Lucio Tan III replaces his uncle, who served as the company’s president for over a decade and has helped turn LT Group into the conglomerate that it is today.

With subsidiaries like Philippine Airlines, Philippine National Bank (PNB), Fortune Tobacco, and Asia Brewery, the LT Group is undoubtedly a banking, tobacco, liquor, and property giant in the Philippines. In fact, the conglomerate’s sales in 2022 are PHP 100.87 billion.

While the success of LT Group can be attributed to Michael Tan, who served as the company’s president and was an integral force in turning the PHP 110-billion LT Group into one of the country’s biggest conglomerates, a successor has been named to take his place.

LT Group’s New Leader

As the grandson of business tycoon Lucio Tan, the nephew of former President Michael Tan, and the son of the late Lucio Tan Jr., he has very big shoes to fill. But even so, he comes with solid credentials.

Armed with a degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University, he went on to earn a master’s degree in computer science from the same university in 2017 before joining the board of LT Group in 2019 and taking on the role of the President of PAL Holdings and President of LT Group in 2023.

This, according to a report, is because he is a “key figure in the family’s succession plan for the next generation of leaders.” Moreover, the younger Tan’s rise to the top was expected after he was named vice chairman and chief executive officer last 2022—a yearlong transition before becoming president.

“I am deeply honored to accept the appointment as president and chief operating officer,” Lucio Tan III said during their organizational meeting on Wednesday. “I thank the board of directors for entrusting me with this responsibility, and I am grateful to all of you for your support. In exercising the functions of my new role, rest assured that I will be guided by the values of integrity, diligence, excellence, and transparency.”

The newly-appointed president and CEO adds in his statement that he is prepared to face new challenges during his tenure. “The business landscape is constantly evolving, and we must adapt quickly to stay competitive. However, I am confident that with our talented and dedicated team, we will overcome these challenges and achieve even greater success,” he said confidently.

Looking Back at Success

Former LT Group president Michael Tan is the eldest son of the 88-year-old taipan by his second wife. Moving forward, he will maintain his position as the director of LT Group and president of Asia Brewery.

During the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting, he delivered the president’s report—while looking back at LT Group’s success thus far. “[The] company’s journey, from the reorganization in 2012 of Tanduay Holdings to what it is today, has not been easy,” he said.

“As I look back over the past decade of [LT Group] as a publicly-listed company, we have done our best to lead it to where it is—built the way, the tried and tested way.”

He went on to highlight the company’s historic-high profit in 2022 despite the challenges faced in a post-pandemic era—an attributable net income of PHP 25.14 billion in 2022, which was 24% higher than the previous year’s PHP 20.25 billion, along with record cash dividends last year of PHP 1.40 per share or a total of PHP 15.2 billion.

“The task of the president of this company is not about the glitz and glamour, but stewardship over what was entrusted to me, with careful and responsible management, with accountability,” Michael Tan said. “I have handled the responsibility with integrity and done what I could to the best of my ability.”

“I have always put the interests of the stakeholders and shareholders, especially the minority shareholders, above everything else,” he ended.