Atok-Big Wedge Co. said Monday its board of directors has named its president, former Finance Undersecretary Eric Recto, as acting chairman and chief executive office of the listed mining company.
Recto’s temporary assignment came a day after the death of his uncle, former Commerce and Industry Secretary Roberto Ongpin. The 86-year-old businessman died early Sunday at Balesin, an exclusive resort island that Ongpin built.
“We are deeply saddened to report that Mr. Roberto Velayo Ongpin, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Atok-Big Wedge Co., Inc., passed away on 05 February 2023,” the company said.
Atok-Big Wedge said Recto, who was named in Forbes Magazine’s 50 richest Filipinos in 2018, has an industrial engineering degree from the University of the Philippines and a Masters of Business Administration from The Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University. He served as finance undersecretary in charge of international finance and privatization from 2002 to 2005 under former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Recto will serve as chairman and CEO of Atok-Big Wedge until a permanent replacement to Ongpin is elected.
