Eric Francia

Group CEO, ACEN

Patrice Clausse

CEO, ACEN International

Jose Maria Zabaleta

CEO, ACEN Development

Miguel de Jesus

COO, Philippine Operations

Maria Corazon Dizon

Chief Finance Officer
Chief Compliance Officer

Jonathan Back

Chief Strategy Officer

John Philip Orbeta

Chief Administrative Officer
Chief Risk Officer

Solomon Hermosura

Corporate Secretary

Dodjie Lagazo

General Counsel &
Assistant Corporate Secretary

Cecile Cruzabra

Treasurer

Eric Francia

Group CEO, ACEN

Eric Francia is the president and chief executive officer of ACEN Corporation (PSE:ACEN). Under his leadership, Ayala established its energy platform from a standing start in 2011 to become one of the largest renewable energy platforms in the region, with ~4,200 MW of attributable renewables capacity and 18,000 MW of renewables pipeline across Asia Pacific.

Eric is also a senior managing director and member of the Management Committee and Investment Committee of Ayala Corporation.

Eric earned a master’s degree in Management Studies at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, graduating with first class honors. He received his undergraduate degree in Humanities and Political Economy from the University of Asia & the Pacific, graduating magna cum laude.

Patrice Clausse

CEO, ACEN International

Patrice Clausse is the chief executive officer of ACEN International. He joined Ayala Corporation in May 2010 as an advisor to the Strategy and Business Development team and became a founding member of the ACEN management in 2011, where he led the Business Development and Operations teams. Currently, he heads ACEN’s international business, with focus on Southeast Asia and Australia.

Patrice is a member of the Board of Directors/Management and Advisory Committee of various ACEN International Projects. Prior to joining Ayala, he was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company in London as well as with Marakon Associates (part of Charles River Associates).

Patrice holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from Harvard Business School, where he graduated with high distinction as Baker Scholar. He also received his master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Manufacturing Engineering from Cambridge University in the UK.

Jose Maria Zabaleta

CEO, ACEN Development

Sech is the chief development officer of ACEN and heads the company’s development arm, Endevor, with over 3,000 MW of generation capacity under active development and 500 MW constantly under construction. He is also the chairman of ACEN’s operating renewable subsidiaries and partnerships in the Philippines. 

Previously, Sech was co-founder and chief executive officer of Bronzeoak Philippines, a pioneer and leader in clean technology energy development in the Philippines. Since 2004 and under his leadership, the Bronzeoak Group has deployed nearly $1 billion in capital across 16 completed projects with multiple international partners and investors. Bronzeoak’s energy businesses were integrated into ACEN in late 2016, and he now serves as chief executive officer of Bronzeoak’s independent non-energy investments. 

Sech holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, USA, and graduated with honors from Ateneo de Manila University. 

Miguel de Jesus

COO, Philippine Operations

Miguel is the Chief Operating Officer of ACEN’s Philippine Operations. Prior roles included leading ACEN’s solar developments in Vietnam, pioneering ACEN’s retail electricity business, and managing ACEN’s first operating wind assets in the Philippines.

Before joining ACEN, Miguel practiced law, specializing in energy and project finance.

Miguel holds an M.A. in philosophy from Ateneo de Manila and is also an alumnus of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program. He holds a bachelor of laws degree (cum laude) from the University of Philippines.

Maria Corazon Dizon

Chief Finance Officer
Chief Compliance Officer

As ACEN’s chief finance officer and chief compliance officer, Cora heads various functional units under Finance, including Controllership, Corporate Finance, Treasury and Internal Audit.

In addition, she holds directorship positions and is chair of the Audit and Risk Committees of various subsidiaries within ACEN, such as South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation, North Luzon Renewables, Northwind Power Development Corp. and ACE Endevor, Inc. She is concurrently the chief finance officer and treasurer of ENEX Energy Corp.

Cora joined Ayala’s Energy and Infrastructure Group in 2016 after 28 years in Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI), where she served as head of ALI Capital Corp., head of Business Development and Strategic Planning of the Commercial Business Group, head of Asset Management Group of Shopping Centers, head of Control and Analysis, head of Investor Relations as well as Chief Financial Officer of Residential Buildings, Office Buildings and Shopping Centers groups.

Cora attended an Executive Management Program at Wharton University of Pennsylvania, and is a certified public accountant.

Jonathan Back

Chief Strategy Officer

Jonathan is the chief strategy officer of ACEN. He is a lawyer and banker with over 25 years of experience in the legal, investment banking, and private investment sectors with significant experience in equity capital markets, corporate finance, and in advising on large infrastructure, power, and telecom projects.

Jonathan was previously a director and the executive chairman of BPI International Finance Ltd., the Hong Kong banking subsidiary of BPI and concurrently, co-head of Wealth Management and head of international businesses of BPI. He was also a director of Schools Relief Initiative Ltd., a Hong Kong based charity supporting education in Southern Sri Lanka. Previously, Jonathan served as an executive director in Goldman Sachs, Hong Kong (Corporate Finance and Equity Capital Markets) and managing director and head of Asian Equity Capital Markets in JP Morgan, Hong Kong.

Jonathan holds a bachelor of Civil Laws degree from the University of Oxford, where he graduated with first class honors. He also received first class honors in the solicitors final exam.

John Philip Orbeta

Chief Administrative Officer
Chief Risk Officer

JP is the chief human resources officer, chief administrative officer, and chief risk officer of ACEN (formerly AC Energy), where he serves as director. He is also a director at ACE Endevor, Inc. and ACE Shared Services, Inc.

JP was a managing director at Ayala Corporation, where he served as chief human resources officer and group head for Corporate Resources from 2005 to September 2021. Today, he serves on the Boards of several companies across the Ayala Group, including AC Industrials and AG Legal and is currently the chairman of the Ayala Multi-Purpose Cooperative (Ayala Coop). Previously, he was the president and CEO of Ayala Automotive Holdings Corporation, Automobile Central Enterprise, Inc. and Ayala Aviation. He also previously served as a director on the Boards of BPI Family Bank, ALFM Mutual Funds, AC Health and Ayala Foundation. Prior to joining Ayala Corporation, he was the vice president and global practice director of the Human Capital Consulting Group at Watson Wyatt Worldwide (now Willis Towers Watson).

JP completed his advanced management programs at Harvard Business School, IMD and INSEAD, and holds a degree in A.B. Economics from the Ateneo de Manila University.

Solomon Hermosura

Corporate Secretary

Mon is the corporate secretary of ACEN (formerly AC Energy). With his rich experience and established track record in good governance, he led the development of the company’s corporate governance policies and standards, and alignment with shareholder initiatives and board decisions.

Mon also serves as corporate secretary, managing director, general counsel, group head of corporate governance, compliance officer, member of the Management Committee, and member of the Ayala Group Management Committee of Ayala Corporation, as well as CEO of AG Counselors Corporation.  He is also the general counsel and corporate secretary of Ayala Land, Inc.; corporate secretary of Globe Telecom, Inc., Manila Water Company, Inc., Integrated Micro-Electronics, Inc. and Ayala Foundation, Inc., and holds directorship in a number of companies in the Ayala group.

Mon graduated valedictorian with a Bachelor of Laws degree from San Beda College and placed third in the 1986 Bar Examinations.

Dodjie Lagazo

General Counsel &
Assistant Corporate Secretary

Dodjie is an executive director and the head of Legal and Regulatory of ACEN (formerly AC Energy).  As head of Legal and Regulatory, he spearheaded the development and implementation of the ACEN group’s corporate legal strategy, as well as governance and compliance programs.

Dodjie concurrently serves as the corporate secretary of ENEX Energy Corp., and assistant corporate secretary of ACEN Corporation. He was a director and member of AG Counselors Corporation’s Management Committee from January 2014 to July 2017. Prior to joining Ayala, he worked with the law firm of SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan.

Dodjie earned his Bachelor of Laws Degree from the College of Law of the University of the Philippines – Diliman, and ranked sixth in the graduating class of 2003. He received his undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of the Philippines – Diliman, graduating magna cum laude.

Cecile Cruzabra

Treasurer

Cecile is the treasurer of ACEN and chief finance officer of ACEIC and ACE International. Prior to joining ACEN, she was the CFO of Manila Water Company, Inc. from 2018 to September 2021, and was the treasurer of Ayala Corporation from 2014 to 2018.

Cecile has over 37 years of career experience in research, treasury and finance, having worked at Makati Business Club, Sun Hung Kai Securities, Metro Pacific Corporation, Steniel Manufacturing Corporation, Globe Telecom, Inc., Altimax Broadcasting Co. Inc. and Bethlehem Holdings, Inc. She also previously taught finance at the De La Salle Graduate School of Business and the Asian Institute of Management and also taught Economics at the Ateneo de Manila University.

Cecile completed her master’s degree in Business Administration from the Asian Institute of Management. She graduated with a degree in B.A. in Economics (Honors Program) from the Ateneo de Manila University.

 

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