Aboitiz Builds Future-Ready Talent As AI Transforms Business

Aboitiz Group President and CEO Sabin M. Aboitiz underscored the value of character, curiosity and leadership in an evolving world during his interaction with Aboitiz Foundation scholars

The Aboitiz Group is strengthening investments in talent and leadership as artificial intelligence takes on a bigger role in its businesses, underscoring a strategy that treats human capability as a competitive advantage in a more automated economy.

At the recent gathering of Aboitiz Future Leaders scholars, Aboitiz Foundation Chairman and Aboitiz Group President and CEO Sabin M. Aboitiz said the rise of AI is raising the premium on judgment, adaptability and leadership even as technology assumes more functions in the workplace.

“The value of this program is not just to help you finish school but to prepare you for what comes after it,” Aboitiz said, pointing to a world that is “changing and accelerating very, very rapidly.” 

He said technology will continue to improve, but judgment, curiosity, character, creativity, empathy and leadership will become even more valuable as AI advances. 

“AI can give you an answer in seconds, but it cannot decide what kind of person you want to be. That part is still up to you,” Aboitiz told the scholars. 

AI, data and digital platforms are increasingly becoming part of how Aboitiz businesses operate and make decisions. Aboitiz Data Innovation has embedded data and AI solutions in business units, while the Group continues to build workforce capabilities in AI, cybersecurity and other emerging areas. 

That investment in capability extends beyond the organization.

Aboitiz committed US$10 million to the Asian Institute of Management to help establish the Aboitiz School of Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship, or ASITE, aimed at strengthening the country’s talent pipeline in data science, technology and entrepreneurship.

The endowment has supported 290 students pursuing graduate studies in data science and produced more than 160 graduates, helping deepen the pool of technology talent for an increasingly data-driven economy.

The Group’s investment in people also reaches students earlier through the Aboitiz Future Leaders Scholarship Program. Beyond financial assistance, scholars gain access to leadership development and learning opportunities designed to prepare them for life beyond the classroom.

At this year’s Scholars’ Day, Aboitiz Foundation welcomed 11 new scholars and held a learning session on mental health and financial literacy, reinforcing the program’s focus on resilience, self-awareness and leadership alongside academic achievement.

Aboitiz Foundation President Ginggay Hontiveros-Malvar urged scholars to start thinking of leadership not as a future title, but as something they can practice now—through the choices they make, how they respond to difficult situations and how they influence the people around them. 

“The Aboitiz Future Leaders Program is not only about academics,” Hontiveros-Malvar said. “It is really about becoming a whole person and a better person.” 

She also reminded scholars that success should eventually translate into opportunities for others.

“Success is never only about how far we go on our own personal journeys,” Hontiveros-Malvar said. “It’s also about how many people we can take with us, how many people we can bring forward with us.” 

The college scholarship program is part of Aboitiz Foundation’s Future Leaders pillar, which uses education to help develop capable, values-driven leaders who can create lasting change in their communities and beyond. To date, more than 1,200 scholars have benefited from the program nationwide, with the Foundation nearly 300 scholars this year as it continues to build a stronger pipeline of young Filipino leaders.

As Aboitiz Foundation marks its 38th year, that investment is designed to compound over time: helping students gain access to education, equipping them with the confidence and capabilities to lead, and enabling them to create opportunities for others. In doing so, the Foundation is not only supporting scholars—it is helping shape the people who will carry progress forward.

Full Text: Speech by Aboitiz Foundation President Ginggay Hontiveros-Malvar

Good morning Aboitiz Future Leaders! 

To all our Aboitiz Future Leaders, welcome. And to the parents and families who are here with us today, thank you for joining us and for being such an important part of this journey.

Today is a special day because you are not just joining a scholarship program. You are becoming part of the Aboitiz family.

And when we say family, we mean something very simple: we believe in you, we want to see you succeed, and we want to be part of your journey—not only through school, but as you prepare yourselves for life beyond it.

Education has always been very important to us at Aboitiz Foundation because we believe it is one of the most powerful ways to change a person’s future.

So my first message to all of you is simple: do well in school.

Take your studies seriously. Work hard. Be curious. Ask questions. Learn as much as you can. Your education will open doors for you that you may not even see today.

But I also want you to remember something else.

Not everything you need to learn will come from a classroom.

Some of your greatest teachers will be your experiences.

You will learn from the people you meet. From friendships. From mistakes. From disappointments. From opportunities you did not expect. You will learn from succeeding, but sometimes you will learn even more from failing.

There will be moments when things do not go according to plan. You may get a grade you did not expect. You may question yourself. You may feel pressure about your future or compare yourself with others.

Those moments are also part of your education.

What matters is how you respond.

Learn to get back up. Learn to ask for help. Learn to listen. Learn to change your mind when you discover something new. And learn to be kind to yourself and to others.

That is why our program today is not only about academics.

We will also have learning sessions on mental health and creating safe spaces and about financial management ,  because being a Future Leader is not just about being intelligent or getting good grades.

It is about becoming a whole person.

It means knowing yourself, understanding others, having the courage to speak when something is wrong, and helping create environments where people feel safe, respected and valued.

Later, you will also hear from our Chairman, Sabin Aboitiz, who will share his own message with you. More importantly, you will have the opportunity to have a conversation with him and ask questions.

I encourage you to take advantage of that opportunity.

Ask him about leadership. Ask him about failure. Ask him about the decisions he has had to make. Ask him what he wishes he knew when he was your age.

Because leadership is not something you suddenly learn when somebody gives you a title. You start learning how to lead now.

You lead through the choices you make, how you treat people, how you respond when things become difficult, and what you do with the opportunities given to you.

And being an Aboitiz Future Leader carries something else with it.

We hope that one day, when you are in a position to help someone else, you will.

Success should never be only about how far you go. It should also be about how many people you are able to bring forward with you.

To our parents and families, thank you.

We know that behind every scholar is a family that has also made sacrifices—the parents who wake up early, stretch the family budget, worry quietly, encourage their children when things get difficult, and continue believing in them.

This scholarship may carry the Aboitiz name, but the journey that brought these young people here carries your names too.

So today, we celebrate you as well inas much as we celebrate AFIs 38 years of creating meaningful change for the better. 

And to our scholars, remember this: we chose to invest in you because we believe in your potential.

But what you do with that opportunity is now in your hands.

Study hard. Stay curious. Take care of yourselves and each other. Experience life. Make mistakes and learn from them. Be brave enough to try things that are difficult.

And wherever life eventually takes you, remember the values that brought you here—hard work, integrity, kindness, resilience and a desire to make a difference.

You are now part of the Aboitiz family.

And our hope is that many years from now, when you look back at this chapter of your life, you will remember not simply that Aboitiz helped you get an education.

We hope you will say that this experience helped you become the person—and the leader—you were meant to be.

Welcome to the Aboitiz Future Leaders family.

We are very happy to have you with us, and we cannot wait to see where your journey takes you.

Thank you, and congratulations to all of you.