Sanas Deepens Philippine Investment, Taps IBPAP Chief Jack Madrid to Lead Market Expansion

Jack Madrid joins as Sanas Ambassador, Philippines and Christopher Venturina as Director of Business Development to strengthen relationships with enterprises, BPO providers, and technology partners across the Philippines.

MANILA, Philippines, Aug. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Philippines has built a global reputation for delivering customer experiences at scale. Now, as artificial intelligence reshapes the way businesses connect with customers, Speech AI company Sanas is strengthening its presence in the country to help shape the future of customer experience.

Effective October 11, 2026, Sanas will appoint Jack Madrid, current President and CEO of the IT & Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), as Sanas Ambassador, Philippines, and Christopher Venturina as Director of Business Development, Philippines. The appointments come as Sanas strengthens its local operations, expands customer investments, and builds deeper relationships with enterprises, BPO providers, and technology partners in the country.

The Philippines is a key market for Sanas as it brings AI into an industry where Filipino talent already plays a leading role in serving customers around the world.

Sanas currently works with more than 200 enterprises globally and processes millions of live voice interactions every day. The company was also recently ranked No. 8 on the 2026 Inc. 5000 list of America's Fastest-Growing Private Companies, while ranking No. 1 in both AI & Data and California.

"The Philippines has spent decades building one of the world's strongest customer experience industries. What AI changes is not the value of that talent, but what people can accomplish with the right technology," said Sharath Keshava Narayana, Co-Founder and CEO of Sanas. "We are investing in the Philippines because we believe the country can play a leading role in defining how people and AI work together to create better customer experiences."

A familiar industry leader for a new era
Madrid joins the company as Sanas Ambassador, Philippines at a pivotal moment for the Philippine IT-BPM industry, bringing more than two decades of experience across banking, technology, digital commerce, media, and industry leadership.

As President and CEO of IBPAP, Madrid helped lead the country's IT-BPM sector through significant transformation and growth. Under his leadership, the industry surpassed US$40 billion in annual revenues and supported approximately 1.9 million Digital Filipino Workers, reinforcing the Philippines' position as a global leader in technology-enabled services.

His move to Sanas brings together two sides of a conversation increasingly important to the Philippine economy: the country's strength in human-led customer service and the growing role of AI in the workplace.

"The conversation around AI and the Philippines should not simply be about what technology can replace. It should be about what technology can help Filipino talent do better," said Jack Madrid, Sanas Ambassador, Philippines. "The Philippines has an opportunity to lead the next chapter of global customer experience by combining the strengths of its people with technology that helps them communicate, perform, and connect more effectively. That is what makes this opportunity with Sanas particularly exciting to me."

Throughout his career, Madrid has held senior leadership positions at organizations including Citibank, Dell Technologies, Yahoo! Philippines, MTV Philippines, Ayala Corporation, and Multiply.com. He has also been a prominent voice on AI adoption, workforce readiness, digital infrastructure, and the future of work.

Turning AI interest into business impact
Sanas is also strengthening its commercial presence in the Philippines with the appointment of Venturina, who brings extensive experience across the country's outsourcing and customer experience ecosystem.

In his new role, Venturina will focus on expanding Sanas' relationships with enterprise customers, BPO providers, and technology partners in the Philippines and across the region.

"The conversation has moved from whether AI will affect customer experience to how companies can use it effectively and responsibly," said Christopher Venturina, Director of Business Development, Philippines, Sanas. "Our role is to help organizations turn that interest into practical applications that support employees, make conversations more effective, and deliver better customer experiences."

That shift is increasingly relevant as Philippine enterprises and BPOs navigate a global market where customers expect faster, more personalized, and more seamless interactions, while businesses face growing pressure to improve productivity and performance.

For Sanas, the opportunity is not simply to automate customer interactions, but to help organizations combine technology with human expertise to create better experiences.

"Technology should ultimately make it easier for people to understand and connect with one another," said Shawn Zhang, CTO and Co-Founder of Sanas. "The Philippines has shown the world what exceptional customer experience looks like. We believe AI can help Filipino professionals and the organizations they work with take that capability even further."

With Madrid and Venturina joining its Philippine leadership team, Sanas is strengthening its presence in a market it sees as central to the future of customer experience.

The future of customer experience will be defined by the combination of AI and human expertise. The Philippines is uniquely positioned to lead that future, pairing world-class talent with technologies that help people communicate more effectively, perform at a higher level, and deliver better outcomes for customers.

About Sanas
Sanas is a real-time Speech AI platform built to power global enterprise and communications platforms. Founded in 2021 in Palo Alto, California, Sanas enables speech to be understood clearly and naturally across languages, accents, and environments. The platform provides real-time speech enhancement, accent transformation, and language understanding that can be embedded directly into applications, platforms, and carrier networks. In 2026, Sanas was named the No. 1 AI & Data company in America on the Inc. 5000 list of Fastest-Growing Private Companies and also earned the No. 1 ranking in California and No. 8 overall. Learn more at Sanas.ai.

Media Contact:
Havas Red for Sanas
[email protected]

SOURCE Sanas