Charo Santos-Concio, Bagong Pangulo ng ABS-CBN!

(News article courtesy of Philippine Entertainment Portal)

ABS-CBN chairman and Chief Operations Officer (COO) Gabby Lopez announced earlier today, February 29, the appointment of Charo Santos-Concio as the new president of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Network, effective March 1, 2008.

Charo, whose real name is Maria Rosario Santos-Concio, is the fifth president of ABS-CBN.

The 52-year-old TV executive now holds the distinction of being the first woman president of the giant network. Her predecessors are Eugenio “Geny” Lopez Jr., Freddie Garcia, Eugenio “Gabby” Lopez III, and Cito Alejandro.

Charo has been with the Kapamilya network for 20 years.

Charo, who became famous for her award-winning role in Mike de Leon’s Itim, started her career at ABS-CBN on June 24, 1987 as consultant. She then worked as production director, and slowly rose through the ranks, becoming vice president, senior vice president, and executive vice president, which was her last post before her promotion.

As president of ABS-CBN, all subsidiaries and divisions will report to her. This includes Studio 23, ANC, Cinema One, ABS-CBN Publishing, Interactive, the PR Group, to name a few. (Note: Kasama dito ang Hero TV)

Gabby Lopez remains as chairman and COO of ABS-CBN.

The announcement was made by Gabby himself at the closing of ABS-CBN’s management conference at the Camp John Hay in Baguio City this afternoon, February 29. The conference began last Sunday, February 24.

There will be a party tonight to celebrate Charo’s promotion.

ABS-CBN’s Head for Corporate Communication Bong Osorio said that Charo thanked Gabby for the “trust and confidence.” Charo also promised to try her best to be the leader of a great network.

Charo just came from a three-month stint, from August to November 2007, at Harvard Business School, where she attended an advanced management program.

CHARO’S CAREER. Charo Santos-Concio started in the show-business industry as an actress. Some of her most memorable films are Itim, Kakabakaba Ka Ba?, Julian Makabayan, Gumapang Ka sa Lusak, to name a few. Charo won Best Actress in the 1976 Asian Film Festival for her performance in Itim.

While she was still active in the acting profession, she also worked in Bancom Films, Experimental Cinema of the Philippines, AudioVision, Vision Exponents, and Regal Films, before becoming an executive producer for Vanguard Films. It was during her stint at Vanguard that ABS-CBN invited her as a consultant.

Charo also hosts the long-running drama anthology Maalaala Mo Kaya on ABS-CBN.

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Hmmm, ano kaya ang naghihintay sa mga Kapamilya anime fans ng ABS-CBN 2, Studio 23 at Hero TV ngayong si Charo Santos-Concio na ang pangulo ng ABS-CBN?