Meet the 5 Filipinas in Forbes’ 50 over 50 Asia 2024 list

MANILA, Philippines – Five Filipinas made it to this year’s Forbes 50 over 50 Asia list, joining other women over the age of 50 in the region who have helped shape and influence their respective fields.

Forbes said the list comprises women in various professions, including fashion, pharma, finance, and beyond.

Miriam Coronel-Ferrer

Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, 64, is a peace negotiator and professor who was named as one of the recipients of the 2023 Ramon Magsaysay Awards.

During the Benigno Aquino III administration, she chaired the government peace panel in negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front that led to the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro in 2014.

She was a former senior mediation adviser at the United Nations and a professor of political science at the University of the Philippines. She is a founding member of the Southeast Asian Women Peace Mediators.

Dolly de Leon

The 54-year-old actress gained international acclaim for her role as Abigail in Triangle of Sadness, where she was the first Filipino nominated for a Golden Globe.

Dolly de Leon won the best supporting performer award from the Los Angeles Critics Association – another first for a Filipino actor.

She is also the first Filipino member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Esther Go

Esther Go, 52, has been the president and CEO of electronic health tech company MediLink Network for nearly two decades.

She is also the director of  Equicom Health Services, Equicom Savings Bank, and Security Bank.

Go has an MBA from Harvard University and worked as a vice president for CitiGroup in New York until 2005, when she returned to the Philippines.

Anna Ma. Margarita Dy

Anna Ma. Margarita Dy, 54, is Ayala Land’s first female CEO.

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

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

Susan Co

Susan Co is the co-founder and vice chair of Puregold. The 66-year-old, alongside husband Lucio, grew the affordable supermarket chain to more than 300 stores nationwide.

Co is also the vice chair of Cosco Capital, a retail holding company with stakes in commercial real estate and liquor distribution businesses.

Read Forbes’ complete list here. – Rappler.com