Wilcon CEO lands on Forbes’ ‘Emergent 25’ list

Lorraine Belo-Cincochan Photo courtesy of Forbes.com

Wilcon Depot president and chief executive officer Lorraine Belo-Cincochan landed on Forbes Asia’s inaugural “Emergent 25” list that honors stellar businesswomen who are making their mark in regional enterprises.

The 25 honorees “reflect the broader impact women are having on the Asian business world, and were chosen for the money they generate, the influence they wield, and the ideas and trends they are advancing,” Forbes said in a statement last week.

Since the country’s leading home improvement and construction supply retailer went public in March 2017, the magazine noted that the 39-year-old Belo-Cincochan had led the family business on its most aggressive expansion program yet.

Belo-Cincochan is the only Filipino to make it to this inaugural list.

“She has also computerized Wilcon’s manual systems and guided its stores from traditional to big-box format, as well as making it easier for customers to pay by credit cards,” Forbes said.

Since going public, the magazine noted that Wilcon’s stock price had more than doubled, giving it a market capitalization of $887 million.

Belo-Cincochan, daughter of Wilcon founder William Belo, graduated from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1999 with a degree in Creative Writing.

She rose from the ranks of the family business, starting in 2000 as a trainee to the president of Wilcon Builders Supply.

She headed the IT department in 2002 before being assigned to manage the daily operations of a branch as management trainee from 2003 to 2005.

She became executive vice president for operations in 2005 and held the chief financial officer position in 2006 through 2016.

Forbes said the “Emergent 25” listees reflected the broader impact women are having on the Asian business world, even as the number of women in senior business positions globally retreated over the past year.

Tim Ferguson, Editor of Forbes Asia, said: “This new cohort of top-level achievers builds on the pioneering accomplishments of those we’ve recognized in past Power Business Women lists. Glass ceilings are being shattered in many quarters of Asia-Pacific business.”

The complete list of honorees is available at www.forbes.com/emergent-25-businesswomen.