Billionaire Susan Co of Cosco Capital, the new president and CEO of Ayala Land Inc. Anna Ma. Margarita B. Dy and three other Filipinas were included among the women of Forbes Magazine’s third annual 50 Over 50: Asia.
Co, Dy, Medilink Networks President and CEO Esther Go, peace negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, and actress Dolly de Leon made it to the prestigious list of women who hail from 14 countries and territories and more than two dozen sectors of work.
The five women are exerting their influence across Asia-Pacific on fashion, pharma, finance and beyond—and they're doing so at 54, 68 and even 112 as founders, CEOs and innovators--proving that the years after 50 are the new golden age.
Co is the co-founder and vice chair or Puregold Priceclub and Cosco Capital, and is one-half of a power couple, with combined net worth of $2.3 billion with husband Lucio Co.
The couple founded the Philippines' affordable supermarket chain Puregold, which has grown popular with the middle class and has more than 300 stores nationwide.
Co also is vice-chair of Cosco Capital, a retail holding company with stakes in commercial real estate and liquor distribution businesses, and holds directorship in dozens of other companies.
Dy took the helm at Ayala Land in October, becoming the first female CEO of the Philippines’ second-largest property developer by market value.
Her rise comes as the company—the real estate arm of the Ayala Group, a conglomerate controlled by billionaire Jaime Zobel de Ayala and his family—accelerates the launch of residential projects to meet surging housing demand.
Before she was appointed CEO, the Harvard MBA alum oversaw many of the firm’s luxury housing projects as chief operating officer and head of its residential business group.
Go has led the electronic health-tech firm Medilink for nearly 20 years, growing the company to connect more than 200,000 physicians with more than two million patients in the Philippines.
She also serves as director of other Philippine corporations, including Equicom Health Services, Equicom Savings Bank, Security Bank Corp., among others.
Go earned her MBA at Harvard University and worked as a vice president for CitiGroup in New York until 2005, when she returned to the Philippines.
Coronel-Ferrer is in the list for her efforts in conflict resolution and gender inclusivity. She was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in November 2023, the prestigious annual prize for improving life in Asia.
During the 1970s, she fought against martial rule and became a key figure in resolving post-dictatorship armed conflicts. She played a pivotal role in the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, a model of gender-responsive provisions and inclusive peace processes.
Coronel-Ferrer, a former professor, co-founded the Southeast Asian Women Peace Mediators in 2020. More women at the peace table, she said, “would have a direct impact on their lives.”
De Leon gained international acclaim for her role as Abigail in the satirical 2022 film "Triangle of Sadness." The Palme d'Or-winning film earned her a BAFTA nomination and she is the first Filipino nominated for a Golden Globe.
She is also the first Filipino member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, after acting for three decades while juggling her role as a single mother of four.
De Leon recently starred in two US-made films, “Between The Temples” and “Ghostlight,” which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.