MANILA – Fernando Zobel de Ayala has been elected today as a Board Director of Ayala Corporation, replacing highly trusted adviser Mercedita “Edith” S. Nolledo.
Zobel has been appointed Chairman of the Sustainability Committee and member of the Risk Management and Related Party Transactions Committee and the Personnel & Compensation Committee.
“I look forward to working with the Board, the senior management of Ayala Corporation, and our Chief Sustainability Officer Jaime Z. Urquijo in providing oversight and guidance on the company’s ESG strategy,” Zobel said.
Zobel previously served as Ayala Corporation’s President & CEO (April 2021 to September 2022) and Board Director (May 1994 to September 2022). During his term as CEO, Zobel took the lead in strengthening Ayala’s sustainability commitment. In 2021, Ayala committed to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, becoming the first publicly listed company in the Philippines to make such a commitment.
“The Ayala community welcomes Fernando back to the Board of Ayala Corporation,” said Cezar Consing, Ayala Corporation President & CEO. “Fernando brings with him a wealth of experience, and we look forward to his guidance and oversight as we continue to ramp up our ESG initiatives.”
Ayala Corporation’s Board of Directors elected Consing, former BPI chief executive and one of Asia’s most respected bankers, as the company’s President & CEO in September 2022. He was re-elected as President & CEO during the Board’s organizational meeting after the company’s Annual Stockholders Meeting last April 2023.
Meanwhile, Ayala Corporation Chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala thanked 82-year-old Nolledo for her contributions during her tenure as Board Director (September 2022 to September 2023). “I would like to thank Edith Nolledo for her consistent support and guidance through the many years she worked with the Ayala group as an executive and a member of the Board,” he said.
Nolledo will focus on her roles in different business units of the Ayala group. She continues to be a member of the Board of Trustees of Ayala Foundation, Inc. and BPI Foundation, Inc. She is also a member of the BPI Advisory Council.
Since late 2022, Fernando Zobel de Ayala has transitioned from his executive roles to focus on his governance functions in various Boards within the Ayala group.
