Who is Carl Raymond Cruz, the Incoming President and CEO of Globe?
It’s hard to remember a time when Ernest Cu wasn’t at the helm of Globe Telecom. But the longtime telco veteran, who led one of the country’s top telecoms firms for the last 16 years, has announced that he is officially stepping down from his role in April 2025.
Appointed to take his place is Carl Raymond Cruz, who has been appointed deputy CEO effective January 1.
Cruz is expected to be formally nominated as Globe's new President and CEO during the company's annual stockholders meeting in April.
After the leadership transition, Cu will maintain his role as chairman for several Globe subsidiaries, including 917Ventures, Mynt (the holding company of GCash), Kickstart Ventures Inc., and STT GDC Philippines.
ALSO READ
GCash Doubles Its Worth to $5B After Securing New Investments
This Company Is Making E-Scooters More Affordable
Who is Carl Raymond Cruz?
Cruz most recently served as CEO and Managing Director of Airtel Nigeria, the largest operating company of Airtel Africa. Despite macroeconomic challenges, Cruz successfully expanded the company’s subscriber base and mobile data business.
Before his foray into telecommunications, Cruz held key leadership positions in Unilever, including stints as Managing Director for Unilever West Africa, CEO of Unilever Nigeria, and Chairman of Unilever Sri Lanka. His career at Unilever also included serving as vice president for customer development (Sales) at Unilever Philippines.
A marketing graduate of De La Salle University, Cruz started his career as a sales trainee at Unilever Philippines, and eventually worked his way up through the ranks. According to his Linkedin profile, he stayed in the company for 24 years before eventually relocating to Sri Lanka to lead the Unilever team there as chairman and managing director.
“I am very honored to be given the opportunity to be part of the Globe organization. I look forward to working alongside Ernest and Globe’s talented team to drive growth, elevate customer experience, and shape the future of the telco industry,” Cruz said.
“We welcome Carl to Globe. He has a solid track record as a strategic and transformational business leader who delivers business growth,” Cu said. “Meanwhile, I will remain focused on guiding our corporate strategy, ensuring we advance the broader growth agenda while Carl will assume the responsibilities of overseeing the day-to-day operations and take on an essential role to accelerate our momentum, enhance the execution of key strategic priorities, and further strengthen our leadership team.”
Globe’s unit GCash recently celebrated its 20th anniversary with a high-profile event at Marriott Hotel’s Grand Ballroom. In August, it was revealed that Mynt had achieved a valuation of $5 billion and at the event, Cu said it wasn’t far off that GCash would match or even exceed the valuation of its parent company Globe.
Globe recorded flat profits in the first half of the year, even as it reported robust earnings that were “counterbalanced” by the rise in depreciation expenses and the one-time gain it posted the year prior.
The company’s net income stood at P14.5 billion as of end-June, just one percent more than the P14.4 billion it recorded in the same period last year.
The company’s core net income, which strips off one-time gains and losses, was up 18 percent to P11.71 billion from P9.95 billion the year prior, as Globe recorded a two-percent increase in service revenues to P82.23 billion from P80.40 billion.
Globe’s normalized net income after tax stood at P11.92 billion, a 19-percent growth from P10 billion the year prior.
During the first six months of the year, Globe spent P28.3 billion in capital expenditures, a 25-percent decline from the same period last year.
Globe reduced its capex by 23 percent to $1 billion this year to achieve positive cash flow by 2025.
