Likha Cuevas Head of Southeast Asia MERGERMARKET

Likha has been the Head of Southeast Asia coverage for Mergermarket since July 2022 after serving as deputy bureau chief for four years. A journalist for almost two decades, she has been with Mergermarket since 2014, starting as the Philippines correspondent, covering public finance, private and public capital markets, energy, infrastructure, natural resources, and antitrust. Prior to Mergermarket, she was the assistant business editor of Interaksyon.com, which was then the online news portal of TV5 in the Philippines, and the assistant business editor of The Manila Times.

She obtained her MA in Media Studies and BS in Development Communication from the University of the Philippines.

Eric Francia President & CEO ACEN

Eric Francia is the President and Chief Executive Officer of ACEN. Under his leadership, Ayala established its energy platform from a standing start in 2011, to become one of the largest renewable energy platforms in Southeast Asia, with ~4,000 MW of attributable renewables capacity.

Eric is also a Managing Director and member of the Management Committee of Ayala Corporation since 2009, and was appointed as Chairman of Ayala’s Investment Committee in 2021. He is also a Director of various Ayala group companies including AC Infrastructure, AC Health, AC Ventures, and as Chairman and CEO of ACE Enexor.

Eric earned a Master’s Degree in Management Studies at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, graduating with First Class Honors. He received his undergraduate degree in Humanities and Political Economy from the University of Asia & the Pacific, graduating magna cum laude.