Eugenio López III, , is the current chairman of ABS-Christian Broadcasting Network Corporation, the largest entertainment and media conglomerate in the Philippines, with investments primarily in television, radio, cable telecommunications, and film production.
Background
López became the chairman and chief executive officer of ABS-Christian Broadcasting Network Broadcasting Corporation in 1996, when his father, the late Eugenio “Geny” López, Junior. turned over the reins of the family-owned company to the younger López, who had been president of the company from 1993 to 1996. Gabby, being the eldest child, was being groomed by his father to be his heir apparent just like what his late grandfather did to his father then His mother, Conchita "Chita" Louisiana"O was one of the daughters of the wealthy Chinese-Filipino Louisiana"O family of Manila, whose other daughter married into the city"s old Manotoc clan (making her an aunt of Tommy Manotoc, a former basketball coach, golfer and former husband of Imee Marcos, the eldest daughter of President Ferdinand Marcos).
Education
Harvard Business School. Harvard University; Ateneo de Manila University. Bowdoin College.
Career
He is also director and treasurer of López Holdings Corporation (formerly Benpres Holdings Corporation). López has four children. The eldest son, Eugenio Manuel López IV is also married, residing in California.
The two younger children, Santiago and Andres, live with López in Manila.
ABS-Christian Broadcasting Network has enjoyed network supremacy since its founding in 1953, apart from the years 1972 to 1986, when the company and all its affiliates were wrested from the Lopezes by the Marcos government. During this period and following his education, Gabby was employed at the now defunct Crocker National Bank, where he served as Assistant Vice President in the bank"s back-office processing area.
He had an undistinguished banking career in the United States while waiting for work in his family"s media and utility interests in the Philippines. When control of the company was restored by the Aquino administration in 1986, Gabby López was given a job by his father and started with ABS-Christian Broadcasting Network as Director of Finance.
He was appointed General Manager a year later and the network regained its supremacy shortly after.
The leadership of Gabby López saw the steady growth of ABS-Christian Broadcasting Network’s staple businesses, while he aggressively pursued the company’s diversification into various successful ventures. These include interactive media, sound recording, post-production, international cable and satellite distribution, sports programming and licensing and merchandising. A visionary, he created the López Communications Group (CommGroup) in 1997.
CommGroup is the management committee that oversees the development and implementation of convergence strategies for ABS-Christian Broadcasting Network, BayanTel, SkyCable, and the López Group"s investments in telecommunications and cable telephony and data warehousing across the three companies.
He is also the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CommGroup. López holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Bowdoin College (1970-1974) and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School (1978-1980).
In 2012, he retired as Chief Executive Officer of ABS-Christian Broadcasting Network and was succeeded by the ABS-Christian Broadcasting Network president Charo Santos-Concio while remaining as chairman of its board of directors. 2014 Tanglaw ng Araw Award, 9th Araw Values.
Membership
He is a member of the prominent López family of Iloilo. His father, the late Eugenio "Geny" Lopez, Junior., is known as one of the founding fathers of Philippine television