Pinoy expat ‘coming home’ to turn PAL around

3 days ago

Philippine Airlines (File photo from Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Philippine Airlines’ next top manager is a Filipino expatriate who spent much of
his career working for multinational companies around the world.

Gilbert Santa Maria, who was appointed PAL president and chief operating officer
during a board meeting on Monday, replaced the flag carrier’s longtime chief
Jaime Bautista, who retired last month.

High on the agenda is bolstering PAL’s position as a four-star airline and

improving PAL’s financial health.
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“Maintaining the quality of service is important as well as profitability,” Santa

Maria told reporters after his appointment on Monday.

PAL, in recent years, made significant strides in bringing up service quality,

expanding its global presence and adding newer, more fuel-efficient planes. But
its expansion, combined with external factors such as higher fuel costs, also led to
two straight years of losses.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Santa Maria said.

Santa Maria, who was born in Butuan City, Agusan Del Norte, said he was
surprised to learn he was considered for the job.

“It comes as a shock because I live on the other side of the Pacific. So for me, this is
coming home,” he said.

Santa Maria has 15 years of experience in the business process outsourcing sector.
Until early 2018, he was COO of Washington, DC-based BPO company Ibex Global
and oversaw its 18,000 employees around the world.
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Santa Maria, who also worked with eTelecare, Pepsi Cola Products Philippines and
Unilever, left his Los Angeles-based advisory firm to join the airline. He said on
Monday he was ready to master a new industry and lead PAL.

“The flag carrier matters. That’s one of the reasons I took the job,” Santa Maria
said.

Santa Maria earned a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of the
Philippines and then a master’s in Public and Private Management from the Yale
University School of Management.

He was handpicked by PAL chair Lucio Tan and a small selection committee.

PAL executive vice president Vivienne Tan said Santa Maria’s experience working
for local and global companies would be valuable for PAL as it seeks a larger
footprint overseas.

“It is important for my father’s vision to be translated into PAL providing

consistent quality service to our customers and also, the flag carrier serving as a
means to contribute to nation-building. With this new leadership, we will
accomplish this further,” she said.
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