SHE'S THE ONE

Her illustrious family name is second only to her true mettle, as Mariana Zobel de Avala stands poised to lead her family's esteemed empire to a new era 

- Chit L Lijauco

Societies sleep better when their institutions are strong and steady. One such institution, which has been proving its strength since 1834, is the Ayala Group. Its leaders have been captains of industry and partners in the country’s economy since its founding. The fact that just one family helms it with an excellent track record in business and industry has even generated an enormous amount of public trust. Though highly competent professionals have occupied top leadership positions around Ayala Group, family members through generations have taken the reins in steering the huge conglomerate.

“Several generations ago, Ayala made a deliberate decision to professionalise—many of us in the family [accept] that our one gene pool may not carry all of the experience, talents and skills needed to cover the wide range of industries we participate in,” says Mariana Zobel de Ayala, an eighth-generation Zobel and the executive director of Ayala Corporation. “In that respect, the view is, generally, ‘Let’s find the best person for the job—family or not’.”

But that doesn’t mean they don’t start the search close to home.