SHE may not be conscious of it, but a lot of people believe Ma. Rosario Santos-Concio, popularly known as Charo, was destined to become a president of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp., the country’s largest media outfit.

True enough, Concio, who has the intelligence, skills and the vision, was appointed president of the Lopez-controlled network on March 1, 2008, and was acknowledged as the first woman who had assumed the position previously held by Eugenio “Geny” Lopez Jr. and son Eugenio III (or Gabby) and Freddie Garcia.

As president the 52-year-old Concio leads the executive committee, and all subsidiary and division heads report to her.

Her journey in ABS-CBN dates back to June 1987 as a consultant before becoming the director for programs in 1989. Two years after, she was promoted vice president of production operations and in 1996 became senior vice president of the TV production division. And when she took on the full responsibility of overseeing all the entertainment content of ABS-CBN in 1998, she was promoted to executive vice president. On April 1, 2006, Concio was assigned as head for Channel 2, giving her total business responsibilities.

Concio speaks her mind in a one-on-one interview with the BusinessMirror as she narrates her plans for the network and why training people is at the top of her list.

Is there mounting pressure now ever since you’ve became the first woman president of the country’s oldest and largest media empire?

It is not in my consciousness. I just work hard. I’ve always valued hard work; it is in my system. I am very focused. I just know that I want to do a lot of things. There are so many dreams for the organization that I want to accomplish and goals that I want to meet. I just expect everybody to deliver. 

But do you feel that so much is expected from you? What do you say to people who keep on comparing you with your predecessors?

I think that’s understandable, and it is human nature to always compare people. But I think there is only one Kapitan [referring to Geny Lopez], there is only one Freddie Garcia, there is only one Gabby Lopez and there is only one Charo Santos. We all have our individual strengths, and I think that is what we bring to the table in our respective leadership. 

You’ve mentioned about your dreams and goals for ABS-CBN. Can you say more about these plans?

I really want to have a deep bench of creative and production because we are a content company, and with digitalization coming in, there will be a lot more content that will address specific market niches. So it is not enough to just have the content group for Channel 2 for mainstream. We should be able to develop also content for the other market niches. I want to be able to put up a very strong foundation on training people because in the long term, the future is them. If we have the right people in place, I think ABS-CBN will be a company that is built to last.

Of course, there are short-term goals like winning the ratings, bringing in the revenues every month and meeting our quotas. But in the long term, we want this to be an organization where creative people will make it their playground for creativity. 

Let’s talk about your plans for the network’s other local channel, Studio 23.

For Channel 23, I think it will be more for sports and the youth market. But since the advertising pie is really limited, meaning 90 percent is divided between Channels 2 and 7 and the rest to the other networks, we won’t get much into local production. I think maintaining the foreign-series block has been good for Studio 23, and we would bring a lot more of sports programs. We have the UAAP now and the NCAA and there are plans to acquire other sports programs. 

How about your strategy for ANC? Any changes/improvements you are planning to implement?

We really want to develop a lot more programs that will do a lot more of in-depth analysis. I, for one, because of the influence of my husband, is looking for a lot more in-depth analysis in the business-news segment. I think it will also serve as a venue for Maria Ressa and her news team to discover and train very good field reporters and anchors. I also want to see an ANC that gives a global perspective to local news.

Truly, we want ANC to be a world-class news organization, and I know we have a lot of growing up to do in that arena. We want to be able to produce a lot more programs. It is just that the market is not allowing us to do that as of the moment. But we want to get there. Eventually when we go digital, the distribution would not be limited to a certain niche because we want to upgrade our countrymen’s appreciation of current events. 

What about your plans for the other subsidiaries?

Well, Star Cinema is contributing a lot and they have a good lineup of projects until 2010. For publishing, I think it has finally turned the corner and is doing well. They have launched several niche-market publications. With Star Records, I don’t see much of a bright future because of the free downloading of songs and piracy. But we are doing very well in video distribution. So I think we will just concentrate on creating original compositions for the requirements of our other platforms, but not really for commercial purposes.  

How would you strike a balance between the entertainment and news programming of ABS-CBN?

For Channel 2, I don’t think I can expand news and current-affairs programming in the near future from where it is now because you always have to look at the competitive landscape. However, if we go digital, there will be 12 additional channels, and right now we are still deciding how to program these additional channels. We want to be able to produce a lot more current-affairs and public-service programs. 

A few years ago ABS-CBN implemented a manpower-reduction program (MRP). Do we see a repetition of this procedure in the near term?

I plan to streamline the processes. But yes, from the MRP that was done three years ago, I think we have held on to the same manpower count. We have not had any additional employees and we are outsourcing a lot of our services now. I think even in the more mature market, that’s the way to go.   

What is your growth strategy for ABS-CBN Global which, to date, is the group’s biggest revenue contributor?

We never really get out of the investment mode as far as global operations are concerned, because last year we opened Japan and Canada. Australia has very good numbers, but Europe is a challenge because the market there is diverse. This year, we plan to enter Taiwan.   

What is your take on the network “war”?

It’s inevitable. It makes things exciting. It keeps you on your toes and makes you realize that nobody stays No. 1 forever. I welcome it, actually. I’m so used to it now. I mean, after 17 years and then we lost the audience share in Mega Manila and bounced back, it is par for the course. You know that competition exists and will not be driven away by anything. Of course, we have a lot of fixing to do. For one, I want to address the reception problem in Central Luzon. 

How do you start your day at work?

When Gabby calls for a meeting, I’m here quite early. If I don’t have any meetings with him, I’m usually here between 10 and 11 in the morning. I start with my leadership meeting and sales meeting. Most of my luncheons are also group meetings.

Ma’am President

SHE may not be conscious of it, but a lot of people believe Ma. Rosario Santos-Concio, popularly known as Charo, was destined to become a president of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp., the country’s largest media outfit.

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PUNO, C.J.:

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