Boots began her professional career at SyCip, Gorres, Velayo & Co. (SGV & Co.), a member firm of Ernst & Young Global Ltd., where she led the Global Corporate Finance Division. She is now the President of Mageo Consulting Inc., which offers business advisory and corporate finance consulting services.

She was the first female Chairperson of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and currently serves as an Independent Director on the boards of private and publicly listed companies engaged in property development, gas exploration, cement manufacturing, and healthcare.

An advocate for corporate governance and capital markets, Boots is the Chairperson of the Shareholders’ Association of the Philippines (SharePHIL) and former Vice Chair and President of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD). She is also deeply involved in women’s empowerment, serving as Founding Chairperson and President of the Philippine Women’s Economic Network (PhilWEN), Chairperson of the Governing Council of the Philippine Business Coalition for Women Empowerment (PBCWE), Chairperson of the NextGen Organization of Women Corporate Directors (NOWCD), and Chairperson of Spark Philippines.

Internationally, she is the Philippine Focal Point and former Co-Chair of the ASEAN Women’s Entrepreneurs Network (AWEN), and a member of the APEC Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy (PPWE) Philippines Steering Committee.

Mariles is an accomplished Marketing & Advertising professional and an Arts & Culture advocate. For two-thirds of her career, she excelled in the advertising industry, holding positions at prestigious global firms like McCann-Erickson and Lowe (now Mullen-Lowe). During this time, she managed high-profile accounts for major brands including Coca-Cola, Unilever, and Johnson & Johnson. In 2011, after a distinguished 12-year term as President of Lowe in the Philippines, she made the bold decision to retire early and join the Ayala Foundation as Senior Director for Arts and Culture, where she oversaw the Ayala Museum and the Filipinas Heritage Library.

In her role at the foundation, Mariles transformed the museum and library with fascinating exhibitions, innovative programs and experiences to engage a diverse and expanded audience. She spearheaded significant global initiatives including collaborations with Asia Society Museum in New York in 2015, Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid in 2022, and participation at the Venice Biennale in 2017.

From 2019 to 2021, Mariles navigated the comprehensive renovation of the museum, successfully overcoming challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. During this period, the museum adopted an omnichannel operational model, facilitating audience access both onsite and online, notably through the launch of the country’s first digital art gallery.

Mariles concluded her tenure in 2024, celebrating the Ayala Museum’s 50th Anniversary. She officially retired from the Ayala Foundation and stepped down as head of the museum in December 2024. Currently, she serves as a Senior Consultant of the foundation for a new contemporary arts center project and is a board member of EON: The Stakeholders Relations Group, a communications consultancy committed to building trust through expert crisis management, public relations, public affairs, government relations, digital marketing, and experiential marketing.

Lydia Balatbat-Echauz, MBA, DBA, spent 44 active years in universities as 12 year UE faculty member, six year Ateneo associate director, 16 year DLSU dean, and 10 year publicly listed FEU president.

She has been since compulsory retirement an independent director of publicly listed companies, before, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. among others, and at present Meralco, SPNEC, Shell Pilipinas Corp., and D&L Industries; executive director of Henry Sy Foundation, Inc.; trustee of SM Foundation, Inc., Museo del Galeon Foundation, Inc., Akademyang Filipino Association, Inc., and Mano Amiga Academy, Inc.; director of Fern Realty Corp., Riverside College, Inc., and NBS College, Inc. 

Dr. Echauz is an awardee of Manila, Bulacan, Philippines, as well as her alma maters— St. Theresa’s College, Ateneo de Manila University, and De La Salle University. Her outreach includes various scholarship grants, Soroptimist International of Mandaluyong projects, and Women of Malolos Foundation, Inc. advocacies. She is blessed with three children and eight grandchildren.