Ernest Cu: It’s the perfect time to leave Globe

MANILA, Philippines — When Ernest Cu took the helm of Globe Telecom in 2009, he was an outsider in the industry, and the Ayala-led telco was struggling to find its footing in a cutthroat market.

Sixteen years later, under Cu’s leadership, Globe has reinvented not just itself but the telecom landscape as well.

With this, Cu, 64, believes he has done his job.

“It’s the perfect time to leave Globe,” Cu told The STAR in a recent interview at his office.

Globe, after all, is now more than just a telco; it is a powerhouse of digital innovation and customer-centric solutions.

The company announced Cu’s retirement effective April 2025, marking his 16 years with Globe.

“I’ve built it to this point,” he said, noting that Globe’s indicators are all strong – from share price to market share to profitability.

Armed with a background in business process outsourcing, Cu said when he became CEO of Globe, he was a telco outsider, but was given enough leeway and support by the Zobel brothers and his predecessor, Gerardo “Gerry” Ablaza, to transform the company on his own terms.

“The best transitions happen when a CEO hands over the reins. That’s how it was for me. When Gerry left, he left me alone, so I did things on my own,” he said.

As for the Zobels, Jaime Augusto and Fernando, Cu said they were like his partners more than his employers.

“They’ve been fantastic,” he said.

Cu is leaving the industry at a quiet time with no turbulence or ugly wars, unlike in the early 2000s when there was still much to fix.

Among CEOs in the Philippines, Cu stands out almost like a sore thumb.

He is not a typical Ayala company CEO who is usually formal, in a coat and tie, and seemingly “way up there.” Cu is comfortable in jeans and shirts, like a Silicon Valley executive. He doesn’t like meetings, especially structured board meetings, and instead prefers a culture of innovation and risk-taking, a DNA he cultivated at Globe.

Insiders credit Ernest’s “visionary leadership” for Globe’s success. He had predicted the changing preferences of consumers before they happened, including data-driven lifestyles—streaming platforms for entertainment, internet for communication, and mobile banking for payment