Change is in the air: A new era begins

(L-R) Ana Maria Aboitiz-Delgado of the Union Bank of the Philippines, Carl Raymond Cruz of Globe Telecom Inc., Kevin Tan of Megaworld Corp., Emmanuel Rubio of Meralco and John Paul Ang of San Miguel Corporation.

As the days in 2024 shifted to make way for an extra 24 hours due to the leap year, there was a similar change happening among Philippine corporations.

Most business tycoons have known each other or worked together in one way or another in their decades of shaping their businesses into what they are today.

It comes as no surprise, then, that these executives have decided to move in step with one another in making leadership changes and begin carving out the new “Philippines Inc.”—this time with younger faces at the helm.

From conglomerates to banks and real estate giants, local companies have begun making room for new faces and introducing their next-generation leaders who are expected to shape the succeeding chapter of Philippine corporate history.

Ana Maria Aboitiz-Delgado, Union Bank of the Philippines

A fifth-generation heir of the male-dominated Aboitiz family, Ana Maria Aboitiz-Delgado is poised to sit as Union Bank of the Philippines’ president and CEO by Jan. 1, 2025. She will succeed Edwin Bautista, who has been leading the country’s ninth largest bank since 2018.

Delgado’s appointment ushers in a new era of leadership for a bank that is aspiring to take charge in the highly competitive digital space.

Delgado, who first joined UnionBank in 2003 as a management trainee, is currently the company’s senior executive vice president. She also heads the bank’s institutional banking business, as well as the customer experience and digital channels.

Her Bachelor of Arts degree in art history and painting from Boston College initially pushed her to pursue a career in the arts. She eventually joined the UnionBank after she was introduced to Bautista, who also happened to be an art collector.

Delgado inherits UnionBank’s aggressive digital expansion plan. While it is still a challenging sector to penetrate due to tight competition, the company has been injecting billions into its digital banking arm while placing its bets on its recent takeover of Citi’s consumer business to drive growth.

John Paul Ang, San Miguel Corp.

The eldest son of billionaire Ramon S. Ang rose a few steps higher in the succession ladder of San Miguel Corp. in June, when he was appointed vice chair, president and chief operating officer of the conglomerate that is present in nearly every sector.

John Paul is concurrently the president and CEO of Eagle Cement Corp., which San Miguel took over in 2022. Prior to his appointment as his father’s right hand man, he was a board member of San Miguel for three years.

READ: Biz Buzz: Closer to dad

Ramon Ang, meanwhile, will continue to be CEO and chair. The 70-year-old billionaire served as vice chair and COO of San Miguel from 2002 until 2021.

The younger Ang’s position as president and COO makes him among the key decision makers for the company, especially as San Miguel works to close crucial deals, including the planned merger of its tollway unit with Manuel Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Tollways Corp.

John Paul likewise enters the leadership picture at San Miguel as the conglomerate begins rehabilitating Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the country’s main gateway labeled the world’s worst airport.

Rafael Fernandez de Mesa, Aboitiz Land Inc.

Just like Delgado, Rafael Fernandez de Mesa is also a fifth-generation Aboitiz who has been trained to head multibillion-peso companies since childhood.

The real estate arm of the Aboitiz Group will officially hand the reins to Fernandez de Mesa by Jan. 1, 2025, succeeding David Rafael.

According to the group, Fernandez de Mesa brings with him “a wealth of industry expertise” as the current head of economic estates of the group’s infrastructure arm, Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc.

These estates in the provinces of Batangas, Cebu and Tarlac span nearly 2,000 hectares and have so far cornered P155 billion in investments, according to Aboitiz Land.

Fernandez de Mesa also spent a decade with the property firm holding various positions, most notably first vice president of operations.

His comeback to Aboitiz Land after five years comes as parent firm Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. moves to gradually grow its other businesses to keep up with Aboitiz Power Corp., the conglomerate’s largest revenue contributor.

Kevin Tan, Megaworld Corp.

Kevin Tan has already taken various leadership roles in most of the businesses founded by his father, Andrew Tan.

Among them is Megaworld Corp., where he sits as chief strategy officer while fulfilling his duties as president and chief operations officer of parent firm Alliance Global Group Inc.

With much management experience in the family business under his belt, the younger Tan was appointed executive director of Megaworld in October, succeeding matriarch Katherine Tan, who retired after 35 years of service.

While keeping his YouTube followers up-to-date on the company’s newest ventures, Kevin now has a bigger role to play for the property developer with a P350-billion expansion plan in the works.

Megaworld plans to spend this until 2027 to build its township and hospitality empire amid elevated mortgage rates and a challenging real estate landscape in Metro Manila.

At the same time, not all the new leaders are entirely “new” to the industry. Big leagues like PLDT Inc., Globe Telecom Inc. and Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) are bringing in veterans, allowing the young and old generations to collaborate for the country’s rapidly growing corporate landscape.

Anastacio “Boy” Martirez, PLDT Inc.

After nearly two decades, Anastacio “Boy” Martirez made his comeback to the PLDT Group as the telecommunications giant’s chief operating officer. He brings with him the same skills he used to introduce Smart Padala, the country’s first text-based money remittance service.

This came as the Manuel Pangilinan-led company struggled to find a successor to former top executive Al Panlilio, who vacated his post last year. Pangilinan has since taken over, with the telco world waiting on whether it will see another familiar face as PLDT’s new CEO.

Carl Raymond Cruz, Globe Telecom Inc.

Globe, meanwhile, recently announced longtime president and CEO Ernest Cu’s exit next year, with 54-year-old Carl Raymond Cruz set to succeed him by Jan. 1, 2025.

Cruz has 30 years of experience in the fast-moving consumer goods industry. He’s currently serving as the CEO and managing director of Airtel Nigeria, a leading mobile network operator in the West African country.

Now, Cruz is tasked with further growing Globe, which has nearly 60 million mobile subscribers.

Emmanuel Rubio, Meralco

Just a day after retiring from AboitizPower, Emmanuel Rubio joined the MVP Group as head of Meralco PowerGen Corp., the power generation arm of the country’s largest electric distribution utility.

Rubio had just turned 60 when he took over MGen on July 1, replacing Jaime Azurin. The power sector veteran is now leading MGen’s charge toward having 3,000 megawatts of total combined capacity, of which 1,000 MW will be renewable energy. INQ