Eldest son of Senator Villar takes the reins at Vista Land

MANILA, Philippines - The eldest son of Sen. Manuel B. Villar is taking the reins of the family’s listed property holding firm Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc., which sells five brands under its wing.

In a statement issued yesterday, Vista Land said Manuel Paolo, who used to be the company’s chief finance officer, has assumed the post of president and chief executive officer, replacing Benjamarie Therese Serrano.

Serrano will assume a senior executive position in Fine Properties Inc., the investment holding company of the Villar family, while remaining a non-executive director in Vista Land.

Paolo, who turns 35 today (July 23), is a graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he majored in Economics. He has held various senior positions in the Vista Land Group since 2001.

Vista Land is the holding company of five business units: Brittany, Crown Asia, Camella Homes, Communities Philippines and its condominium development subsidiary, Vista Residences. The company claims to have the widest presence in the Philippines among all the major property developers.

Paolo was instrumental in the public listing of Vista Land on the Philippine Stock Exchange. He spearheaded all major fund-raising activities for Vista Land over the last few years, after heading the Corporate Planning Group of Crown Asia Properties, Inc. (a subsidiary of Vista Land).

He worked for McKinsey and Co. in the United States before returning to the Philippines in 2001 to join the Vista Land Group.

Paolo’s appointment comes at a time when the group is aggressively expanding its presence in the highly competitive property sector.

Vista Land, which has sold over 250,000 homes in its 35 years in the business, has set a capital expenditure program of P45 billion from 2011 to 2013.

The company is aiming to further enlarge its footprint to reach 70 municipalities and cities by next year from the existing 48.

For this year, it intends to make its presence felt in Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte, La Union, Nueva Ecija, Bicol, Batangas, Quezon, Bataan, Pampanga, Davao, Butuan, Agusan del Sur and Zamboanga.