offices. Concurrently, he is the Chairperson of the government-owned Credit Information Corporation, as well as Chair of the Microfinance NGO Regulatory Council. He is a sitting member of the Anti-Money Laundering Council. He also chairs the ASEAN Capital Market Forum Corporate Governance Working Group.

He is the Supervising Commissioner for Enforcement and the Offices of the General Counsel and Commission Secretary. He led the recent sweep against investment scams, and illegal and abusive lenders and is now the SEC’s point man on Fintech, Blockchain and Digital Assets.

Upon his assumption of the SEC Chairmanship, he helped shepherd the passage of the Revised Corporation Code, a landmark legislation that was signed into law by President Rodrigo R. Duterte last February 21, 2019.

Under his leadership, SEC was awarded in Geneva, Switzerland as one of top five recipients of the United Nations ISAR Honours 2019 for best practice in the area of sustainability and SDG reporting of companies. The Commission was also conferred the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission Award for innovative measures undertaken in the delivery of public service. Further, SEC maintained its distinction as among the best performing government agencies per the Makati Business Club/MAP survey.

He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce major in Accounting, Magna Cum Laude and Valedictorian at the Universidad de Zamboanga in 1984. He finished his law studies at San Beda University where he was a Dean’s Lister and Silver Medalist. He placed 16th in the 1992 Bar Exams.

Under a government scholarship, he earned a Master’s degree in Public Management at the Development Academy of the Philippines, graduating at the top of his class. He was conferred a Certificate of Study by the University of Sydney for a course on Effective Governance. He likewise attended and completed the Fintech Advanced Program at the People’s Bank of China School of Finance, Tshinghua University, in Beijing and the Fintech Regulatory Innovation Programme of the University of Cambridge, UK. He had also undergone the AIM Management Development Program and now serves as an AIM Executive in Residence.

He is a Past President of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines Zambasulta Chapter which was recognized under his able leadership as the country’s Best IBP Chapter (Medium Category) during the 2015 IBP National Convention in Cebu. Likewise, the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants, conferred to him the Special Achievement Award in Government Service and later recognized him as its Outstanding CPA in Government. Very recently, he won as the “2022 CEO of the Year” in the IDC Future Enterprise Awards for the Digital Transformation initiatives of SEC.