Charo is ABS-CBN CEO

MANILA, Philippines - ABS-CBN Corporation announced the appointment of Ma. Rosario “Charo” Santos-Concio (photo) as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective Jan. 1, 2013. The new position is in addition to her role as the company’s president and chief content officer. Eugenio “Gabby” Lopez III continues to be the chairman of the board of ABS-CBN.

As ABS-CBN president, Santos-Concio conceptualized strategies and solutions for the company’s growth, helping it achieve profit margins, record-high advertising revenues and leadership in nationwide TV ratings.

It was also during Santos-Concio’s term that the network was named as one of the Top 15 highest scoring companies and the only publicly-listed media organization to garner a score for 90 percent or higher in the Institute of Corporate Directors’ 2008 Corporate Governance Scorecard.

Before being promoted to president in 2008, she served as ABS-CBN’s head for Channel 2 in 2006, EVP in 1998, SVP of TV production in 1996, VP of production operations in 1991, and director for programs in 1989. She joined ABS-CBN as consultant in 1987.

As a programming executive and producer, she is credited with ABS-CBN’s leadership in the TV and movie market with top-rating programs and high-grossing films under her helm, such as Esperanza, Pangako Sa ’Yo and May Bukas Pa, the sitcom Home Along Da Riles that revived the King of Comedy Dolphy’s career, and Star Cinema’s quality movies that broke box-office records.

Santos-Concio is a recipient of many awards for her work and contribution to the film and broadcast industry, including Film Academy of the Philippines’ Manuel de Leon Award, Hall of Fame Awards for her long-running drama anthology Maalaala Mo Kaya from the Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA), PMPC Star and Anak TV Awards, CEO Communication Excellence in Organizations (CEO EXCEL) Awards and CMO Awards’ Woman Super Achiever Award.

She began her career in media as a production assistant in John en Marsha, then moved on to become a drama actress and producer for BanCom Audiovision, Experimental Cinema of the Philippines, Vanguard Films, Regal Films and Vision Exponents.

Before becoming a media executive, Santos-Concio became famous for acting in critically-acclaimed films, most notably in Brutal, Kisapmata, Gumapang Ka sa Lusak and Mike de Leon’s Itim, for which she won the Best Actress award in the 1978 Asian Film Festival.

She graduated cum laude from St. Paul’s College in Manila with a degree in Communications Arts and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in 2007.