Is Billionaire Ramon Ang Getting Ready to Pass the Torch to His Eldest Son?
More than two decades have passed since billionaire Ramon Ang essentially took over San Miguel Corporation. From sitting as vice chairman of the company in 1999 to becoming president and CEO three years after, he has grown what was originally a brewery to one of the biggest and most diversified conglomerates that it is today—a big name not only in the food and beverage industry, but in many other areas like energy, infrastructure, fuel, cement, real estate, automobiles, and even banking. It's no wonder why Ang is now one of the richest and most well-known tycoons in the Philippines.
But just like in any other business success story, grooming and naming a successor is an important part of the process of ensuring the longevity of any company. Questions have been raised whether Ang, who turned 70 this year, is ready to eventually pass the baton on to a new generation.
From the looks of it, the answer is yes, as Ang, also known as “RSA,” is starting to show his "chosen one” the ropes. He recently tapped his son, John Paul Ang, to help him manage San Miguel. The younger Ang, a director at the conglomerate, is now president and COO; while his father, formerly the vice chairman, will sit as chairman and CEO.
Although Ang has said he has no plans of retiring just yet, at least not in the next five years, the change in leadership makes for a significant transition. The elder Ang says his son will undergo the same training as he did when he was mentored by the late former chairman and CEO of the conglomerate, Eduardo“Danding” Cojuangco, Jr.
“I will continue to guide San Miguel, but will let Paul start to help operate the company,” RSA told Forbes Asia.
Given the restructuring, the conglomerate’s board has approved amendments to its by-laws to separate the roles of president and CEO. However, these are still pending the go signal of the Securities Exchange Commission and San Miguel’s shareholders, who are set to meet on August 8.
Who is John Paul Ang?
John Paul Ang, who goes by the nickname Paul, is the eldest son of RSA. A graduate of interdisciplinary studies at the Ateneo de Manila University, the younger Ang has been sitting as director for San Miguel’s largest shareholder, Top Frontier Investment Holdings, since 2021. It was in the same year when he joined the conglomerate’s board, filling the vacancy left by the late Reynaldo David.
ALSO READ
Ramon Ang: Wealth, Business Empire, and Life Outside Work
Concurrently, Ang’s son also serves as the president and CEO of Eagle Cement Corporation. The 44-year-old says he was inspired by how his father ran his cement business back in the day. He saw how RSA—who was in-charge of companies rehabilitating cement plants at the time—risked buying and growing Fortune Cement until he was able to officially list it in the stock market, despite an ongoing financial crisis in Asia. This eventually turned the tide for their family.
“It was then that I realized [cement] could be a good business,” RSA’s son recalled in an interview.
He went on to help turn around a distressed Malaysian cement company, Sarawak Clinker, and fly to the Southeast Asia neighbor to learn the ropes of the cement business from 2002 to 2007. The following year, the younger Ang decided to go back to the Philippines and put up a new cement company. And the rest, as they say, is history. Eagle Cement grew to be one of the major cement players in the country, and was later acquired by San Miguel in 2022.
The conglomerate’s new president and COO holds various other positions, mostly in companies run by his father. He is also the chairman and president of San Miguel Equity Investments; vice chairman of SMC Global Power Holdings Corporation; and director at Petron Corporation, among others. Apart from these, Ang’s son is the president and CEO of South Western Cement Corporation.
What lies ahead for the younger Ang, John Paul Ang?
The latest leadership shuffle comes as San Miguel is pursuing $20 billion worth of mega infrastructure projects—signaling much bigger responsibilities for the younger Ang. First on the list is building a new airport complex in Bulacan while upgrading the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the country’s main gateway, in Manila. Then there’s the plan to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Batangas, in partnership with billionaire Sabin Aboitiz and tycoon Manny Pangilinan. Simultaneously, Ang’s son will also have to oversee the construction of a 22-kilometer mass rail transit set to connect various areas in the metro to Bulacan, where San Miguel’s airport is expected to rise.
But that's just the tip of the iceberg. The bigger challenge for RSA’s potential successor is how he can help spur further growth for San Miguel, as well as bring something new to the table—especially when his father, a mechanical engineer, went beyond his comfort zone to introduce the food and beverage-dependent conglomerate to other industries, with the help of his mentor Cojuangco.
San Miguel, founded in 1890, has been making notable contributions to the Philippine economy, accounting for about six percent of the country’s gross domestic product as of last year. The conglomerate’s sales surged by 13 percent to P392.7 billion from January to March, while its net income stood at P14.5 billion, up by 61 percent. These have certainly helped increase Ang's personal fortune, as according to Forbes, his net worth is $3.3 billion.
The way analysts see it, Ang’s son may just be the right heir to what is now deemed to be the biggest conglomerate in the Philippines.
“This is a positive appointment since Ang needs a person he can fully trust to undertake all his projects,” Ian Garcia of AP Securities told Forbes Asia. “And his son also has the skills.”
Will the younger Ang live up to his father and San Miguel’s expectations? Time will tell.
