SMC’s Constantino named CFO of the year

Ferdinand K. Constantino, the long-time chief finance officer (CFO) of conglomerate San Miguel Corp., was honored on Monday as “ING Finex CFO of the year.”

The 66-year-old Constantino, regarded as SMC’s in-house historian and “Steady Ferdie,” has been with the San Miguel group for the last 44 years, 17 of which as group-wide CFO.

“I have been with San Miguel for over 44 years—a lifetime for many. Perhaps simply because of the number of years I’ve been with the company, my colleagues refer to me as the ‘walking encyclopedia’ of all things SMC-related. I’ve lived through different eras in San Miguel, and seen the many changes,” Constantino said.

“But no other time in San Miguel’s history have we seen such dynamism and growth, as we have in the past 10 years. The San Miguel I joined 40-odd years ago is not the San Miguel of today,” he added.

The conglomerate has radically transformed itself in less than a decade from a food and beverage manufacturer into a widely diversified group with interests in energy, petroleum, infrastructure, banking and property.

The group accounts for about 5 percent of the country’s domestic economy.

San Miguel is now not only the leader in the food, beverage and packaging business, but is also a leader in fuel and oil space through its majority share in Petron Corp., power through SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. and infrastructure projects through SMC Infrastructure, which holds concessions to a number of the country’s major projects, including toll roads, the MRT-7 project, and the Bulacan Bulk Water project.

The group is also expanding the Boracay Airport and proposed to build a P3-billion bridge that will link Boracay Island with Caticlan.

Recently, the company likewise proposed to build a world-class international airport to address the country’s perennial air traffic problem.

The company also recently consolidated its leading food, beverage and liquor businesses into one subsidiary, San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc., which recently completed a follow-on offering worth P34 billion.

In his acceptance speech during the awards ceremony held at New World Hotel on Monday, Constantino credited company chair Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. and president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang for SMC’s dramatic transformation.

Constantino started out as SMC’s in-house economist in 1974 after a stint at the National Economic Development Authority and completing the academic requirements for a master’s degree in economics from the University of the Philippines.

He held various posts in SMC before he was appointed group CFO and treasurer in 2001.

By earning the title “ING FINEX CFO of the Year,” Constantino has joined 11 other CFOs who were recognized for their outstanding performance as finance professionals.

These are: Delfin Gonzalez Jr. (Globe Telecom), Sherisa Nuesa (Manila Water), Jose Sio (SM Investments Corp.), Ysmael Baysa (Jollibee Foods Corp.), Jaime Ysmael (Ayala Land), Jeffrey Lim (SM Prime Holdings), Felipe Yalong (GMA Network), Jose Jerome Pascual III (Shell Philippines Exploration, B.V.), Luis Juan Oreta (Manila Water), Danny Yu (Philex Mining) and Jose Teodoro Limcaoco (Ayala Corp.).

“Nowadays, the role of the CFO goes beyond being a bean counter, a number cruncher, or a compliance manager. He or she is not just a strategic partner of the CEO in the organization, but also plays a critical role in these times of disruption and volatility,” said Hans Sicat, country manager of ING Bank, N.V. Manila Branch, which sponsors the ING FINEX CFO of the Year Award, together with the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines.