Mr. Marco Alfredo M. Benitez

Marco Alfredo M. Benitez was installed as the 10th president of the Philippine Women’s University in February of 2020, at the Manila Hotel. Informally labeled as the “pandemic president,” he did not allow the disruption and foray of the COVID-19 pandemic to get in the way of his clearer pathways for this century-old University.

Concurrent with his duties at PWU, he served as the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU) first Vice President and Chair of the Membership Committee from 2022-2024; and second Vice President, PR Committee Chair from 2020-2022. He also served as President of the South Manila Educational Consortium, a consortium composed of 13 Universities along Taft Ave., Manila, from 2019 to 2021.

On the business side, he has served as President of Unlad Resources Development Corporation, the sister stock corporation of PWU, since 2016; and managed the various real estate and service companies of the family for over 15 years.

Marco finished his secondary education from PAREF Southridge School, Muntinlupa City; where he graduated as class valedictorian and academic gold medalist. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Management Engineering degree from the Ateneo de Manila University and his Masters in Business Administration from the Ateneo Graduate School of Business. Apart from his formal
degrees, he has also completed Executive programs on Education Leadership and Data Analytics from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, in 2023. More recently, he earned his Certificate of Leadership and Management from the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business, in partnership with the Commission on Higher Education in December of 2024.

Marco was team captain of the champion men’s basketball team of Ateneo in 2002, where he played for four years. He was a coach for the Alaska Summer Powercamp and the Jr. NBA Philippines program from 2011 to 2016; as well as Team Manager of the UAAP Juniors champion Ateneo High School basketball team from 2008 to 2015.

He was a Sportscaster and Basketball Analyst primarily for ABS-CBN Sports for 11 years - from 2009 to 2020; covering many local and international competitions such as the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the UAAP, the Asean Basketball League, and the Philippine Collegiate Champions League to name a few.

Overall, he believes in sports and its ability to develop values such as a passion, hard work and perseverance, resilience, a collaborative spirit, a growth mindset, and the character-building opportunities it offers.