Maricris Abad Santos Albert, more known as Cris Albert, is the current President and CEO of Fila Philippines, Isportlife Inc. and Athlete's Gym & Dive. She is also the owner and founder of MA Holdings Inc. She graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Marketing and came into Fila as the marketing manager in 1992. Eventually, she became the president in 2007. Cris Albert has been managing Fila Isport, Inc. and Athletes Gym & Dive for over 15 years. They are considered to be within the top sports footwear retailers in the country and are currently present in 320 department stores and retail stores combined.

EARLY CHILDHOOD

Cris Albert grew up surrounded in the fashion industry, which would later prove its importance when she started working in FILA. Cris is the daughter of show choreographer and former supermodel, Wanda Louwallien. In an interview with the Philippine Star, Cris talked about watching her mother model at the Hyatt. Her mother would discuss with her about models should act and carry themselves. Growing up in the industry, she realized she did not want to be a model, although she did some advertorials, TV commercials and print ads.

All the exposure would eventually open her eyes to a lot of ideas; she learned about color and texture and learned about every fabric that would be in the shows. She learned about lines and composition which would help her when she got into the footwear industry, especially when she started to create her own designs for FILA Tiva.

EDUCATION

Cris Albert spent her grade school and high school days in St. Scholastica's College and she considered a notable alumna in the school. She obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing with her major in Advertising from Assumption College Makati, Philippines and took her post graduate course at INSEAD, France. She is currently taking a Diploma Course in OPM at Harvard University. Cris Albert also took her Masters Degree in Management, an Advanced Entrepreneurial Finance course and an ongoing study for a Masters Degree in Marketing Research, all under the supervision of Dr. Ned Roberto. She also took a Diploma Course on Brand Positioning, Segmentation, Brand Equity and Price Strategy.

PROFESSIONAL ENGAGEMENTS

2007 – Present	President, Fila Isport Life, Inc. Leading and implementing all company-wide strategies and organizational structures Formulating the business objectives and systems of the company Overseeing the operations of the company in compliance with the objectives Evaluating the success of each department based on established KRAs and matrices Forming an executive committee; to induce a degree of specialization and professionalism Establishing a charitable ministry aimed at improving the lives of orphans and impoverished children
2001 – 2007	VP and General Manager, Fila Isport Life, Inc. Facilitated the incorporation of Isportlife and the purchase of the Philippine FILA license Oversaw the supply chain; logistics for business development and sales management Supervised the introduction of the MIS (Management Information System) Department in order to contemporize the company and foster better efficiency
1997 - 2001	VP for Marketing, Fila Philippines, Inc. Established transparency between Sales and Marketing departments via Management Committee discussions Supervised the implementation of teams within both departments; business unit managers and the division between merchandising and advertising Reorganized the company nu designing geographic cluster-based market strategies
1994 – 1997	Marketing Manager, Fila Philippines, Inc Spearheaded design products Headed discussions on advertising and public relations Distinguishing suitable locations and establishing appropriate price strategies

ISPORTLIFE, INC.

Isportlife, incorporated in 2001, is the sole distributor and licensee of FILA products in the Philippines. Having full control of the license, the company is able to customize the products based on what the market wants^[4]. This business model differentiates The company from it's competition and has paved the way for their success. hey are considered to be within the top sports footwear retailers in the country, and are currently present in 320 department stores and retail stores combined. Isport life has seen an average growth of 22.6% in the last five years; placing it as 3^rd amongst FILA’s licensees in the whole international market for overall growth.^[5]

Within the last 5 years her management has led to the introduction of new stores, five new brands (Outdoor, Everest, Tiva, Freestyle and FILA Kids), and the expansion of their current product lines within their existing brands. Throughout 2013 alone, Isportlife has successfully opened a total of 61 new stores; 32 solely designated for brands that were launched early in 2012 (FILA Tiva, FILA Outdoor, and FILA Everest). Isport has also released more than 1,250 new designs between their current brands, and 100 designs for their new brands FILA Kids and Freestyle.

In 2012, FILA total sales in Metro Manila accounted for 20% of the total market share. This market included competition from Sketchers, Nike, Adidas, Converse and Merrel. From 2012 to 2013 the average market growth of the large competitors was seen at 16% whereas FILA facilitated the 36% increase across the total market.

ACCOLADES

• Most admired company and brand; 1st in athletic gear (2005 - 2006)
• Philippines Business excellence; 1st in athletic gear (2005)
• National product quality of excellence award (2005)
• Awards of Recognition; Scaling new heights (2005)
• National shoppers choice awards (2005 - 2006)
• Pillar awards for marketing excellence (2007)
• Ayala merchants award; Marketing excellence for value (2006)
• Global quality awards for consumer excellence; Most Outstanding Sports Apparel (2007 - 2008)
• Philippine marketing excellence awards (2007)
• Dangal ng Bayan awards for product and service excellence (2008)
• Best Athletic Gear Brand (National award, 2005)
• Most Outstanding Footwear Brand (2010)
• Most Outstanding Sports Retail Company (2013)

SOCIALS

• Best dressed for cancer society (2010)
• Manila's best dressed (2006 - 2013)
• Top 10 Most beautiful women by Mega Magazine (2009)
• Woman of Style and Substance (2013)

PHILANTHROPIC ENDEAVORS

• Isportlife Ministry (fully subsidized by FILA Isport Inc.)
• Operation Compassion (fully subsidized by FILA Isport Inc.)
  • iFoster
  • iRebuild
• Active partner^[7] of Child Protection Network (Ministry of Philippine Tatler Inc.)
• Christ the Living Work