In the Know: The Makati Business Club

The Makati Business Club (MBC) is a private nonstock, nonprofit business organization founded by Enrique Zobel in 1981 when martial law in the country was lifted. Its members include senior business executives representing the largest and most dynamic corporations in the country.

In a speech delivered during MBC’s anniversary dinner in 1997, Cesar Buenaventura noted that President Ferdinand Marcos maintained “sweeping decree-making powers” despite the lifting of martial law.

“It was against this backdrop that Enrique Zobel, known to many as “EZ,” gathered together a few business friends and associates to a discussion which would have far-reaching implications on the Philippine business community,” said Buenaventura, who was the first chair of the MBC board of advisers and a member of the MBC board from 1981 to 2008.

MBC, housed in the AIM Conference Center in Makati City, focuses on issues such as agribusiness, trade and investment, banking and finance, energy and power, and regional development, as well as governance, politics and media control. Its main activities include policy advocacy, information services and publishing, investment promotion and corporate citizenship.

According to its website, MBC’s current board include Ramon del Rosario Jr. (Philippine Investment Management Inc. president and CEO) as chair; Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala II (Ayala Corp. chair and CEO) as vice chair; Roberto de Ocampo (Philippine Veterans Bank chair) as vice chair; Aurelio Montinola III (Bank of the Philippine Islands director) as treasurer; and Ricardo Romulo (Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & De Los Angeles senior partner) as corporate secretary.

Other members of the board are Edgar Chua (country chair, Shell Companies in the Philippines), Corazon de la Paz-Bernardo (adviser to the board, BDO Unibank), Doris Magsaysay Ho (president and CEO, Magsaysay Group of Companies), Cirilo Noel (chair and managing partner, SGV & Co.), Tony Tan Caktiong (chair and CEO, Jollibee Foods Corp.) and Wilfred Steven Uytengsu Jr. (president and CEO, Alaska Milk Corp.)

MBC’s executive director is Peter Angelo Perfecto and its deputy executive director is Isabel Lopa.–Ana Roa, Inquirer Research

Source: www.mbc.com.ph

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