Limpe-aw in Forbes Asia list of power businesswomen

THE chief of Destileria Limtuaco landed in this year’s edition of Forbes Asia’s Power Businesswomen list, which trained the spotlight on 25 outstanding female leaders in Asia Pacific.

Olivia Limpe-aw, 57, chairman and CEO of Destileria Limtuaco, made it to the list of outstanding businesswomen in the region, dominated by India and China, two of the world's most populous nations, and also the country's Southeast Asian neighbors led by Thailand.

Limpe-aw is the fifth-generation head of Destileria Limtuaco, the Philippines’s oldest distiller, which her great-great granduncle founded in 1852. She is the fifth of seven daughters and is also president of a book publishing company.

Since taking the helm in 2004, she has added new products and focused on growing the business overseas. The company now sells more than 40 spirits, wines and liqueurs, including tropical-fruit blends, and exports within Asia and to the United States.

When some cities in the country earlier this year banned alcohol during the lockdowns, Destileria

Limtuaco switched to making hand sanitizer and disinfectants.

“As the world battles with uncertainties brought about by the pandemic, it is more important than ever that Forbes Asia highlights these businesswomen who are rising to the occasion and excelling during these challenging times," Rana Wehbe Watson, editor of the 2020 Asia’s Power Businesswomen list, said.

“The list this year recognizes 25 women at the helm of companies and institutions across a wide range of industries such as biotech, education, logistics and law. Their track record of success and resilient leadership set inspiring examples for others to follow.”

India had the most number of businesswomen in the list with four, including Roshni Nadar Malhotra, chairman of HCL Technologies, the first woman to chair a listed tech firm in India and one of a handful of female chairpersons in the male-dominated global tech industry.

China and Thailand both had three on the list, followed by South korea, Australia and Southeast Asian neighbors Singapore, Vietnam and Indonia, which had two each.