As the head of the Inquirer Group of Companies, Sandy Prieto-Romualdez’s task is to create stronger synergy within the groupAfter 25 years as the president of the Philippine’s most widely read newspaper, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Sandy Prieto-Romualdez stepped down in January 2021 to focus on her role as president and CEO of the Inquirer Group of Companies (IGC). In this position, her main objective is to make IGC’s companies more productive and efficient. For 25 years, the Philippine Daily Inquirer has been under the ownership of Romualdez and the Prieto family who have shepherded its growth from a broadsheet to one of the largest multimedia organizations in the country. Founded in 1985, the paper has gone through some difficult periods, including the rise of the Internet which led to the decline of traditional print media. In 2017, Ramon Ang acquired a majority stake in the media company, which includes interests in digital services, radio, logistics, printing, and education.
Prieto-Romualdez is also the founder of Gifts and Graces (G&G) Fair Trade Foundation, a 15-year-old social enterprise that set the trend of promoting locally made artisan crafts from marginalised communities. G&G works with over 20 communities, guiding them to develop quality marketable items, like the brass products of the T’boli tribe. The foundation has also worked with coconut farmers, the Tingguian tribe, and the Correctional Institute for Women. In 2018, G&G opened its first full-scale store at the LRI Plaza.
In 2020, Prieto-Romualdez was appointed to the board of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers. She’s a member of the WAN-IFAR Executive Board and chairs the WAN-IFRA’s Asia Pacific Committee.