CONVERGE President and Co-Founder Maria Grace Uy has been recognized by business magazine Forbes Asia, this time in its age-defying "50 Over 50" list that lauds trailblazing women icons in business, politics, art, and science in the Asia-Pacific region.
Uy is one of only two Filipinas to make it to the 2022 list, the other being Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Rappler Chief Executive Officer Maria Ressa.
Uy is also the youngest honoree in the list of 50 women above 50 years old who are leading the way in “shattering age and gender norms all over the globe.”
Other distinguished women in the list include Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, World Bank Managing Director Anshula Kant, Samoa Prime Minister Fiame Mata’afa, World Health Organization Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan, Macquarie Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director Shemara Wikramanaya, OCBC Group CEO Helen Wong, and Indian author Arundhati Roy.
The business publication cited Uy’s key role in growing Converge into one of the biggest fixed broadband operators in the Philippines today.
Uy founded Converge together with her husband Dennis Anthony Uy in 2007 to provide world-class internet connectivity to Filipinos.
Now, the company which they brought public at the height of the pandemic in 2020 is valued at around P230 billion (approximately US$4.6 billion).
“This recognition from Forbes Asia is an honor and proves to women worldwide the value they bring to their field, at any age. I would also like to give credit to the other hard-working women at Converge who are making their mark in the ICT (information communication technology) field,” Uy said.
She added that women in business today should not be afraid to voice out their opinions
“Many women realize too late the ability to stand up for themselves, whether it's because of nurture or the culture. Thus, we need to encourage women to speak out and make sure their voices are heard,” Uy said.
A certified public accountant, Uy served as Finance and Accounting Manager at tech giant IBM before becoming chief finance officer at various family-held companies.
She earned her Bachelor of Science in Accountancy degree from De La Salle University and notched 16th place in the CPA Licensure Board Examination in 1989.
With her husband Dennis, the fiber broadband network of Converge has already reached 9.6 million homes, covering 38 percent of households nationwide and more than doubled its net income to P5.2 billion as of end-September 2021.
This year, nationwide expansion is still atop the fiber broadband provider’s agenda, intending to gain traction and make headway in the markets of Visayas and Mindanao as it pursues its goal to reach 55 percent of Philippine households by 2023.