Fernando Zobel de Ayala was elected Thursday as a board director of Ayala Corp., replacing highly trusted adviser Mercedita Nolledo.
Zobel was also appointed chairman of the Sustainability Committee and member of the Risk Management and Related Party Transactions Committee and the Personnel and Compensation Committee.
“I look forward to working with the board, the senior management of Ayala Corp. and our chief sustainability officer Jaime Urquijo in providing oversight and guidance on the company’s ESG strategy,” Zobel said.
Zobel served as Ayala Corp. president and CEO from April 2021 to September 2022 and board director from May 1994 to September 2022.
Zobel took the lead in strengthening Ayala’s sustainability commitment. In 2021, Ayala committed to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, becoming the first publicly listed company in the Philippines to make such a pledge
“The Ayala community welcomes Fernando back to the Board of Ayala Corporation,” said Cezar Consing, Ayala Corp. president and 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 Corp.’s board of directors elected Consing, former BPI chief executive and one of Asia’s most respected bankers, as the company’s president and CEO in September 2022.
He was re-elected as president and CEO during the board’s organizational meeting after the company’s annual stockholders meeting in April 2023.
Meanwhile, Ayala Corp. chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala thanked 82-year-old Nolledo for her contributions during her tenure as board director from 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.