BIZ BUZZ: Bautista’s PNB management gambit
We have seen Philippine National Bank, led by its new CEO Edwin Bautista, recently announce a string of high-ranking appointments and officer promotions.
Some of the new hires—not surprisingly—came from Bautista’s former bank, Union Bank of the Philippines.
We earlier wrote here that the next PNB chief would need to improve succession planning. Although the mandatory retirement age at the Lucio Tan group-led bank is 60, the usual practice in the past was to fill many senior positions with people past retirement age. They were given either a fixed contract (without benefits) or term extension (with benefits).
Bautista indicated to Biz Buzz that he is indeed taking on the succession challenge and favoring structural rather than stop-gap measures.
“We are now very selective on term extensions,” he told Biz Buzz. He added that this is in line with efforts to build “a strong management succession program.”
But some insiders wonder: how come Bautista is still hiring executives who are over 60? Why not just adjust the retirement age policy?
Bautista explained, “We hire over 60 [years old] only to serve as bridge until successor is ready. It’s better that way so the successors know they don’t have to wait long.”
His early efforts seem to be paying off. Since his appointment was announced on March 26 this year, shares of PNB have rallied by 38 percent, and Bautista intends to sustain the momentum.
“With our good business performance and credible management team, we should be able to attract talent and build a stronger future team,” he said.
