BIZ BUZZ: Rico Hizon joins SM Group

After months of speculation about where multi award-winning broadcast journalist Rico Hizon would take his talents following the closure of CNN Philippines last January, now it can be told.

Hizon has decided to leave his long and illustrious career in broadcast journalism behind and venture into the corporate world for the first time, joining the Sy family’s holding firm SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) as senior vice president for corporate relations.

READ: ‘Difficult news’: CNN Philippines signing off on Jan. 31

SMIC is one of the country’s largest companies and is invested in market-leading businesses in retail (SM), banking (BDO Unibank Inc .and China Banking Corp.), and property (SM Prime Holdings Inc.). It also invests in ventures that capture high-growth opportunities in the Philippine economy.

The former anchor of GMA, CNBC Asia, BBC World News and CNN Philippines officially started at SMIC last May 6.

Not surprisingly, Hizon was welcomed with open arms.

Journalism’s loss is the Sy Group’s gain. —Tina Arceo-Dumlao

From consultant to CFO

Converge ICT Solutions Inc. has onboarded Robert Leo Yu, a veteran in investment banking and corporate financing with over 15 years of experience, as its new chief finance officer (CFO).

Yu has an impressive resume having been a former director of Malaysian investor Creador, which manages $2.3 billion worth of funds across south and Southeast Asia. He was also an investment principal at Sierra Madre Advisers Inc., a local private equity firm engaged in diverse sectors.

He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Accountancy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

It must be noted that Yu’s appointment did not come out of nowhere. He was a consultant for Converge from 2018 to 2019.

We’re glad to welcome Robert back to Converge. We’re confident that his breadth of experience in corporate financial planning, investments, and strategy will keep Converge on a solid financial footing and will be a strong addition to the leadership team,” Converge president and co-founder Grace Uy said.

As for Yu, he said the goal was “to take Converge to the next phase of its evolution as a company, without taking any undue risks.” –– Tyrone Jasper C. Piad