A new face of leadership will soon unfold at Aboitiz Power Corporation, as fifth generation scion Danel C. Aboitiz will be ascending to the top post immediately after the retirement of Emmanuel ”Manny”  V. Rubio as President and CEO by June 30 this year.

An announcement of the company via the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) has stipulated that Aboitiz will be taking over as President and CEO of the preeminent energy firm by July 1, 2024. He is currently the Chief Commercial and Stakeholder Engagement Officer at Aboitiz Power.

In a statement to the media, Aboitiz Power indicated that Rubio will be leaving his post in the company when he turns 60 years old by June, which is in line with the retirement policy of the conglomerate.

“Danel inherits a company in great shape and the company is confident that he will take Aboitiz Power to the next level,” the company said.

Notwithstanding his presumptive stature as a bloodline boss, the incoming young CEO actually rose from the ranks and he first learned all the intricacies of the various facets of their power businesses across technologies way before taking on that Herculean task in the company.

In fact, when he was still starting in the Aboitiz group, Rubio served as one of his first major mentors – that was the time when Danel was assigned at SN Aboitiz Power (SNAP), their joint venture with Norwegian firm Scatec (formerly SN Power) – and Rubio at the time was the President of SNAP.

Danel was also assigned in their other core power businesses – primarily at Aboitiz Power’s thermal power generation portfolio – first with their oil plants, then he was eventually designated to oversee their coal-fired power assets; that’s aside from studying diligently the regulatory and policy frameworks governing the various segments of the industry.

For Rubio, he’s been the first professional hire to assume the CEO post at Aboitiz Power, which was seen as a strategic move that provided leverage to prepare the younger generation Aboitizes into taking eventual C-suite roles in the company.

In the storied history of Aboitiz Power, Rubio fervently worked with the fourth generation Aboitiz leaders in catapulting their businesses into unprecedented success – be it with the acquisition of assets via the privatization of the National Power Corporation (NPC) as well as in pursuing portfolio growth via greenfield and brownfield capacity expansions.

As he bowed down from his role, Rubio will be passing on a very virtuous goal to Danel – for him to continue the ‘portfolio rebalancing strategy’ that will concretize the carbon emissions reduction goal of the company, which is a noble legacy that Aboitiz Power could bestow to the younger generations.

On the next journey of Rubio, talks have been swirling that he might transfer to another conglomerate – possibly a top post at a giant power utility or its power investment arm, which also partnered recently with the Aboitiz group.