Business journalist Cathy Yang is leaving her ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) anchor’s chair to head the corporate communications office of telecommunications giant PLDT Inc.
After 28 years in broadcast journalism, Yang is now shifting gears.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday, August 6, PLDT said its board of directors confirmed Yang’s appointment as First Vice President and Group Head of Corporate Communications.
The board also announced the retirement of Mon Isberto, who served as Public Affairs Head of PLDT and its wireless subsidiary Smart Communication for 25 years. Yang’s appointment by the digital services provider was along with Angel Redoble, Branden Dean, Jonston Ong, and Bernadette Salinas in various capacities.
She will also oversee the communications needs of the broader MVP Group of Companies, of which PLDT is part. She takes on the rank of first vice president and will be part of PLDT’s top management team.
“We welcome Cathy into the senior Management ranks of PLDT and Smart. Cathy is an excellent communicator and a journalist of unquestioned integrity. Her extensive experience as a financial and media person, here and abroad, will add a new dimension to our communication strategy in articulating and presenting who we are and how we perform. She will bring our era of communication into the digital space. Again, a warm welcome to Cathy,” said Manuel V. Pangilinan, PLDT chairman, president, and CEO.
“It’s a privilege to have a reputable, experienced, and globally-acclaimed executive as part of our team,” says Alfredo S. Panlilio, Executive Vice President & Chief Revenue Officer, PLDT, and President & CEO and Smart Communications, Inc. “We will, together, take the company to new heights. Welcome to the group!”
Yang was overwhelmed with the news but said that she was looking forward to working with the PLDT board.
“I am tremendously privileged to be part of the Philippines’ biggest telco firm PLDT, helping consumers and businesses thrive during the Covid-19 pandemic, streaming content and delivering products and services through digital connectivity,” said Yang.
“We have yet to witness the power of digital connectivity on e-learning, as PLDT plays a key role in transformational education with schools resuming under the new normal. I look forward to working with the PLDT board, our shareholders and stakeholders, in ensuring we stand front and center as a key enabler in the economy’s recovery,” she added.
The veteran news anchor’s move to the corporate world comes after ANC’s parent firm, ABS-CBN Corporation, is laying off employees across its subsidiaries after a House committee rejected its bid for franchise renewal.
ABS-CBN repealed the non-compete clause on their employees’ contracts allowing them to apply to different networks.
Yang has an extensive broadcast career in which she garnered global recognition for her work as a financial journalist. She covered the world’s biggest financial stories from Tokyo to Hong Kong for 15 years before returning to ABS-CBN Corporation in August 2015.
Before her PLDT appointment, Yang was recently the anchor-managing editor of the ABS-CBN News Channel. As one of the network’s icons, she hosted “Market Edge” and “Business Nightly”, focusing on financial news and economic stories. She was also host and executive producer of “The Boss”.
Yang brought honor to the Philippines on January 10, 2020, after being named as Best News Presenter at the 24th Asian Television Awards held in Manila which is the country’s first-ever recognition at the Asian TV Awards.
Cited for her work in the ANC business news program “Market Edge with Cathy Yang,” Cathy said the award ‘takes her full circle’ as a journalist, during an interview with ABS-CBN News after her win.
The award also comes on the heels of her recognition as Best News or Current Affairs Presenter at the Asian Academy Creative Awards in Singapore last December 2019, making her the first Filipino to clinch the title.
The Asian Television Awards was established in 1996 and aims to recognize excellence in programming, production, and performance. ATA is the only event of its kind in Asia. Cathy was one of the hosts of the three-day ATA event held at Resorts World Manila From January 10 to 12, 2020.
The anchor of “The Boss” and “Business Nightly” on ANC is now a four-time winner in the Asian Television Awards, after bagging the honor thrice for another regional news network. She bested fellow broadcasters from the Philippines, China, Japan, India, and Taiwan.
She was previously Hong Kong correspondent for the global English channel of China’s state television CCTV, now CGTN. Previous to that, she was reporter-presenter for Reuters TV Asia-Pacific for three years, also in Hong Kong.
She anchored the flagship business programs of Bloomberg Television Asia-Pacific for nearly 10 years, in Tokyo for four years and then in Hong Kong for the next five years.
Yang obtained an AB Communications Degree from De La Salle University. She earned a journalism fellowship from the Reuters Foundation at Oxford University in England. She became an international fellow at the University of Cardiff in Wales.
Yang also received a scholarship to attend the Wharton Seminars for Business Journalists at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
She was granted the Sheehan International funding opportunity to undertake lectures in leadership strategy, financial analysis. In 2019, she undertook a scholarship from the Washington-based National Press Foundation and Hinrich foundation for a deeper understanding of international sustainable trade.
