BIZ BUZZ: GT Capital welcomes new CFO

A number of large companies have been undergoing some management revamps lately: Ramon S. Ang-led San Miguel Corp. just a day before the Independence Day holiday last month, and both Aboitiz-led Union Bank of the Philippines and Andrew Tan-led Megaworld Corp. before June ended. These three appointed new presidents as part of the companies’ succession plans.

This time, GT Capital Holdings Inc. is in on the trend.

In a stock exchange filing on Monday, the Ty family-led conglomerate announced the appointment of George Uy-Tioco Jr. as its new chief financial officer (CFO).

Uy-Tioco will replace Francisco Suarez Jr.

Suarez, who oversaw the launch of the company’s initial public offering in 2012, is now retiring after sitting as GT Capital’s CFO for 12 years.

“We take this opportunity to sincerely thank Mr. Suarez for his dedication and valued contribution to GT Capital,” company president Carmelo Maria Luza Bautista said in a statement.

“We also warmly welcome Mr. Uy-Tioco to the company and look forward to his valuable insights and contributions to our conglomerate, given his wealth of experience in finance and investment,” Bautista added.

Uy-Tioco will inherit the financial reins of a company with a market capitalization of roughly P124 billion.

Of course, GT Capital isn’t his first company.

Prior to his appointment, Uy-Tioco was head of corporate finance at ING Bank NV Manila Branch for nearly three years. He also had an eight-year stint as the head of mergers and acquisitions at BPI Capital Corp.

With that, all eyes are on further changes in the corporate world. Who’s next? —Meg J. Adonis

Tiu Laurel pays tribute to Marcos

The pivotal moment in Philippine agriculture came when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself assumed the agriculture secretary post for more than a year to address various issues plaguing the sector.

This is according to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., who said in a chat over dinner that “the best thing that happened—you can quote me on this—for the agriculture industry in recent history na siya ang umupo as secretary kasi nakita yung problema (was when he assumed the post as agriculture secretary because he saw and addressed the problem).”

The agriculture chief said his predecessor had identified problems that affected the growth of the farm sector. However, the President could not address all of these since he had too much on his plate.

“Actually, half or 75 percent of what I am doing now is his directive at nakita na niya ang problema kaya lang (he already saw these problems but) he’s too busy. He needed somebody to… he needed a doer to implement his plans,” said Tiu Laurel, one of the President’s campaign contributors.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane. Some two years ago, Marcos announced he would take over the Department of Agriculture (DA) and vowed to reorganize the agency to support the farm sector in the coming years.

It took Marcos 16 months before appointing Tiu Laurel as full-time DA secretary, who was tasked with ensuring the country’s food security, saying the latter has a “good understanding” of the problems in the agriculture sector.

Noting the strides made by his childhood friend, Tiu Laurel said the pressure is on for him to perform his job well, adding, “I have to perform.”  — Jordeene B. Lagare

GCash for kids

You are never too young to learn how to manage your own money. And guess what, kids may soon be able to do their own budgeting, and even start their savings, via GCash Junior.

It is the popular e-wallet brand’s way of teaching finance management to children as young as 7 years old. Via the app, the kids can receive their allowance, pay for their purchases and buy load credits. GCash Junior users can even request for their own Visa cards, making offline transactions easier for them.

GCash B2C product management head Fatima Javellana said they want to “empower today’s new generation with better spending and saving habits” with the new feature.

To register, the young users must just need to present a school ID or other valid ID. Their parents can also control the wallet limits as a way to monitor spending. — Tyrone Jasper C. Piad