Vista Land names Villar son new CEO

MANILA, Philippines—Housing developer Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc. announced on Friday the appointment of Manuel Paolo Villar, the eldest son of company founder Sen. Manuel Villar, as its new president and chief executive officer.

Vista Land disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday that the younger Villar had replaced Benjamarie Therese Serrano, who will assume a senior executive position in Fine Properties, Inc., the investment holding company of the Villar Family, while remaining a non-executive director in Vista Land.

The 35-year-old Villar has held various senior positions in the Vista Land group since 2001, two years after graduating from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Bachelor of Applied Science in 1999.

Prior to his appointment as president and CEO, Villar was chief financial officer of the company and was instrumental in the public listing of the property developer on the Philippine Stock Exchange. He spearheaded all major fund-raising activities for Vista Land over the last few years, after heading the corporate planning group of Crown Asia Properties, Inc., a subsidiary of Vista Land.

Before returning to the Philippines in 2001 to join the Vista Land group, Villar worked for McKinsey and Co. in the United States.

The company also announced the appointment of Ricardo Tan, Jr. as chief financial officer, taking over the post vacated by Villar. Prior to this appointment, Tan was senior vice president for finance of the company. A finance professional, Tan had previously worked for the International Finance group of the Department of Finance as well as other private corporations.

The Villar-led Vista Land sells house-and-lots under the Brittany, Crown Asia, Lessandra and Camella brands.