Jose Rene D. Almendras

Mr. Jose Rene Almendras was President of Manila Water Company prior to accepting his post as Secretary of the Department of Energy. His experience in the private sector spans 29 years. Throughout his career, Rene assumed significant leadership roles in top corporations within the country.

He started his corporate career at Citytrust Trust Banking Corporation. He later moved to Citibank as Account Management Group Head in the Visayas in 1985. After his stint with Citibank, he was invited by the Aboitiz Group to be the Company’s Treasurer for both the Aboitiz Company and Aboitiz Equity Ventures. He was eventually promoted as President of the group owned City Savings Bank. Under his leadership, this bank became one of the biggest in Cebu. In 2001, Rene joined the Ayala Group through Ayala Land Inc. He was appointed as CEO of Cebu Holdings Inc. and Cebu Property Ventures and Development Corporation. Later on, he assumed the role of Business Group Head for VISMIN (Ayala Land) and concurrently Operations Transformation Group Head of Ayala Land.