Raymund Cauilan Berja, a multi-award winning Filipino executive, has been appointed as the new Regional Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Regional Head for Tax, Compliance, and Procurement at airasia Super App.
Berja is the first Filipino to be named Regional CFO of the Asean super app, which is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Berja, 42, will oversee the management of the airasia Super App’s finances in all of its operating territories, including the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia, as well as tech support operations in India and expansions in Vietnam, Singapore, and South Korea.
“We at airasia are not strangers to facing giants. Two decades ago, we started disrupting the Asean aviation market with our low fares and value-for-money service. Today, our goal is to disrupt the tech disruptors and truly bring more value into the lives of the millions of people in the region through our suite of everyday services,” Berja said.
Airasia Super App currently has a healthy user base of 50 million people who use the platform to book flights, hotel stays, experiences, land and sea transfers, rides, food deliveries, and online retail, among other things. The airasia Super App is the fastest growing travel app in ASEAN.
“I see this opportunity to bring in work ethic, values, expertise and collaborative mindset in influencing our five-year business plan and strategy in terms of growth and expansion. My goal is to provide a strong foundation for airasia Super App to sustain growth momentum and positive EBITDA, as well as to implement stronger finance governance and compliance, a disciplined fiscal management through the efficient and effective allocation of resources across line of businesses while balancing new product launches and expansion to new markets,” Berja said.
Berja will also keep his position as Managing Director and Country Head of airasia Super App Philippines, which has nearly 1 million monthly active users. Airasia Super App Philippines is experiencing strong quarterly growth, with a gross book value of 86 percent, net revenues increasing by 98 percent, and transaction count increasing by 174 percent.
Credentials and education
Berja completed his high school education at the University of St. Louis of Tuguegarao and then enlisted as a cadet in the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), but later decided to pursue management as a working student at the Philippine School of Business Administration. Berja has a Master of Business Administration from both the Ateneo de Manila University Graduate School of Business and Regis University in the United States. He is on leave from Ateneo De Manila University, where he is pursuing a PhD in Business Leadership Studies.
He also has a Diploma in Financial Technology from Saïd Business School – University of Oxford. Furthermore, Berja has secured certifications from here and abroad, being a Certified Management Accountant and a Certified Financial Consultant with the Institute of Certified Management Accountant of Australia and the Institute of Certified Financial Consultants of Canada.
Prior to joining AirAsia Philippines as CFO in 2019, Berja led finance units in a variety of industries for 15 years. Large domestic corporations and other multinational corporations include entertainment behemoth ABS-CBN Corporation, largest fast food chain Jollibee Foods Corporation, leading telco provider PLDT Global Corporation, and the country’s leading fintech firm Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. (Mynt). Berja’s extensive experience in finance provided him with a unique multi-sectoral perspective that is essential for any strategic business disruptor.
“I would like to thank the leadership of Capital A Berhad, especially our CEO and co-Founder Tony Fernandes, Group CFO Pattra Boosarawongse, Group CCO Colin Currie and airasia Super App Regional CEO Amanda Woo for the trust and confidence given to me as a Regional CFO of airasia Super App. Together, we will be pushing for growth and expansion, as well as leading the company to new heights,” Berja said.
Attribution: AirAsia official media release
First love never dies. I fell in love with airplanes and aviation when I was a kid. My dream was to become a pilot, but destiny led me to another path: to be an aviation digital media content creator and a small business owner. My passion for aviation inspires me to bring you quality content through my website and social accounts. Aviation is indeed in my blood and blog!
