Former GMA Network exec elected UCPB chair

State-run United Coconut Planters Bank’s (UCPB) new chairman of the board is former GMA Network Inc. chief executive Menardo Jimenez, the bank announced Wednesday. UCPB said in a statement that Jimenez — who served as president and CEO of the broadcast giant for 26 years — had joined the bank’s board of directors and was elected as chair of the 15-member board. Jimenez also sits on the board of several firms such as San Miguel Corp., Nuvoland Inc., Unicapital Finance and Investment Inc., Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Inc., and Albay Agro Industrial Corp. Eight new directors also joined the UCPB board, namely, Arthur Bautista, Raul Del Mar, Nilo Divina, Ma. Angela Ignacio, Higinio Macadaeg Jr., Jose Alfonso Poblete, Danilo Pulido, and John Young. Incumbent directors include Ramon Sy, Datu Mao Andong, Karlo Marco Estavillo, Cristina Orbeta, Oscar Solidor, and Efren Villasenor. — JE, GMA News