Miguel B. Varela is a prominent corporate lawyer and management practitioner in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. He has been the President and Chairman of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the largest business organization in the country. He has also been the President of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), the largest association of employers in the country.

Education

Varela earned an Associate of Arts degree from San Beda College

San Beda College

San Beda College or Dalubhasaan ng San Beda in Filipino is a Private Benedictine college run by the Benedictine monks in the Philippines. It is located on Mendiola Street in San Miguel, Manila...

 and a Bachelor of Laws

Bachelor of Laws

The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...

 degree from Ateneo de Manila University

Ateneo de Manila University

The Ateneo de Manila University is a private teaching and research university run by the Society of Jesus in the Philippines. It began in 1859 when the City of Manila handed control of the Escuela Municipal de Manila in Intramuros, Manila, to the Jesuits...

. He completed the Top Management and Productivity Program at the Asian Institute of Management

Asian Institute of Management

The Asian Institute of Management, or simply AIM, is a graduate school of business and a center of business and management research. It is one of the few business schools in Asia to be internationally accredited with the AACSB. It was established in partnership with Harvard Business School and uses...

 (AIM) and attended special courses in Managerial Management and Organizational Development, Productivity, Legal Management, Labor and Industrial Relations, Development of Small and Medium Enterprises, under sponsorship of the International Labor Organization in Geneva

Geneva

Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

; the Asian Productivity Organization (APO

Apo

Apo or APO may refer to:* African Press Organization* Acting Pilot Officer, the lowest commissioned grade in the Royal Air Force* Acute Pulmomary Oedema, fluid accumulation on the lungs...

) and the Nikkeren in Japan.

Business leadership

Varela has served in various capacities as a corporate lawyer and management practitioner. He has been the President and Chairman, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Chairman of the Board of HK Securities, Inc.; President of the Transunion Corporation; Director of Union Industries, Inc.; Director of Acoje Holdings, Inc.; Director of Mabuhay Vinyl Corporation; and
Chairman of The Lumier Group; Vice President for Corporate Affairs of General Diesel Corporation from 1976 to 1979; Director and Vice President of ASEAN Business Corporation; and Vice President and Corporate Counsel of F.J. Elizalde and Company from 1976 to 1979; and Assistant Manager in the Planning Research and Development Office of the National Economic and Development Authority from 1966 to 1970.

Organizational affiliations

Varela has been the Chairman Emeritus of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI). He has been Chairman of the Trade and International Affairs Committee at the PCCI.

He served as Chairman and President of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) from 1995 to 1999. He was Vice President of the ECOP in 1975.

He has been the President of the Philippines, Inc. (formerly TEAM Philippines Foundation); and President of the Philippine Association of Voluntary Arbitration Foundation, Inc. (PHVAF).

He has also been the Commissioner and Corporate Secretary of Streetwatch Commission and the Foundation for Crime Prevention; Vice President, Ateneo Law Alumni Foundation; and Director of the Makati Rotary Club.

He is an active member of the ASEAN Confederation of Employers, and the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP).

Government

Varela served as Member (representing Employer and Industry Sector) of the Board of Directors of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA); Commissioner (representing the Business Sector) of the National Labor Relations Commission; Commissioner (representing employers) of the Social Security System; Member (representing Management) of the National Manpower and Youth Council; Commissioner (representing employers) of the Employees' Compensation Commission; Commissioner (representing employers) of the Occupational Safety and Health Board; and Director of the National Economic Council (now National Economic and Development Authority) from 1967 to 1972.

Diplomacy

Varela was a Philippine Delegate (representing employers) to the International Labor Conference; head delegate, member, and participant in various international activities, such as the Philippine Business Delegation on the Presidential Visits to China, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, USA, New Zealand, and Hongkong; the ASEAN Conference of Employers' Top Management; Top Management Forum on Role of New Ventures; Free Trade and Social Responsibility; and ASEAN Employers Symposium.

Varela is an Arbiter of the International Court of Arbitration (ICC) in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. He is also the Philippine Representative to the APEC Business Advisory Council; and the East Asia Business Advisory Council (EABC).