Manuel V. Pangilinan has been widely recognized for his outstanding career that spans business, academe, charitable, non-government, arts and culture, sports and health organizations. He was named the “Management Man of the Year 2005” by the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), primarily for being an exemplary Filipino capable of effective and ethical leadership and of competing with the best in the international business community.
What made him a business magnate is his long line of EXECUTIVE positions as follows:
- PLDT (NYSE:PHI) Chairman of the Board of Directors and former President and CEO
- PLDT (NYSE: PHI) Chairman of Governance & Nomination Committee, Chairman of Technology Strategy Committee
- Chairman of Smart Communications
- Chairman of ePLDT Inc, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company
- Managing Director of the Board of Directors and CEO of First Pacific Company Limited(ADR OTC: FPAFY, Hang Seng: 00142)
- Chairman of the Board of Directors and prior CEO and President of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (PSE:MPI)
- Connected to 73 board members in 9 different organizations across 5 different industries.
A founder of First Pacific Company Limited in 1981 - Chief Executive Officer and President of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company until February 12, 2004.
- President and Chief Executive Officer of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation from December 2001 to May 2003.
- President of Fort Bonifacio Development Corporation.
- Has worked in the Philippines and Hong Kong for the PHINMA Group, Bancom International Limited and American Express Bank.
- Chairman of the Board of Mabuhay Satellite and of Infocom.
- Chairman of the Board of Makati Medical Center.
- Chairman of the Board of Smart Communications, Inc. and ePLDT Inc., subsidiaries of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company since February 19, 2004.
- Chairman of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation and Metro Pacific Corporation since June 2003.
- Chairman and Director of Pilipino Telephone Corporation since November 3, 2004.
- Chairman of Fort Bonifacio Development Corporation.
- Executive Chairman of First Pacific Company Limited from February 1999 to May 2003.
- President Commissioner and Commissioner of P.T. Indofood Sukses Makmur Tbk.
- Director of Philippine Telecommunications Investment Corporation, Maynilad Water Services, Inc., Negros Navigation Co. Inc., Metro Asia Link Holdings, Inc., Enterprise Investments Holdings, Inc. and several property development and management companies.
- Director of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company since November 24, 1998. He serves as a Director of First Pacific Company Ltd.
- Director of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation.
- Chairman of Philippine Business for Social Progress, a non-profit organization
- Chairman of the Hong Kong Bayanihan Foundation, a civic organization based in Hong Kong.
- Vice Chairman of the Foundation for Crime Prevention,
- Governor of the Philippine Stock Exchange.
- Serves on the Board of Overseers of the Wharton Schooland on the Board of Trustees of Ateneo de Manila University.
- A Procter & Gamble fellow at the Wharton School.
Lately, MVP has seen sports as an extension of his social commitment. He chairs the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) and the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP).
Explaining his decision to accept the chairmanship of ABAP which he assumed early this year, Pangilinan said the hard training, diet, discipline and the frustrations due to lack of support, equipment, training facilities and interest in the boxers’ plight has moved PLDT and SMART to accept the challenge. “And to apply our corporate experience in planning, organizing and financing our quest for an Olympic gold in boxing,” he added.
During the ABAP congress in Bacolod last January, Pangilinan announced an attractive incentive package which would award P12 million for every gold medal, P3 million for silver and P1 million for bronze in boxing during the 2012 Olympics.
For basketball, Pangilinan noted that SBP has made significant progress in the last two years. He said the Coaches Commission is “well on its way” in licensing, accrediting and training coaches on a nationwide basis, and the Technical Commission is in the middle of implementing its National Referees Development Program.
Like in boxing, he added, SBP is also in the process of establishing regional training centers and forming youth teams in various age categories while also strengthening the national women’s team.
Stressing the value of sports, he said sports involve fair play, respect for opponents and appreciation of the traditions, practices and values central to a society. “At its core, sports is ethical and value-based. And competitive sport is, by its very nature, a value activity,” he added.
Opening his speech by outlining personal reasons for his involvement in sports, Pangilinan said it is passion that is rooted in basic values such as excellence, determination and hard work, integrity, honesty and fair play. “These values in turn connect you to a purpose beyond the ordinary,” he stressed. He also said sports offers a “richness of experience all its own,” noting that an athlete has to overcome physical challenges of injury or defeat or the less tangible ones such as an unfriendly crowd or a critical newspaper article.
Pangilinan, who – along with Smart Communications – also supports taekwondo and tennis, said he loves sports simply because it teaches many things in life. “Indeed, sports is a strong metaphor of life,” he concluded.
When asked why he continues to support Philippine sports despite the crunch now threatening the global economy, the long-time sports benefactor simply smiled and said “it’s a necessity.
Undoubtedly, with Manny Pangilinan in the picture, sports in the Philippines will never be the same again!
