The Digital 'Leapfrog': Balibago Waterworks' Transformational Journey with Criselle Alejandro, President of Balibago Waterworks

In this episode of the Exec Exchange podcast, host Piers Clark speaks with Criselle Alejandro, President of Balibago Waterworks in the Philippines, about Balibot, the company’s AI-enabled digital twin for preventive maintenance and asset management. Criselle shares her unconventional path from communications and government work to fashion operations and eventually joining her father’s utility, describing how they manage professionalism in a family business. She outlines Balibago’s scale as the fourth-largest private water utility in the country, operating 93 municipal franchises across 24 provinces, serving 1.5 million people. Criselle shares Balibago's digital transformation journey with TeamSolve and Balibot’s evolution from a WhatsApp-based pilot to a more powerful platform, early adoption results across 7 sites, and lessons about data preparation, form design, and AI training.00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro00:49 Criselle’s Unconventional Path02:31 Family Business Dynamics04:14 Balibago Waterworks Overview05:24 What Is Balibot?06:38 TeamSolve Pilot Lessons and Upgrades08:03 Early Results and Behavior Change11:08 Advice for AI Adoption12:49 What I Owe My Parents13:50 Wrap Up and Thanks