PLDT implements management changes in line with company’s new directions

Telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) has embarked on a major organizational restructuring in line with the company’s strategic goal of transforming itself into a new generation communications group.

 “The re-invention of the PLDT Group — and of the fixed line business in particular — is fundamental to our overall effort to attain a higher level of convergence and integration within the group. Of course, our overarching goal is to make PLDT a truly world class company — in terms of profits, customer orientation, and quality of service,” PLDT Group chairman Manuel Pangilinan explained.

As PLDT Group president and chief executive officer, Napoleon Nazareno has been tasked to ensure that the group will focus on the critical strategic objective of business transformation, and to continue optimizing its combined strengths across the wireless, fixed, broadband, BPO and media/content businesses.

Further, Nazareno will oversee the major organizational transitions necessary to achieve those transformational goals. 

While remaining the president and CEO of Smart Communications, Nazareno will devote more time and energy to managing the comprehensive changes that will be implemented in the group’s fixed line business, which is in the midst of upgrading to an all-IP next generation network (NGN).

To support Nazareno in discharging his continuing responsibilities at Smart, the position of chief wireless adviser has been created to be filled in by Orlando Vea, former president and founder of Smart.

 “Mr. Vea has extensive experience in the wireless and media/content business. His involvement at Smart in a senior position will enhance the company’s leadership position and strengthen its ongoing efforts to balance and grow its business beyond staple voice and SMS revenue streams into new spaces such as mobile TV, mobile Internet, multimedia services and mobile commerce,” Pangilinan said.

PLDT also announced that to demonstrate tangible shareholder support to Nazareno and to the changes he and his team will undertake, Nazareno will be proposed as a non-executive director to the board of PLDT’s controlling shareholder First Pacific Co. Ltd. in Hong Kong.

“These organizational changes were agreed upon after extensive discussions within the senior management and signal our collective determination to renew the process of transformation that was started way back in 1998,” Pangilinan said.

He added that as that network upgrade moves forward, the company is simultaneously re-engineering its business and technical processes, integrating the group’s various backroom platforms, reorienting its workforce and, more importantly, re-shaping the company’s corporate culture to emphasize customer focus and quality of service.

The group is also re-designing its products and services to make them more relevant to customers, who are growing in sophistication and looking for better value.

To support this process of transformation, the fixed line organization will be realigned as follows effective Jan. 1, 2008: All revenue generation/customer relationship initiatives will be consolidated under one group, Customer Sales and Marketing Group, principally servicing three key customer segments, namely residential, corporate, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This group will be headed by Ernesto Alberto who is currently head of PLDT’s corporate business group.

A second group, Customer Service Assurance Group, will be created to oversee all customer fulfillment services including customer service and network engineering. This will be headed by Rolando Pena who is currently head of network services at Smart.

A key unit under Customer Service Assurance Group is Customer Service and Operations which is being established to raise the quality of service to corporate, residential and SME customers.

A separate Business Transformation Office, to be headed by Victorico Vargas (currently head of Human Resources Group), will also be organized to oversee the overall change-management initiatives, including the smooth implementation of various ongoing initiatives, especially the NGN rollout.

To underscore the importance of this transformation process and its goals, George Lim (currently head of network services) and Menardo Jimenez Jr. (currently head of Retail Business Group) have been tasked to assist Vargas in this effort.

Ray Espinosa remains president and CEO of information technology and outsourcing unit ePLDT, which itself has just completed the realignment of its various businesses with improving prospects in the years ahead.