Mr. Ricky A. Carandang is the Head of External Affairs at First Philippine Industrial Park and concurrently heads the Integrated Corporate Communications group of First Philippine Holdings and First Gen Corporation of the Lopez Group of companies.
He spent his first years as a professional in the investments industry, working as an analyst and sales executive for various stock brokerage houses.
In 2000, he helped establish the investigative journalism magazine Newsbreak where he served as Business editor and President. He also joined ABS-CBN, the largest broadcast network in the Philippines, where he worked as a reporter, presenter, and commentator.
During his stint in ABS-CBN News Channel, he hosted his own news commentary shows The Rundown and The Big Picture. He also worked as field reporter for TV Patrol and Bandila, the largest local language news programs, as well as presenter for the current affairs program The Correspondents.
In 2010 he was appointed to the cabinet of President Benigno S. Aquino III as Head of the Presidential Communications and Strategic Planning Office and was part of the cabinet clusters on economic policy and national security.
He is a graduate of the Ateneo de Manila University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Economics.