Cosio tapped to head MRC Allied

As published on TheManilaTimes

MRC Allied Inc. has appointed former First Metro Asset Management Inc. (FAMI) President Augusto Cosio Jr. to succeed Gladys Nalda as its president and chief executive officer (CEO).

The appointment came after Nalda resigned not only from those posts, but also as board member during a board meeting, the listed property development company told the local bourse on Thursday.

His appointment and her resignation take effect on October 16.

Nalda will be the new president and CEO of MRC Allied subsidiary Menlo Renewable Energy Corp. (MREN).

“The appointment of Mr. Cosio is part of the company’s ongoing reorganization and plan to consolidate all assets and portfolio under MRC. All projects will henceforth be implemented by the operating subsidiaries,” the property firm explained.

Nalda, who joined MRC Allied in January last year, is a lawyer specializing in RE and project finance.

Prior to joining MRC Allied, she was the vice president for legal and corporate affairs and former corporate secretary of PNOC Renewables Corp., the RE arm of the state-run Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC).

Nalda was once connected with the PNOC Exploration Corp., PNOC’s upstream oil, gas and coal subsidiary, and the Department of Energy (DoE) as legal counsel.

An alumnus of the University of the Philippines, Cosio was FAMI’s president for nine years until June.

During his stint at First Metro, Cosio spearheaded the Capital Market Seminar Series held regularly by First Metro Securities Brokers and FAMI in their offices in Makati, Binondo, Cebu, and Davao.

He also steered the creation and listing of the first exchange-traded fund (ETF) at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

Cosio also worked for a number of global investment banks, including Deutsche Bank and BNP-Paribas, in Hong Kong and Singapore.

He is an advocate of the development of Philippine capital markets, investment literary among Filipinos and road safety.

Founded in November 1990 as the Makilala Rubber Corp., MRC Allied Inc. is the first publicly listed property development firm in the country that has found its niche in real estate development, according to its website.

It first engaged in processing and exporting baled natural rubber before venturing into real estate development in 1993. In 2015 the company ventured into mining, as well as into the RE sector and formed a unit that will implement its clean energy projects.

Shares of MRC Allied ended flat at P0.59 each on Thursday