ANNA MA. MARGARITA “MEEAN” B. DY

Ayala Land Inc.

In 2023, Anna Ma. Margarita B. Dy made history by becoming Ayala Land, Inc.’s first female chief executive officer since the company’s inception almost three decades ago. She is also the company’s director and president.

Her appointment was due to her outstanding experience, leadership, and loyalty to the Zobel family-controlled Ayala Land.

Her tenure with the company spanned 18 years. She previously held the positions of executive vice president (EVP) and chief operating officer (COO) during which she played a key role in the firm’s luxury housing projects, then launching critical projects such as Nuvali in Laguna; Vertis in Quezon City; as well as Arca South and Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

Aside from being an EVP and COO, she was also the chair of AREIT Inc., the head of the company’s residential business group and malls group, and a director and officer in other Ayala Land firms. She also led the company’s Strategic Land Banking Group for numerous years.

In November 2023, a month after she took office as CEO, Forbes named her as part of Forbes Asia’s Power Businesswomen List 2023. The 20 female business leaders on the list were chosen “for their achievements and track records as business leaders.”

In January 2024, she was again recognized by Forbes as one of the 50 women aged over 50 who have excelled in their respective fields.

“Her rise comes as the company—the real estate arm of the Ayala Group, a conglomerate controlled by billionaire Jaime Zobel de Ayala and his family—accelerates the launch of residential projects to meet surging housing demand,” Forbes said.

In an Inquirer article in December 2023, Dy mentioned how Jim Ayala somehow saw something in her that led her to be part of Ayala Land. She has been a member of the company’s management committee since August 2008. Prior to joining Ayala Land, she was the vice president of Benpres Holdings Corp.

In 1990, Dy graduated magna cum laude from Ateneo de Manila University with a bachelor’s degree in Economics Honors Program. She then received her master’s degree in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1991. In 1996, she graduated from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration in Boston with a degree of Master of Business Administration.

Her appointment was due to her outstanding experience, leadership, and loyalty to the Zobel family-controlled Ayala Land