Ex-NEDA chief Karl Chua named D&L independent director

Former National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) chief Karl Kendrick Chua has joined the private sector after being elected an independent director of the Lao family’s D&L Industries Inc.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, D&L said Chua was elected to its Board of Directors during its annual shareholders’ meeting on June 5.

D&L said four out of seven seats, or a majority of the board, continue to be held by independent directors.

The three other independent directors are Atty. Mercedita Nolledo, Corazon de la Paz-Bernardo, and Lydia Balatbat-Echauz.

D&L said Chua would take the place of Filemon Berba, who served on the company’s board from 2012 until his passing on April 4, 2023.

Chua is known as the architect of the Duterte administration’s comprehensive tax reform program when he was undersecretary for strategy, economics, and results at the Department of Finance.

He headed the NEDA from April 2020 until the end of the Duterte administration on June 30, 2022.

"We are pleased to welcome Karl to our Board of Directors. He brings a fresh perspective with his distinguished experience as an economist, working for the World Bank for over a decade and serving the government in various strategic leadership roles thereafter," said D&L president and CEO Alvin Lao.

"With independent directors continuing to hold a majority of our board, the company remains committed to upholding good governance and transparency," he said. —VBL, GMA Integrated News