Fernando Zobel de Ayala was elected Thursday as board director of Ayala Corp. and completed his return to the conglomerate following a medical leave last year.
Zobel replaced the company’s trusted adviser, Mercedita S. Nolledo, who will now focus on her role in the different business units of the Ayala group.
She remains a member of the board of trustees of Ayala Foundation Inc. and BPI Foundation Inc. and as member of the BPI advisory council.
Zobel has also been appointed chairman of the sustainability committee, a member of the risk management and related party transactions committee as well as 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 Z. Urquijo in providing oversight and guidance on the company’s ESG strategy,” Zobel said.
He previously served as Ayala president and CEO from April 2021 to September 2022 and board director from 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,” Cezar Consing, Ayala president and CEO, said. The Ayala board elected Consing, former BPI chief executive and one of Asia’s most respected bankers, as company president and CEO in September 2022 following the step down of Zobel from the post.
Consing was re-elected president and CEO during the board’s organizational meeting after the company’s annual stockholders meeting in April.
Ayala 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.
Since late 2022, Fernando transitioned from executive roles to focus on governance functions in various boards within the Ayala group.
