MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Philippine property developer Ayala Land has appointed Anna Ma. Margarita “Meean” Dy as its President and Chief Executive Officer, making her the first female chief of Ayala group’s real estate development arm.
Meean succeeds Bernard “Bobby” Vincent Dy, who retires from ALI after 26 years in the company, nine of which as President and CEO of ALI.
Effective October 01, Bobby will take a new role as Senior Advisor to ALI Chairman, Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala.
In a letter sent to employees, Jaime said that Bobby helped ALI maintain a strong balance sheet that enabled the company to recover from the challenges brought by the pandemic.
“During the pandemic years, Bobby guaranteed the health and safety of our employees and supported our merchants, suppliers, and the local communities we operated in. He was at the forefront of our sustainability initiatives as he boldly implemented a five-year plan to achieve carbon neutrality for our commercial properties, which we achieved a year ahead of the target,” he said.
As Ayala practices deliberate and effective succession planning across its business units, next-generation leaders are given exposure to the entire Ayala ecosystem. Upon her appointment as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ALI, Meean has since been included in the regular meetings of the Ayala Group Management Committee and involved in key decisions concerning the entire ecosystem.
In the same letter sent to employees, Jaime also expressed his trust and high confidence in ALI’s newly appointed chief. “Meean’s extensive experience encompasses pivotal leadership roles within the Strategic Landbank Management Group. She played a key role in launching critical projects in our portfolio, such as BGC, Nuvali, Vertis, and Arca South. Her journey continued as she led the Residential Business Group and, more recently, assumed leadership over the Malls, Offices, and the Hotels and Resorts Group,” he said.
“With Meean at the helm, I am confident that Ayala Land will continue to have a meaningful impact in all the lives and communities we touch,” he added.
Meean graduated magna cum laude from Ateneo De Manila University’s Economics Honors Program in 1990. She earned her Master’s degree in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1991 and an MBA at Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration in 1996.
