Lucio Tan III, the grandson of beer and tobacco tycoon Lucio Tan, took over the leadership of listed conglomerate LT Group Inc. after a one-year transition period.
Tan III was elected president of LT Group following the company’s annual stockholders meeting, replacing his uncle Michael Tan, who had been president of LTG since 2010.
Michael Tan would remain as a board director of the conglomerate and president of Asia Brewery Inc.
LT Group is the holding company of Philippine National Bank, Tanduay Distillers Inc., Asia Brewery Inc. and Eton Properties Philippines Inc.
“I am deeply honored to accept the appointment as president and chief operating officer. I thank the board of directors for entrusting me with this responsibility, and I am grateful to all of you for your support. In exercising the functions of my new role, rest assured that I will be guided by the values of integrity, diligence, excellence and transparency,” Tan III said.
“As I assume this crucial task, I am keenly aware of the challenges we face as a company. The business landscape is constantly evolving, and we must adapt quickly to stay competitive. However, I am confident that with our talented and dedicated team, we will overcome these challenges and achieve even greater success,” he said.
As the conglomerate paves the way for third generation leaders, Tan III committed to delivering positive results for the group.
The change in leadership comes as the group posted a record net income of P25.1 billion in 2022 despite the continued challenges caused by COVID-19.
The company’s net income nearly tripled from 2013 to 2022 during Michael Tan’s term as president.
LTG also declared dividends of P4.58 per share or a total of P49.6 billion since its initial public offering in 2013,.
“Like most businesses, your company had to grapple with higher energy, raw material and freight costs, higher interest rates, and higher foreign exchange rates, making it a challenge to keep costs down and at the same time, implement price increases to pass on some of the cost increases to our customers. And your company was able to succeed, posting growth in our income for 2022,” Michael Tan said.
“Your company’s journey, from the reorganization in 2012 of Tanduay Holdings to what it is today, has not been easy. As I look back over the past decade of [LT Group] as a publicly-listed company, we have done our best to lead it to where it is, built the way, the tried and tested way,” he said.