Mr. Len Regidor Garces formally joined PRIMEX as the Vice President for Technical Services on 3 August 2020. As a fisheries and aquaculture expert with more than 30 years of international experience, Garces brings in his knowledge and skills from leading multi-country teams in conducting regional development projects in Southeast Asia.
“I am delighted to join the PRIMEX family in its 31st year. I had the pleasure of working closely with PRIMEX in one of its landmark projects, the ADB-funded Coastal and Marine Resources Management in Southeast Asia (CTI-SEA). I supervised the activities in Malaysia from 2013 to 2015 when I was still part of the WorldFish Center. Even then, I was impressed by the quality and dedication of the team to deliver even in the most challenging situations. I am glad that I have the opportunity to share my rich research and development experience with PRIMEX as Vice President for Technical Services. I look forward to growing with the team and applying what I have learned to help PRIMEX expand in new sectors and regions.”
Len Garces
Ms. Elvira C. Ablaza, PRIMEX President and CEO, also expressed her satisfaction that Garces accepted the role. “I have known Len for more than 20 years since we both met at a regional workshop and worked in fisheries projects. I believe that this is a strategic time for him to join PRIMEX. His leadership, experience, and research proficiency, and technical writing skills are assets that will be valuable in business development and project management.”
Before joining PRIMEX, Garces worked with the USAID Oceans and Fisheries Partnership (USAID Oceans) as Regional Fisheries Management Specialist from 2015 to 2020. He was in charge of integrating and implementing an Ecosystems Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) on the national and regional levels.
From 1999 to 2015, he also served as Research Fellow at WorldFish (also known as the International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management or ICLARM) where he led and supported multi-disciplinary projects on coastal fisheries management program implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and research on resource assessment and management.
Garces earned his BS in Fisheries from the University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman in 1984 and his MS in Marine Biology from the UP Marine Science Institute in 1988. He has published and/or edited over 70 scientific articles, volumes, and books in the course of his career.