Felipe L Gozon

Atty Felipe L Gozon lives by a few simple words: “Walk your talk, be fair, and communicate your objectives to your employees.” The lawyer heads GMA Network—or the Kapuso Network, as it is popularly known—as president, chairman and CEO.

Gozon finished his law studies at the University of the Philippines and took his masters at Yale University. Upon returning to Manila, he practiced law and assumed various corporate roles before joining GMA in 2000.

During his early years with the company, Gozon was widely credited for improving the network’s financial position and and ratings. He would continue to lead GMA to greater heights, to make it the dominant media network that it is today. Along the way, he received recognition for his work, including the Master Entrepreneur Award by SGV/Ernst & Young in 2004, and the prestigious Global Leaders Award in 2015, the first Filipino to receive the distinction.

The most trying years in GMA's history turned out to be a golden period when Gozon was able to drive growth and expand during the lockdowns. GMA dominated the digital space, starting with its YouTube channel breaching 10 million subscribers. Its news department bested other news accounts on TikTok, while the network’s portal generated over 2 billion views. "While television remains our core business, our digital offerings continue to drive significant engagement and gain billions of views," Gozon says.

Gozon, who is now in his 80s, doesn’t seem to have plans of slowing down. Despite GMA’s top position, Gozon is looking at the decades up ahead. He launched GMA Ventures (GVI) last year to support his plans of future-proofing the network.