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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider The Stock Market devider Tech and telecom veteran Napoleon Nazareno passes away at 77

Tech and telecom veteran Napoleon Nazareno passes away at 77

Published Mar 24, 2026 08:04 pm
Napoleon “Polly” Nazareno, a veteran of the Philippine telecommunications and tech sectors, has passed at the age of 76.
“With the heaviest of hearts, we share the passing of our beloved Napoleon ‘Polly’ L. Nazareno — loving husband, father, grandfather, friend and a man whose life was marked by purpose, faith, and love,” said his daughter Apple Nazareno Faraon in a social media post.
She added that, “Polly peacefully joined our Creator on a snowy evening, after suffering from a spontaneous intracranial hemorrage at the Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital in Toronto surrounded by the warm love of his family.”
She said the late Nazareno will be remembered for his kind heart, quiet strength, and remarkable vision. He devoted much of his life to helping shape the future of Philippine telecommunications and believed deeply in innovation, excellence, and making technology serve more people.
“He led with wisdom, integrity, and a strong sense of purpose, leaving behind a legacy that touched both family and country,” Faraon said noting that, “Above all, Polly will be remembered as a devoted family man whose greatest joy was found in the love of his family.”
The Management Association of the Philippines, where Nazareno as governor in 2004 to 2005, also made an announcement of his passing today.
Nazareno’s business experience spans several countries in over 40 years and his exposure cuts across a broad range of industries, namely packaging, bottling, petrochemicals, real estate and, in the last 16 years, telecommunications and information technology.
He was most known as the president and chief executive officer of PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications and some of their subsidiaries which he led through an ever-changing technological landscape.
A trusted executive of tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan, Nazareno was Chairman of several subsidiaries of PLDT and Smart, including PLDT Communications and Energy Ventures, Inc. (PCEV), ePLDT, Inc. (from 2013 to 2015), Digital Telecommunications Phils., Inc. (Digitel) (2012-2015), Digitel Mobile Philippines Inc. (Digitel Mobile) (2012-2015), Smart Broadband Inc. (2005-2015) and i-Contacts Corporation (2001-2015).
He was the President and CEO of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) (2004-2015), Smart Communications, Inc. (2000-2015), Connectivity Unlimited Resources Enterprise, Inc. (2008-2015), Aces Philippines Cellular Satellite Corporation (2000-2015), and PLDT Communications and Energy Ventures (2004-2011).
Nazareno likewise served as Director of Manila Electric Company, PLDT Global Corporation, Mabuhay Satellite Corporation, Rufino Pacific Tower Condominium, and Operation Smile.
He was a non-Executive Director of First Pacific, a Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed company headed by Pangilinan and controlling shareholder of PLDT, and a Supervisory Board Member of Rocket Internet AG, a company which provides a platform for the rapid creation and scaling of consumer internet businesses outside the US and China.
Nazareno was a member of the board of Security Bank Corporation and an Independent Director of Paymongo Philippines Inc. since 2023. He was a Member of the Supervisory Board of Rocket Internet (2014-2017), Trustee of Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation, Inc. (2013-2015) and Ideaspace (2012-2015), President and Trustee of First Pacific Leadership Academy (2012-2015), and Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Board of Governors of the Asian Institute of Management (2011-2017).
He received his Master’s degree in Business Management from Asian Institute of Management, completed the INSEAD Executive Program of the European Institute of Business Administration in Fontainebleau, France, and was conferred a Doctor of Technology degree (Honoris Causa) by the University of San Carlos in Cebu City.

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