ALICE EDUARDO
PRESIDENT AND CEO STA ELENA CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
As a boss woman, she acknowledges the challenges of working with men in the boardroom and on the field. However, in the same oft male-dominated industry, she has found her allies and mentors among her peers. “I have earned the respect of my competitors with my bullish moves. I have advised many young entrepreneurs and reminded them that ‘success knows no gender’,” the dynamo behind the successful Sta Elena Construction and Development Corporation proudly shares. Helming a company with multi-million vital projects that include SM Mall of Asia Complex and a large part of Entertainment City, road expansion for NLEX and SCTEX and a lot more, Alice Eduardo is undoubtedly a woman of steel.
On top of these achievements, her team has also worked on power plants built in the unique context of helping a potential crisis. “For a developing country on a growth trajectory such as the Philippines, a continuous, reliable energy supply is a must,” she explains. Her company has been entrusted with constructing at least three natural gas-fired power plants of the Lopez Group’s First Gas in Batangas: the 1000MW Sta Rita; 500MW San Lorenzo; and the 450MW San Gabriel. In all these projects, Santa Elena had worked closely with leading worldwide engineering firms: German Siemens, British Balfour Beatty and Dutch Ballast Nedam. “Latest estimate for the Philippines’ additional energy requirements through 2030 is over 17,000MW. All the infrastructure and commercial flagship projects we have helped build are in the spirit of nation-building,” she adds.
In terms of rated capacity, the 1000MW Sta Rita is the largest. Still, in terms of scope, it has to be state of the art 450MW San Gabriel Flex plant for which Santa Elena designed and built the world’s second-largest installation of GRP pipes spanning 1.1 kilometres under the sea and 1.4 kilometres buried on the ground, as well as the second-largest offshore pipe for power plant cooling water system in the world. “I am proud to say that Santa Elena achieved these in record fashion, including attaining six million safe man-hours peaking at 6000 workers.”
Beyond these feats, Eduardo also has a golden heart. Her other philanthropy work includes building 100 homes for displaced victims of Yolanda and homes for Habitat for Humanity and building San Agustin Parish Church and other churches in her hometown Nueva Ecija. She has also helped soldiers affected by the war in Marawi rebuild their lives. Other charity organisations she supports are Child Protection Network, Red Cross Charity, Go Negosyo for young and aspiring entrepreneurs, Asian Cultural Council for Young Artist, Young Musician Development Organisation, Philippine Cancer Society, Caritas Manila, Tuloy Foundation as a home for the homeless, specifically street children and other foundations. There are, for instance, young scholars whose education she subsidises.
With her perseverance, grit and grace, Eduardo has proven that gender is not an issue in this line of work. “We have to make sure that the world we are in knows that gender is not a factor in delivering a job well done. Never doubt that you are valuable and powerful, and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your dreams,” she tells the women of today.