Chito Salud named first PBA president/CEO; Commissioner search still on

PBA Commissioner Chito Salud. PBA IMAGE/NUKI SABIO

PUERTO PRINCESA, Philippines —Outgoing PBA commissioner Chito Salud has been named the league’s first president/chief executive officer.

League chairman Patrick Gregorio on Saturday said the PBA Board of Governors approved the appointment of Salud, who had earlier announced his resignation as commissioner, to the newly-created position.

“In our board meeting today (Saturday), we have finalized the restructuring and the reorganization of the PBA effective immediately, will have a president/chief executive officer,” Gregorio announced in a hastily prepared presser at the lobby of the Aziza Paradise Hotel here.

Gregorio cleared that the responsibilities of the CEO is different from that of the commissioner.

The CEO will handle the corporate side of the league while the game commissioner/COO deal with the PBA, the PBA D-League, including the “technical” side.

“We still want to grow and we feel that the CEO can help us grow this league,” Gregorio said. “Meron na po siyang ibang gagampanang trabaho at kasama niya rito ang game commissioner para yung concentration pagdating sa games, pagdating sa officiating, pagdating sa technical nandoon na po kay game commissioner.”

Salud’s appointment is effective immediately, which means he will have to play the role as president and commissioner for the meantime, as per Gregorio.

“The Board has requested Atty. Chito Salud and he has accepted because we feel the PBA must address two very important issues: strategic growth and sustainability,” said Gregorio.

Gregorio also said the new CEO will work with the Board in reviewing the PBA bylaws.

“It is time to review and amend the PBA bylaws. The last time it was amended was in 1994.”

The Board, meanwhile, has already come up with a shortlist for the next commissioner.

“The search for the new commissioner will continue,” Gregorio said.

“We realized we needed badly to restructure when commissioner Salud resigned. We realized it is time to transform so when we approved the restructuring we cleared this with our owners and they all agreed unanimous, very fast I must say.”