Who Is Michael Sabado, the SGV Veteran Set to Lead the Philippines’ Largest Professional Services Firm?
San Beda-trained CPA Michael Sabado, an SGV assurance partner since 1993, takes over as chairman and country managing partner on November 3.
by JV Ordoñez
Published on Oct 28, 2026
The largest multidisciplinary professional services and accounting firm in the Philippines is slated to have a new chairman starting next month.
In a Facebook post on October 28, SGV & Co. announced that Michael C. Sabado will assume the roles of chairman and country managing partner effective November 3, 2026, succeeding Rossana Fajardo, who herself took over from Wilson Tan in July 2025.
So what will Sabado actually oversee once he assumes his post as the So what will Sabado actually oversee once he assumes his post as the head of SGV & Co?
For the uninitiated, it is a Philippine member firm of Ernst & Young (EY) and the country’s largest professional services outfit founded in 1946. SGV & Co. is concerned with auditing companies' books so that investors, lenders, and regulators can trust the numbers, helping businesses sort out their taxes, and advising them on matters ranging from strategy to technology.
As chairman and country managing partner, Sabado will be in charge of setting the firm’s direction, managing its partners and staff, and holding together the corporate client relationships on which the business rests.
A certified public accountant with a bachelor’s degree in commerce, majoring in accounting, from San Beda College, he has spent more than three decades at SGV, where he has served as an assurance partner and a market group leader. According to his EY Philippines profile, he has handled clients in the automotive, real estate, manufacturing, and insurance industries and has experience in international stock and bond offerings and internal audit engagements, while the firm credits him with guiding clients through complex business, financial reporting, and regulatory matters.
His most recent posts were client relationship leader for core accounts and co-head of Japan Business Services, the unit that works with Japanese investors and multinationals operating in the Philippines.
Esquire PH's resident music scribe, wristwatch disciple, and essayist fluent in niche internet subcultures and Philippine politics.