The Aboitiz Group is strengthening investments in talent and leadership as artificial intelligence takes on a bigger role in its businesses, underscoring a strategy that treats human capability as a competitive advantage in a more automated economy.

At the recent gathering of Aboitiz Future Leaders scholars, Aboitiz Foundation Chairman and Aboitiz Group President and CEO Sabin M. Aboitiz said the rise of AI is raising the premium on judgment, adaptability and leadership even as technology assumes more functions in the workplace.

“The value of this program is not just to help you finish school but to prepare you for what comes after it,” Aboitiz said, pointing to a world that is “changing and accelerating very, very rapidly.”

He said technology will continue to improve, but judgment, curiosity, character, creativity, empathy and leadership will become even more valuable as AI advances.

“AI can give you an answer in seconds, but it cannot decide what kind of person you want to be. That part is still up to you,” Aboitiz told the scholars.

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AI, data and digital platforms are increasingly becoming part of how Aboitiz businesses operate and make decisions. Aboitiz Data Innovation has embedded data and AI solutions in business units, while the Group continues to build workforce capabilities in AI, cybersecurity and other emerging areas.

That investment in capability extends beyond the organization.

Aboitiz committed US$10 million to the Asian Institute of Management to help establish the Aboitiz School of Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship, or ASITE, aimed at strengthening the country’s talent pipeline in data science, technology and entrepreneurship.

The endowment has supported 290 students pursuing graduate studies in data science and produced more than 160 graduates, helping deepen the pool of technology talent for an increasingly data-driven economy.

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The Group’s investment in people also reaches students earlier through the Aboitiz Future Leaders Scholarship Program. Beyond financial assistance, scholars gain access to leadership development and learning opportunities designed to prepare them for life beyond the classroom.

At this year’s Scholars’ Day, Aboitiz Foundation welcomed 11 new scholars and held a learning session on mental health and financial literacy, reinforcing the program’s focus on resilience, self-awareness and leadership alongside academic achievement.

Aboitiz Foundation President Ginggay Hontiveros-Malvar urged scholars to start thinking of leadership not as a future title, but as something they can practice now—through the choices they make, how they respond to difficult situations and how they influence the people around them.

“The Aboitiz Future Leaders Program is not only about academics,” Hontiveros-Malvar said. “It is really about becoming a whole person and a better person.”

She also reminded scholars that success should eventually translate into opportunities for others.

“Success is never only about how far we go on our own personal journeys,” Hontiveros-Malvar said. “It’s also about how many people we can take with us, how many people we can bring forward with us.”

The college scholarship program is part of Aboitiz Foundation’s Future Leaders pillar, which uses education to help develop capable, values-driven leaders who can create lasting change in their communities and beyond. To date, more than 1,200 scholars have benefited from the program nationwide, with the Foundation nearly 300 scholars this year as it continues to build a stronger pipeline of young Filipino leaders.

As Aboitiz Foundation marks its 38th year, that investment is designed to compound over time: helping students gain access to education, equipping them with the confidence and capabilities to lead, and enabling them to create opportunities for others. In doing so, the Foundation is not only supporting scholars—it is helping shape the people who will carry progress forward.

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