David Mendoza Consunji (November 2, 1921 – September 4, 2017) was a Filipino businessman and the chairman of a publicly listed holding firm, DMCI Holdings, Incorporated (). He was a former secretary of the Department of Public Works, Transportation and Communications from 1970 to 1975, during the Marcos administration. In 2014,

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listed him as the 6th richest Filipino, with a net worth of US$3.9 billion.

Early life and education

Consunji was born on November 2, 1921, in Samal,

Bataan Bataan (, , , ; ) , officially the Province of Bataan, is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entire Bataan Peninsula ...

to Gaudencio Tongco Consunji of Samal and Consuelo Mendoza of Pandacan, Manila. He is the third eldest among at least nine children. Consunji enrolled at

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...

in 1939 and took up civil engineering and graduated in 1946 and passed the board during the same year.

Career

After graduation, Consunji worked as teacher in Bataan and later a concrete inspector for Kuenzle and Streiff. He founded D.M. Consunji, Incorporated in 1954 and became its chairman since. In 1995, he established DMCI Holdings, Incorporated, to consolidate his businesses. Consunji also served as the president of the Philippine Contractors Association, the International Federation of Asian & Western Pacific Contractors' Association and the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers. In addition, he was also vice-president of the Confederation of International Contractors' Association. Aside from these organizations, he was also the chairman of the Contractors Association, the Philippine Domestic Construction Board and the U. P. Engineering Research and Development Foundation.

Death

Consuji's death was announced on September 4, 2017. He was 95. His cause of death was not disclosed. Consunji wrote his autobiography, ''A Passion to Build: A Memoir of David M. Consunji''. His son Isidro Consunji is currently the president & chairman of DMCI Holdings, Incorporated. One of his grandchildren, Victor Consunji is married to 2007 Bb. Pilipinas World Maggie Wilson in December 2010.

Personal life

Consunji was married to Fredesvinda Almeda with whom he had eight children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Consunji, David 1921 births 2017 deaths Filipino billionaires 20th-century Filipino businesspeople Filipino people of Chinese descent Businesspeople from Manila Secretaries of public works and highways of the Philippines Secretaries of transportation of the Philippines University of the Philippines alumni Ferdinand Marcos administration cabinet members Filipino company founders 20th-century Filipino engineers Civil engineering contractors 21st-century Filipino engineers