He is an Independent Member of the Board of Directors of ACR Corporation and A Brown Company Inc., publicly listed firms at the Philippine Stock Exchange. He is a Member of the Board of Trustees of Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of REID Foundation as well as Senior Fellow at the Center for Research and Communication of the University of Asia and the Pacific.

Dr. Aquino served at the Department of Trade and Industry as Acting Secretary and as Senior Undersecretary overseeing the country’s international trade promotions with trading partners and policy negotiations at the World Trade Organization  and in the ASEAN Economic Community. He was the overall lead negotiator for the country in the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement and country representative to the High Level Task Force on ASEAN Economic Integration.

For public service, Dr. Aquino was conferred the Presidential Service Award ( or Lingkod Bayan ) for extraordinary contribution of national impact on public interest, security and patrimony, and recipient of the Gawad Mabini Award  with the rank of Grand Cross ( or Kamanong ) for distinguished service to the country both at home and abroad. He was also conferred the Philippines-Japan Society Medal of Honor.

He obtained a Doctorate in Management from IESE Business School, University of Navarre (Spain), Master of Science in Industrial Economics from the University of Asia and the Pacific, and Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of the Philippines.