MANILA, Philippines — Taipan Lucio Tan has named his grandson Lucio Tan III as director, president and chief operating officer of Tanduay Distillers Inc.
Tan III was also appointed as director of LT Group Inc., PAL Holdings Inc., Philippine Airlines Inc. (PAL) and Air Philippines Corp. (APC).
A US-educated engineering graduate, Tan III filled the positions vacated by his father, the late Lucio “Bong” Tan Jr. who died on Nov. 11, days after collapsing during a basketball game.
The board of directors of LTG and its subsidiaries Asia Brewery Inc. and Tanduay Distillers approved the appointment of the young Tan in their meetings Tuesday.
The younger Tan has been thrust into the limelight following the sudden death of his father.
He finished Electrical Engineering at Stanford University in 2015, graduating with the Frederick Terman Award, an academic accolade given to Stanford seniors who are at the top five percent of their class.
He has a Master of Science degree in Computer Science and an MBA.
Another son of the tycoon, John, was elected as director of PAL Holdings, replacing his brother Michael Tan.
John served as vice president for operations of PAL from 2009 to 2012 and as director of Tanduay Distillers Inc. from 2015 to 2018.
PAL, meanwhile, named Mark Chen as its new independent director, replacing former bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor Amando Tetangco Jr.
Another key official has left PAL with the resignation of chief finance officer Celeste Mutuc due to health and personal reasons. She would be replaced by Nilo Thaddeus Rodriguez, an airline finance veteran, effective Jan. 16, 2020.
Rodriguez, a master’s degree holder from the Asian Institute of Management and an alumni of the UP College of Business Administration, will bring to PAL 28 years of finance industry experience, including 15 years of leadership roles across the Asia-Pacific region.
PAL has been undergoing a transition period as well as a reorganization following the retirement of former PAL president and chief operating officer Jaime Bautista last June.
Following Bautista’s retirement, Lucio Tan’s daughter Vivienne Tan was named as officer-in-charge as well as executive vice president and treasurer.
Just recently, Carmen Tan was appointed vice chairman of PAL, taking over the position previously held by her son Bong.