Michael Toledo is joining Metro Pacific Investments Corp. as managing director for government and public affairs.
A lawyer by profession, Toledo was the managing director of the MVP Group of Companies Media Bureau, chief operating officer of Silangan Mindanao Mining Company Inc., and senior vice-president for public and regulatory affairs of Philex Mining Corp.
MPIC is a leading infrastructure holdings company with operations in toll roads, water and electricity distribution, hospitals and rail networks.
Prior to his engagement with the MVP Group of Companies, Toledo was the president and chief executive of the Manila office of Weber Shandwick, one of the world’s largest and leading full-service public relations and advocacy firm with offices in every major business and government capital.
Toledo served as press secretary and presidential spokesperson during the administration of former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada and was also the campaign spokesman and media bureau director of former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, who ran for president in 2010.
Toledo was a corporate, litigation, labor, intellectual property and criminal lawyer. He started his legal career at the Angara, Concepcion, Cruz, Regala and Abello law offices or ACCRA Law.
He obtained his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees from the University of the Philippines. He earned his Master of Laws in Public International Law at the prestigious London School of Economics and Political Science through a scholarship grant (Chevening) from the British Government. He was accepted at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Boston in 1993.
He was recently given the 2019 Most Distinguished Alumni Award for College of Arts and Sciences by the University of the Philippines Manila Alumni Association and was named Distinguished Bedan for 2019 in Media and Communications by the San Beda University Alumni Association. In 2018, The University of the Philippines Junior Marketing Association conferred on him its Leadership Award.
He was named 2014 CEO Excel Awardee by the International Association of Business Communicators. CEO stands for Communication Excellence in Organizations.
Toledo was conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award by the British Government and the British Alumni Association. He was appointed UK Education Ambassador to the Philippines.
He was an official guest of the German Government under The Goethe Institute Program, where he met top political, business and media leaders in Berlin, Hamburg and Stuttgart.
He was also awarded Men of Extraordinary Influence by the Philippine Cancer Society Inc.
He received a special award for community service for “Iyo ang Katarungan” (Justice Is Yours), a weekly legal public service TV program.
His most recent appointments include the following: member of the Philippine Air Force Flight Plan 2028 Multi Sector Governance Council; member of the National Police Commission Advisory Council for Transformationtasked with assisting the Philippine National Police in improving its public image and performance; member of the board of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education Philippines; elected member of the Executive Council of the ASEAN Law Association of the Philippines; chairman of the Standing Committee on Legal Information at ALA Philippines; chairman of the Chevening Alumni Foundation of the Philippines Inc.; chair of the Committee on Public Relations and Publicity and co-chair of the Committee on Business Law Reforms of the Philippine Bar Association; chairman of the Sub-Committee for Natural Resources Development of Management Association of the Philippines; and member of the Board of Trustees of the University of the Philippines College of Law Alumni Foundation.
He was re-elected as a member of the Board of Governors of the Manila Overseas Press Club and was also appointed as its spokesperson.
He is an independent director of Philippine Hoteliers Inc. (Dusit Thani Hotel Group), Miascor Holdings Inc. and Coventry Motors Corp.
Together with the country’s top businessmen, Mike is a member of the board of trustees and vice chairman of Children’s Hour Philippines Foundation Inc.
He is also a member of Philippine Disaster Resiliency Foundation, the Charge de Presse Nacional of Chaine des Rotisseurs, the Management Association of the Philippines, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Inc., Philippine Bar Association, Integrated Bar of the Philippines and Rotary Club of Makati.
He was appointed a member of the UP College of Law Centennial Commission as exemplar for Batches 1980 to 1989.
Toledo sat on the board”•as director and/or legal and financial consultant”•of various government-owned and -controlled corporations, such as the Government Service Insurance System, Manila International Airport Authority, National Food Authority, Philippine Aviation Security Services Corp., Food Terminal Inc., Department of Transportation and Communications and the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority. He was also chairman of the board of Pantranco North Express.
He worked in the Philippine Senate as head of the education and the health committees, both chaired by then Sen. Edgardo Angara. He also represented the senator in various committees, such as on energy and on finance.
He was involved in a number of local and national political campaigns, and served under the administration of three presidents (Corazon Aquino, Fidel Ramos, and Joseph Estrada).
Toledo is also a multi-media personality. He was news anchor for ABC 5’s The Big News and hosted one of the country’s top business shows, Business Today, on GMA-7, as well as OneNewsPH’s “Titans” on Cignal TV.