Napoleon Nazareno has retired as chief executive officer of PLDT and its mobile business Smart Communications, effective at the end of this year.
The Philippines-based telco group announced on Tuesday that Nazareno, who has led the company for well over a decade, will take on a special advisory role.
He was due to retire last year, but agreed to stay on for another 12 months to help the telco with its digital transformation and its leadership succession plan, PLDT said, in a statement. He will continue as a director of PLDT until his replacement is found.
Manuel Pangilinan, chairman of the board at both PLDT and Smart, will take on the president and CEO role. He will continue the search for Nazareno’s successor, the operator said.
Pangilinan has spent 12 years as chairman and in that time has played an active role in the strategy and operations of PLDT and Smart.
Nazareno, meanwhile, has led PLDT and Smart through a period of strong growth.
"He led the transformation of the landline business from an overwhelmingly voice-driven service to a broadband data-powered business," PLDT said in a statement.
"On the wireless side, he led Smart’s successful climb from third player to market leader, as far back as 2006, a position that the company maintains to this day," it added.
Nazareno has served as CEO of Smart since 2000 and chief executive of PLDT since 2004, making him the longest-serving leader on the CEO of the Year shortlist for the World Communication Awards 2015.
The winner in that category, and a range of others, will be announced at a gala dinner at Wembley Stadium in London tonight.
