From piloting the airplane, the captain now takes charge at the airline.
Philippine Airlines (PAL) has appointed Senior Vice President for Airline Operations Stanley Ng as the company’s new president and chief operating officer (COO) in an acting or officer-in-charge (OIC) capacity.
“We welcome the elevation of a professional pilot to the presidency of PAL for the first time in 60 years,” the air carrier said in a January 31 statement.
“We express our full trust and confidence in Capt. Ng and in the senior management team which remains intact. We will all work together to execute the recovery plan and maintain the momentum toward the full recovery of the nation’s flag carrier.”
Here’s what you should know about the pilot-turned-president.
Proxy prexy
The appointment was made after the end of Gilbert Santa Maria’s engagement as President and COO, following the completion of the company’s Chapter 11 restructuring process.
PAL’s Board of Directors had accepted and approved Santa Maria’s resignation as President, COO, and Director, according to the company’s disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange. Likewise, the boards of PAL Holdings Inc. (PHI) and Air Philippines Corporation (APC) approved his resignation as Director.
Ng’s appointment as Acting President and COO of PAL will be for a period of six months or until a new President is identified, elected, and qualified. He also replaced Santa Maria as Director at the PHI and APC boards.
Santa Maria, although considered resigned from all other positions and directorate in the expanded Lucio Tan Group, will continue to help in the transition process in the next few weeks, according to PAL.
Preparing for takeoff
Prior to ascending to the presidency, Ng worked his way up the airline since 2003.
The many hats he’s worn over the years include on-ground staffer, second officer, first officer, captain, and A320 chief pilot.
From being an airport-based customer relations assistant, Ng became the man in charge of all of PAL’s pilots, cabin crew, and airport and engineering teams.
Recently, the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde alumnus (Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Major in Computer Applications) completed Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.
Family in high places
Ng is the son-in-law of billionaire Lucio Tan, the Chinese-born Filipino entrepreneur known for heading companies like Fortune Tobacco Corp, Asia Brewery Inc., and, of course, PAL.
He is married to Tan’s daughter Lilybeth, who is PAL’s Assistant Vice President for Pilot Affairs.
Tan himself is the longest-serving chief executive of PAL.
Banner Photo by Philippine Airlines
