Rappler’s 2026 Board of Directors

MANILA, Philippines – Former CEO of Microsoft Philippines Peter Maquera and veteran capital markets practitioner Gus Cosio are the latest members of the Board of Directors of Rappler, Inc. Maquera joined the Rappler Board in July 2026, while Cosio became Board director in 2022. They joined the six existing members of the Rappler Board: Maria Ressa, Glenda Gloria, Manny Ayala, Winnie Monsod, Tony La Viña, and Federico Prieto. In their meeting on July 3, 2026, the Board reelected Ressa as Board president and Gloria as chairperson. Here are their brief profiles: Manny Ayala, Director Manny is a founder at Hatchd Inc, a technology incubator focused on building great Internet and mobile brands, and currently the global managing director of Endeavor Philippines. He was previously a managing director at IRG Ltd, a HK-based M&A boutique focused on the telecoms, media and tech industries. At IRG, Manny focused on a variety of projects in the Internet, mobile, television and online gaming sectors. Manny was the number two executive at Discovery Networks Asia, instrumental in building Discovery Channel and Animal Planet into top-rated TV channels across the region. Prior to this, he served as deputy general manager for TNT and Cartoon Network Asia, an AOL Time Warner TV channel, where he was a key member of the team that launched the service across the Asia Pacific. Prior to that, Manny worked for STAR TV where he was part of the team that acquired the Don Bluth Animation Studio as well as a number of the world’s key Chinese-language film libraries. Manny has an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business and a BA, cum laude, from Yale University. Augusto “Gus” M. Cosio, Jr., Director Gus retired as president of First Metro Asset Management Inc., a Metrobank subsidiary in June 2018 after joining the First Metro Investment Corporation Investment group in 2006 where he had been an active member of its investment committee. His experience in investments and the capital markets span both local and international institutions. Gus had been an international capital markets practitioner for many years having been worked with Banque Nationale de Paris and Banque Paribas the predecessors of the present BNP Paribas prior to their merger. He worked in Hong Kong and Singapore for the Paribas capital markets group and in the Manila Off-shore Branch of Banque Nationale de Paris. He had been president of PNB Securities Inc. and a member of the board of the Philippine Stock Exchange. He also served as Senior Vice President of Security Bank Corporation and SB Capital Inc. Gus remains active in post retirement activities holding management positions and directorships in a few enterprises. Glenda Gloria, Chairperson Glenda co-founded Rappler in July 2011 and is currently its executive editor. She has worked for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, The Manila Times, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, and for international news agencies. She co-founded the Philippines’ top investigative magazine Newsbreak, which started as a newsweekly and later merged with Rappler. From 2008 to January 2011, she managed ANC, the ABS-CBN News Channel, as its chief operating officer. Glenda has written books on the military, conflict, and politics, among them the award-winning Under the Crescent Moon: Rebellion in Mindanao (with Marites Dañguilan Vitug). A British Chevening scholar, she holds a master’s degree in political sociology from the London School of Economics and Political Science. In May 2018, Glenda finished her Nieman journalism fellowship at Harvard University. Antonio “Tony” La Viña, Director Dean Antonio Gabriel La Viña is Associate Director of Manila Observatory where he heads the Klima Center and a professor of law, philosophy, politics and governance in several universities. He is the managing partner of La Viña Zarate and Associates, a development and social change progressive law firm and a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague: He is founding president of the Movement Against Disinformation Tony also writes for Rappler’s Thought Leaders section. Peter Maquera, Director Peter is former CEO of Microsoft Philippines, where he led the company’s efforts in cloud, AI, and cybersecurity. Earlier, Peter spent a significant portion of his career with the Ayala Group, notably as senior vice president of Globe Telecom’s Enterprise Group, president of Globe Telecom International Business Holdings, and deputy CEO of LiveIt Investments, Ltd., Ayala Corporation’s holding company for the BPO sector. Across his career his work centered on scaling complex ICT operations within the Philippines and across international markets. Peter is a trustee of the Makati Business Club chairing the Philippine-US Business Council, and a trustee of the American Chamber of Commerce, co-chairing the ICT committee. Peter is also a member of the Private Sector Advisory Council (Digital Pillar), and a Board Advisor to the Asian Institute of Management RSN Center for Competitiveness. Peter earned his undergraduate degree in Engineering and a master’s in business administration from the University of Southern California. Winnie Monsod, Director An economist, teacher, writer and broadcaster, Winnie was appointed the Philippines’ first socio-economic planning secretary after the fall of the Marcos dictatorship in 1986. She is professor emerita at the University of the Philippines’ (UP) School of Economics, where she taught starting 1983. Winnie served at the United Nations Committee on Development Policy and was convenor and member of the Advisory Board of the UNDP Human Development Report. For 11 years, she was chairperson of the Philippine Human Development Network. She also served on the advisory board of the South Centre in Geneva and the Board of Trustees of the International Food Policy Research Institute based in Washington, DC, and was a member of the High Level Task Force of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Winnie finished her degree in economics in UP and obtained her masters in economics at the University of Pennsylvania. Federico “Fred” Prieto, Director Fred is a lawyer with litigation and corporate practice. For his litigation practice he handles criminal, civil, labor and tax cases. His corporate practice involves mergers and acquisitions, business organization and restructuring, IPO offering and regulatory compliance, among others. He is a 2006 graduate of San Beda University’s College of Law in Mendiola and was admitted to the Bar in May 2007. Maria Ressa, President Maria is co-founder and CEO of Rappler. In October 2021, she was one of two journalists awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her “efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.” In 2022, she was appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General to the Leadership Panel of the Internet Governance Forum and serves as its Vice-Chair. In March 2026, she was selected by the United Nations to sit on the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI and serves as its Co-Chair. She is a also a professor of practice at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Maria authored Seeds of Terror: An Eyewitness Account of Al-Qaeda’s Newest Center of Operations in Southeast Asia and From Bin Laden to Facebook. Her most recent book, How to Stand Up to a Dictator, has been translated into more than 25 languages. – Rappler.com