GMA CEO Felipe Gozon retires, Gilberto Duavit Jr. to take up post

GMA Network Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Felipe L. Gozon (left) and GMA President and Chief Operating Officer Gilberto R. Duavit Jr. | Image: GMA Network

The country’s biggest multimedia conglomerate, GMA, will have a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in the person of Gilberto R. Duavit, Jr. as Atty. Felipe L. Gozon, who is also its chairman, announced his retirement. Duavit is currently the GMA president and chief operating officer (COO).

At the celebration of his 84th birthday at the Isla Ballroom of Edsa Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong, Gozon announced that Duavit, Jr. will assume the duties of CEO effective Jan. 1, 2024. Despite his retirement as CEO, Gozon will remain the board chairman and the corporation’s adviser.

As the leading conglomerate enters its new era, Gozon’s over 20 years of leadership gave GMA its most significant changes as it rose to become the top broadcast network in the Philippines. With Gozon, Gilberto M. Duavit Sr. and Menardo R. Jimenez’s combined efforts, GMA became financially viable.

Over the years, GMA has received many accolades and recognitions. Being the first Filipino media and broadcasting company to sign with the United Nations (UN) Global Compact, the network’s resounding success is seen through its diverse award-winning programs and connection with over 73 million Filipinos nationwide and in over 100 countries.

Duavit, the eldest son of one of GMA’s founders, Duavit Sr., joined GMA’s board of directors in 1999 and has been the chairman of the network’s executive committee since August 2000. He was named executive vice president and COO in November 2000 and was elected as the company’s president in 2010.

Meanwhile, Joel Marcelo G. Jimenez was elected as the new chairman of the network’s executive committee, taking over on Jan. 1. Jimenez, son of Menardo R. Jimenez, one of GMA’s founders, is the president and CEO of Menarco Holdings and the CEO of Alta Productions Group Inc.