Alejandro is new president of ABS-CBN

Media giant ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. announced yesterday the appointment of business executive Luis Alejandro as the network’s new president and chief operating officer effective May this year.

Alejandro is presently the chief operating officer of Heinz UFC Philippines Inc. and president and chief operating officer of Southeast Asia Food Inc. With combined revenues of close to P4 billion, these companies are considered the leading players in the sauces and condiments industry.

He takes over the position vacated by Federico Garcia who retired from the network last December. Garcia served as ABS-CBN’s president for eight years and now holds a senior management consultant position at the company.

Garcia has been credited with the re-emergence of ABS-CBN as the country’s leading network. He was, in fact, responsible for the highly successful telenovela series, some of which are being exported and shown in other countries. Garcia’s pioneering spirit had led him to direct the network towards other lucrative ventures like the Talent Center and Star Cinema.

An economics graduate of Ateneo de Manila University, Alejandro has likewise earned a masters degree in business management from the Asian Institute of Management. He is married to Cynthia Catalan and they have three children.

Alejandro has 24 years of combined experience in brand/marketing operations and general management. He started his career at Procter & Gamble where he built a solid 15-year marketing track record which culminated as category manager/marketing director of the beauty care category. He assumed a US posting and Asia marketing responsibilities towards the latter part of his stint in the consumer goods market leader.

In 1995, Alejandro joined Kraft Foods Philippines, Inc. as president and peneral manager. During his term with Kraft, revenues grew at double-digit levels while market shares across categories were at leadership or strong number two positions.

ABS-CBN is the Philippines’ leading broadcasting company and first multi-media content provider with operations in the television, radio, cable, film, music, Internet and magazine platforms. Outside the Philippines, ABS-CBN operates in the United States, Europe, and Middle East.