ABOITIZ
CEBUANOS expressed their grief and sympathy on social media over the death of Jon Ramon Aboitiz, chairman of the Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV) yesterday.
Aboitiz was 70 years old.
“Today, we lost a champion… and it hurts so bad! He was my mentor. He was the kind of leader one would follow anywhere without question, one who inspired and motivated us to give our best,” said Caroline Ballesteros of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) in a post on her Facebook account.
Aboitiz served as chairman of the board of directors of AEV since January 5, 2009. He began his career with the Aboitiz Group in 1970.
From being manager of Aboitiz Shipping Corp., he was promoted to president in 1976. He headed the Aboitiz Group’s power business in 1989 and was president of Aboitiz & Company, Inc. from 1991 to 2008.
He was also chairman of the board of trustees and the chief executive officer of RAFI.
“Sir Jon, thank you for all the lessons you have taught me, you have lived out the life of a leader you taught about in you modules, you truly walked the talk! For these and so much more, you shall be missed terribly,” Ballesteros added in her Facebook post.
Sources close to the family confirmed the passing of Aboitiz yesterday morning.
Even former employees of Aboitiz-led companies and alumni of different youth development programs of the
Aboitiz Group expressed their admiration of Jon Ramon Aboitiz, who was fondly referred to as JRA.
“You were exacting without being disrespectful. You showed us what kindness and sincerity mean, and that family and doing good for others, matter more than anything,” said Rianne Tecson, former RAFI employee in a Facebook post.
She said it was a privilege to have worked with him closely before.
For his part, youth leader Bryl Jan Yucaran recalled learning a lot from Aboitiz during the Aboitiz Future Leaders Business Summit in 2013 which he was a part of.
“Thank you for all the things we have learnt from you. Rest in peace, JRA. We will be forever grateful for your words of inspiration for #AFLBSBatch8,” he said in a Facebook post.
Aboitiz was the brother of former RAFI president Roberto Eduardo “Bobby” Aboitiz who also passed away in April last year.
Aboitiz also held several positions in public listed companies including vice chairman of Aboitiz Power Corp. and Union Bank of the Philippines; director of Bloomberry Resorts Corp. and International Container Terminal Services, Inc.; and chairman of UnionBank’s Executive Committee, Risk Management Committee and vice chairman of its corporate governance committee.
He was also a trustee of the Santa Clara University and the Association of Foundations. He was a member of the Board of Advisors of The Coca-Cola Export Corp. and Pilipinas Kao, Inc.
Aboitiz was a graduate of Commerce, Major in Management from the Santa Clara University, California, USA.