Mikee Romero: Outstanding leader of Asia cited for successes across multiple industries and impact on progress

Focusing on the remarkable breadth of Romero's pursuits, the jury for Asia Corporate Excellence & Sustainability (ACES) Awards 2026 recognized Romero's ability to move across disciplines, embrace new challenges, and create meaningful accomplishments in different fields.

As one of the top awardees in the elite circle of Asian recipients, Romero was honored for his "leadership, achievements, and influence that are shaping progress across Asia."

His recognition as one of Asia’s Most Outstanding Leaders at the Asia Corporate Excellence & Sustainability (ACES) Awards 2026, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in October, places this exemplary multifaceted career in the international spotlight.

ACES Awards officially recognized Romero for redefining leadership standards, and setting a benchmark for future generations as a leader with multi-faceted impact:

"As the visionary chairman of Mikro-Tech Capital, Inc., Romero has demonstrated transformative leadership by strategically diversifying business operations across multiple sectors, including finance and technology."

For Romero, that description captures a career spanning entrepreneurship, legislation, competitive sports, and humanitarian service.

Romero’s entrepreneurial journey began with an ardent goal to develop businesses in industries essential to Philippine economic growth.

In 2003, he developed the Harbour Centre Port Terminal into the Philippines’ largest non-containerized cargo terminal.

In 2010, after securing the 25-year concession for Manila North Harbour, he spearheaded its ?23-billion modernization, transforming it into the country’s largest domestic port terminal.

Romero sold his interests in these major port ventures in 2018.

Through Globalport, he continued expanding maritime infrastructure into the Visayas and Mindanao, establishing a network spanning 12 major base ports to support inter-island trade and regional connectivity.

In the field of aviation, Romero helped establish AirAsia Philippines in 2010 and became its largest shareholder in 2016.

The airline grew into a business generating approximately ?28 billion in annual revenues before he sold his stake back to its Malaysian partners in 2023, following the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the aviation industry.

His interests have also encompassed mining, real estate, infrastructure, and strategic investments through Mikro-Tech Capital Inc.

Today, Romero is pursuing opportunities in power and energy, focused on developing a 1,000-megawatt power business to help address the Philippines’ growing electricity requirements.

From ports and aviation to energy, his entrepreneurial career reflects a continuing pursuit of opportunities to build enterprises and contribute to national development.

The Legislator: Public Service From 2016 To 2025

Romero brought his experience in enterprise-building to the Philippine Congress, serving as a 1-PACMAN Party-list representative from June 30, 2016, to June 30, 2025.

During his three consecutive terms, he served as a Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and chairman of the Committee on Poverty Alleviation. His legislative work covered healthcare, education, poverty alleviation, labor protection, sports development, and national defense.

Over his nine years in Congress, Romero tallied authoring and co-authoring 148 Republic Acts, contributing to measures associated with the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) Act; Universal Health Care Act; Free College Tuition Law; Eddie Garcia Law; and Philippine National Sports Training Center Act.

His public service also included support for defense modernization and national disaster preparedness.

Romero was among the congressional leaders who supported funding for the acquisition of three new Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules tactical transport aircraft for the Philippine Air Force.

The acquisition was intended to strengthen the country’s capabilities in humanitarian assistance, disaster response, logistics, aeromedical evacuation, troop deployment, and national defense.

The Humanitarian: Rebuilding Lives, Empowering Communities

Beyond business and government, Romero devoted substantial resources to humanitarian assistance, disaster recovery, and community empowerment.

Over the past 15 months, he has intensified these efforts, leading and supporting more than 60 humanitarian, disaster response, and civil-military community assistance missions across the Philippines.

These initiatives have reached remote communities in Pag-asa Island, Mavulis, Itbayat, Mapun, Taganak, Basilan, Dinagat Islands, Zamboanga, North Cotabato, Palawan, Mindoro, Tarlac, Batanes, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi. W

orking with government institutions, medical professionals, military personnel, private organizations, and community partners, Romero has helped mobilize emergency relief, medical and dental services, educational assistance, livelihood programs, and infrastructure rehabilitation.

His humanitarian initiatives have also supported children suffering from serious heart ailments who urgently require life-saving surgery.

The ACES jury specifically noted that Romero’s Save-A-Heart initiative exemplifies his commitment to social responsibility, reinforcing his legacy of community-focused leadership.