MANILA, Philippines – Ayala Land Incorporated (ALI) disclosed on Tuesday, September 5 the appointment of Anna Ma. Margarita “Meean” Bautista Dy as the first female chief of the Ayala group’s real estate unit by the end of this month. 

She succeeds Bernard Vincent “Bobby” O. Dy, who retired from ALI after serving as president and CEO for over nine years and being with the firm for 26 years.  

In a letter sent to employees following Tuesday’s special board meeting, ALI chairman Jaime Zobel de Ayala expressed confidence that Dy will make an impact on the communities being built by the company. 

“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 [Bonifacio Global City], 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 meaningful impact in all the lives and communities we touch,” he added.

Dy, 54, was promoted to executive vice president of ALI at the start of this year, and has been chief operating officer since April 26, 2023. She has been a member of the ALI’s  management committee since 2008.

“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 had since been included in the regular meetings of the Ayala Group Management Committee and involved in key decisions concerning the entire ecosystem,” the company said.

Dy graduated magna cum laude from Ateneo De Manila University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics (Honors Program) in 1990. She got her Master’s degree in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1991, and MBA at the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration in Boston in 1996. 

Before joining ALI, she was a vice president of the Lopez family’s Benpres Holdings Corporation. 

Zobel, in his letter to employees, also thanked Bobby Dy for his leadership in steering the company during the COVID-19 pandemic, noting the company still maintained a “strong balance sheet” in this difficult time. He will continue to serve as senior advisor to Zobel.

“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,” Zobel said. “He was at the forefront of our sustainability initiatives as he boldly implemented a 5-year plan to achieve carbon neutrality for our commercial properties, which we achieved 1 year ahead of the target.” 

With a land bank of 12,000 hectares, ALI claims to be the Philippines’ largest and most diversified real estate conglomerate. It has 49 estates and is present in 57 growth centers throughout the country. 

ALI’s total mall gross leasable area (GLA) in 2022 was 2.1 million square meters, while total office GLA was 1.4 million square meters. 

In 2022, property development accounted for 66% of ALI’s revenues while commercial leasing contributed 27%. 

Among its brands are Ayala Land Premier for the luxury real estate market; Alveo Land Corporation for upscale markets; Avida Land Corporation for middle-income house and lot/office packages; Amaia Land Corporation for “affordable” house and lot/office packages; and BellaVita for socialized housing. 

Its commercial leasing is through Ayala Malls for shopping centers, Ayala Land Office for offices, and Ayala Land Hotels and Resorts for its hotels and resorts business. 

ALI recovered strongly from the pandemic in 2022 with a net income of P18.6 billion, 52% higher than in 2021. Majority of ALI’s buyers in 2022 were local Filipinos accounting for 66% of P104 billion in reservation sales. Overseas Filipinos had a 22% share with P23 billion while other nationalities accounted for P12.6 billion for a 13% share.  

ALI has an in-house sales force of around 15,000 brokers and sales agents. Its sales staff are employed on commission basis. It has marketing offices in North America, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, Rome, and London. 

In the mall business, ALI’s main competitor is the Sy family’s SM Prime Holdings. In residential lots and condo sales, other major developers are SM Development Corporation, Megaworld, DMCI Homes, and Robinsons Land. For office rentals, its major competitors are SM Prime, Kuok Properties, Robinsons Land, Megaworld, SM Prime, AIG Group, and RCBC. – Rappler.com

Having women in the board impacts business performance says study