From legacy to leadership: Cecile Ang redefines her roles
Behind the multibillion-peso pursuit of a better Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) is one of the country’s richest and most powerful families already present in nearly every industry.
While San Miguel Corp. (SMC) chair and CEO Ramon S. Ang is the one often facing the media to answer questions about the P170.6-billion Naia rehabilitation project, his heiress is also making great strides.
A month before the conglomerate officially took over Naia management, Cecile Ang was appointed vice president of New Naia Infrastructure Corp. (NNIC).
Although a gargantuan task, the younger Ang is not new to big roles.
Just like conglomerate SMC, Cecile is ever present in nearly every aspect of the company.
Some may be surprised about this fact, but the executive has always been low-key yet intentional with the way she works.
Cecile, who has been president of the Ang family’s Diamond Hotel since 2004, finds purpose in providing meaningful employment.
“In a country where we can’t really provide the best wages as compared to other countries, it’s really about making sure that people feel fulfilled in what they do,” Cecile says in a 2017 interview with Stewardship Asia Centre.
“The main basis of that would be doing work that they can be proud of, that they can say that, ‘OK, the work that my company is doing is actually helping a lot of people,’” she adds.
Sticking to her word, Cecile now heads San Miguel Foundation (SMF), the corporate social responsibility arm of SMC, as its chair.
Just last year, SMF partnered with the local government of Valenzuela City and donated land to expand Gen. Tiburcio De Leon National High School.
‘Better World’
The additional property will allow 2,880 more students to enroll in the school, adding to over 6,000 students.
In donating the land, Cecile said it was their mission to ensure that “every child, regardless of background [is able] to reach their full potential through education.”
Under Cecile’s leadership, SMF launched the Better World program with AHA Learning Center to aid in the studies of children struggling with basic reading and math through remedial programs.
Apart from this, Cecile is overseeing the construction of permanent soup kitchens and food banks in urban poor communities, according to Forbes Asia.
On the infrastructure side, Cecile is tasked with leading the planning and design committee of New Manila International Airport, another multibillion-peso airport project led by SMC under subsidiary San Miguel Aerocity Inc.
In becoming a leader in her own right, Cecile cites the value of trusting her people in helping build strong relationships.
“One thing he (her father, Ramon Ang) has always taught us is loyalty and trust the people you’re with,” Cecile says in her Stewardship Asia interview.
“If you give people trust, they’ll return that trust,” she adds.
