The seven tycoons, who formally joined the organization dedicated to strengthening ties between the United States and the Philippines on Tuesday, were Sabin Aboitiz, Helen Yuchengco Dee, Lourdes Josephine Gotianun Yap, Federico Lopez, Christopher Po, Lucio Tan III, and Manuel Villar Jr.
Aboitiz is the CEO of Aboitiz Group, Dee is the chair of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., Yap is the vice chair of Filinvest Development Corp., Lopez is the chair of First Philippine Holdings Corp., Po is the executive chair of Century Pacific Food, Tan is the president and chief operating officer of LT Group and Villar is the chair of Golden MV Holdings.
They join well-known tycoon-board members such as US-Philippines Society co-chair Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Manuel V. Pangilinan, Enrique Razon Jr., and Doris Magsaysay-Ho.
Former cabinet secretary and Ayala Group executive Rene Almendras, who introduced the new directors on Tuesday, playfully noted that their current lineup of directors represents a significant portion of the Philippine economy.
“Ever since the Marcos administration assumed office in the country, there has been a resurgence of US-Philippine relations,” Almendras said.
“We have a very good trajectory. What we need to do is carry it forward,” he added.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
