The recognition celebrates more than a president and CEO. It honors the journey, the financing company, and the customers who helped shape the leader he is today.
Samuel Z. Cariño, president and CEO of Global Dominion, has been named “Asia’s Most Inspiring Executive” by an international award-giving body recognizing finance executives and financial institutions. The distinction comes as the financing company is also projected to surpass its strongest performance to date, with loan disbursements expected to exceed ₱1.2 billion in a single month.
Cariño is not a career executive who joined a lending company from the outside. He is a product of the institution he now leads—a background that gives this recognition a different meaning from most executive award stories. He began as a young account officer, learning firsthand what it means for a Filipino entrepreneur to need capital without knowing where to find it. He later became Global Dominion’s first branch manager overseeing its operations in Baguio City.
As a general manager overseeing a division with an extensive nationwide branch network, Cariño has encountered people from all walks of life. “From fresh grads wanting to just get a job, any job, to executives aiming to contribute more to society—safe to say I’ve met them all,” Cariño said when asked about the different personalities of employees he had encountered and managed. “The best part is when they choose to stay with my team, our company, because of our culture and our purpose,” he added.
Raised from humble beginnings, Cariño shares the aspirations of many hardworking Filipinos who want to provide the best for their children. That same sense of responsibility extends to how he treats his employees. Recognizing that many Filipinos need more than one source of income, often through entrepreneurship, has deepened his passion for helping businesses grow and strengthened his compassion for people.
“Sir Sam showed us the way, showed us that it is possible, that we can make things happen,” said Eugenie J. Mabbayad, Global Dominion’s chief revenue officer and Cariño’s longtime colleague. “His career story made us realize that with grit, dedication, and integrity, any employee can one day become the president and CEO,” Mabbayad added.
For Cariño, the journey matters just as much as the destination. Being intentional in everything he does allows him to execute business plans more effectively while inspiring others to pursue the same goals. “His genuine concern for our customers shows in the quality of our accounts in Global Dominion,” said Ruben Y. Lugtu II, Global Dominion’s chairman. “More than just being able to hit loan disbursement targets, he wants to make sure our loans become instruments to our customers’ growth and success,” Lugtu added.
In Cariño’s own words: “I’ve worked in one small branch, and I’ve sat at the center of an organization with thousands of employees. I understand our customers and this business from the ground up, and that’s what I’m proudest of.”
His career trajectory—from working within the institution and advancing through its ranks to serving customers one borrower at a time and eventually leading an organization of thousands—is what sets this recognition apart from awards given to executives who enter companies from the outside.
After serving as general manager, Cariño became Global Dominion’s deputy chief operating officer before moving on to lead another financing firm. Earlier this year, he returned to Global Dominion, where he swiftly reconnected with its people and teams as though he had never left. His time away proved valuable, giving him a fresh perspective on the Philippine lending landscape and helping him challenge conventional assumptions that have long restricted micro, small, and medium enterprises’ (MSMEs) access to credit.
As of mid-2026, Global Dominion has more than ₱16 billion in active loans across over 170 branches, supported by nearly 2,000 employees, many of whom have been with the company for an average of nine years.
These figures represent more than business performance. Behind every peso in the active loan portfolio is a Filipino whose financing application received approval when another institution might have said no: a truck operator expanding from one vehicle to an entire fleet, a home cook building a food brand, a sari-sari store growing into a neighborhood mini-grocery, or a young professional turning a dream business into reality.
For Cariño, financial inclusion is not simply a box to check. It is a core component of Global Dominion’s growth strategy, rooted in the belief that the company’s success and the success of Filipino MSMEs are inseparable.
As president, Cariño will continue to ignite and accelerate the growth of individuals and organizations, helping transform lives for the better. Asia may have recognized him as an inspiring leader, but the Filipino MSMEs he has dedicated his career to serving have long regarded him as a trusted “ka-partner”—even before any award came his way.
