PLDT names new head of enterprise

MANILA, Philippines — Telco giant PLDT Inc. has designated a veteran executive who worked for investment banks and regional consultants in Asia and the US as new head of its growing enterprise segment.

PLDT’s board of directors yesterday announced the appointment of Patricio Pineda III as senior vice president and enterprise business head starting April 2.

Pineda, known to industry peers as Blums, served as the chief operating officer of PLDT unit Kayana Solutions Inc. prior to landing his new role.

Kayana, the newest venture of tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan, consolidates and evaluates the data obtained by companies under the MVP Group. Kayana seeks to develop new solutions based on consumer trends.

However, in Pineda’s transfer to Kayana’s parent, he will be tasked to lead an enterprise segment that is now playing a larger role in PLDT. Revenue from the enterprise group increased by three percent to P48.4 billion in 2024, lifted by the double-digit growth in key products.

PLDT posted a 48-percent growth in managed information technology services; 30-percent rise in cloud solutions and 22-percent upswing in data centers.

Further, PLDT’s enterprise segment activated its largest data center in VITRO Sta. Rosa in 2024, raising its capacity to nearly 100 megawatts.

Pineda is expected to maintain the growth momentum of this group, backed by previous roles in Hong Kong for Stealth Mode, Standard Chartered Bank, Prophet and in the US for Oracle Corp.

Joseph Gendrano, who currently heads the enterprise segment, will be moving to Kayana as chief operating officer in place of Pineda. Gendrano will still be senior vice president of PLDT.

Apart from this, PLDT promoted Leo Posadas to senior vice president and treasury head effective yesterday. Moreover, the telco designated Maria Magdalene Tan as first vice president and chief governance officer.

PLDT made the changes in its leadership as it gears up for tighter competition in the connectivity space, with rivals launching new products to flip customers to their side.

The largest Philippine telco grew its profit by 21 percent to P32.31 billion in 2024, from P26.61 billion in 2023, benefitting from the combo of revenue increase and spending cuts.