Eugenio Lopez III

For other people with the same name, see Eugenio Lopez (disambiguation).
This is both a Filipino and Spanish name. Both surnames are Lopez.
Eugenio "Gabby" Lopez III
Chairman, ABS-CBN Corporation
In office
May 26, 1997 – April 18, 2018
Preceded byEugenio Lopez Jr.
Succeeded byMark Lopez
President, ABS-CBN Corporation
Interim
In office
March 16, 2006 – March 3, 2008
Preceded byLuis F. Alejandro
Succeeded byCharo Santos-Concio
In office
May 26, 1993 – May 26, 1997
Preceded byEugenio Lopez Jr.
Succeeded byFreddie M. Garcia
Personal details
Born
Eugenio Gabriel Lopez[fn 1]

(1952-08-13) August 13, 1952 (age 72)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Citizenship
  • Philippines
  • United States
Spouses
Children
  • Sarah Lopez Weston
  • Eugenio Manuel "Jamie" Lopez IV
  • Santiago Lopez
  • Andres "Res" Lopez
[4]
Parents
RelativesLopez family
Carlo Katigbak (cousin)
Alma materBowdoin College (BA)
Harvard University (MBA)
OccupationBusiness executive
Known forFormer chairman of ABS-CBN Corporation

Eugenio Gabriel "Gabby" Lopez III[fn 1] (Tagalog: [juˈhɛnjo ˈlɔpɛs]; born August 13, 1952) is a Filipino-American businessman who was the CEO (1993–2013), chairman (1997–2018) and chairman emeritus (2018–2020) of ABS-CBN Corporation, the largest entertainment and media conglomerate in the Philippines.

Early life

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Eugenio Gabriel Lopez III was born on August 13, 1952, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Eugenio "Geny" Lopez Jr. and Conchita "Chita" La'O.[5]

He is a member of the prominent López family of Iloilo; his father was one of the pioneers of the Philippine television industry. His mother was one of the daughters of the wealthy La'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). Another La'O daughter married former Senator Raul Manglapus.[citation needed]

Lopez holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine (1970–1974), and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in Cambridge, Massachusetts (1978–1980).[6]

Career

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Lopez became the chairman in 1997 and chief executive officer in 1993 of ABS-CBN Corporation. He was interim president of the company from 1993 to 1997, and again 2006 to 2008.

ABS-CBN has enjoyed network supremacy since its founding in 1953, apart from the years 1972 to 1986, when the company and all of its affiliates were forcibly taken over by the Marcos government. During this period and following his education, Lopez was employed at the 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, Lopez started with ABS-CBN as director of finance. He was appointed general manager a year later.

Under his leadership, ABS-CBN enjoyed steady growth, while aggressively pursuing diversification. These include interactive media, sound recording, post-production, international cable and satellite distribution, sports programming and licensing and merchandising.

He created the Lopez Communications Group (CommGroup) in 1997. CommGroup is the management committee that oversees the development and implementation of convergence strategies for ABS-CBN, BayanTel, Sky Cable, and the Lopez 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.

In 2012, he retired as CEO of ABS-CBN and was succeeded by the ABS-CBN president Charo Santos-Concio. He stepped down as chairman of the conglomerate six years later, being elected as chairman emeritus on April 18, 2018. His cousin, Martin "Mark" L. López, who served as the company's chief technology officer, was elected as the new chairman of the board.

On September 24, 2020, ABS-CBN released a press statement announcing his resignation as chairman emeritus and director of ABS-CBN and as director of ABS-CBN Holdings Corporation, Sky Vision Corporation, Sky Cable Corporation, First Philippine Holdings Corporation, First Gen Corporation, and Rockwell Land Corporation.[7]

Dual citizenship

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Lopez' citizenship was put into question as part of the renewal process of ABS-CBN Corporation's broadcast franchise.[8] It was alleged that Lopez solely held American citizenship, violating the 1987 Constitution's provision that media companies should be fully Filipino-owned, and that he supposedly gained Filipino citizenship when he applied for recognition as a Filipino national in 2001.[9]

The Philippine Department of Justice ruled that López is a natural-born Filipino since the 1935 Constitution automatically conferred him Filipino citizenship as both of his parents were Filipino while also having American citizenship due to the United States' jus soli nationality law. His usage of a United States passport was also ruled irrelevant to his Filipino citizenship.[10][11]

Recognitions

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  • 2014 Tanglaw ng Araw Award, 9th Araw Values Awards
  • 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award, 22nd Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) Golden Dove Awards
[edit]

López was portrayed by Mark Anthony Fernandez in the 1995 film Eskapo.

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Eugenio Lopez III was born in the United States of America. Thus, he does not possess his mother's maiden name which is La'O.

References

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  1. ^ "Gabby Lopez's son to lead ABS-CBN's digital group". Bilyonaryo. October 19, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  2. ^ "10 Questions That Boggled Our Minds During the Cory Coverage". spot.ph. 6 August 2009. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Man at the Helm". The Philippine Star. 8 July 2004. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  4. ^ Limos, Mario Alvaro (September 24, 2020). "Who Is Gabby Lopez, the Longest-Reigning Chairman of ABS-CBN?". Esquire Philippines. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  5. ^ Canlas, Jomar (May 25, 2020). "Lopez did not drop US citizenship". The Manila Times.
  6. ^ "Eugenio Lao Lopez". ASEAN Business Club. September 21, 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  7. ^ Galvez, Daphne (September 24, 2020). "ABC-CBN chairman Gabby Lopez resigns from network, other Lopez-owned firms". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  8. ^ "Gabby Lopez defends dual citizenship during House hearing on ABS-CBN franchise". www.msn.com. Archived from the original on 2020-06-08.
  9. ^ "ABS-CBN reiterates: Gabby Lopez is a Filipino citizen". ABS-CBN News. May 11, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  10. ^ "Gabby Lopez is a Filipino – DOJ". CNN Philippines. June 3, 2020. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  11. ^ "Gabby Lopez defends dual citizenship during House hearing on ABS-CBN franchise". GMA News. June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
[edit]
Preceded by ABS-CBN Chairman-Emeritus
April 18, 2018 – September 24, 2020 		Succeeded by
Vacant
Preceded by ABS-CBN Chairman
May 26, 1997 – April 18, 2018 		Succeeded by
Preceded by ABS-CBN President/CEO
May 26, 1993 – May 26, 1997 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Luis F. Alejandro
 ABS-CBN President (interim)
March 16, 2006 – March 3, 2008 		Succeeded by
Preceded by ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Chairperson
June 30, 2016 – May 3, 2017 		Succeeded by
Regina Paz L. Lopez
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