Rene "RJ" Aleta Ledesma, Jr. (born June 10, 1974) is a Filipino television host and businessman. He is also a former teenage actor known for appearing in

Royal Tru Royal Tru (often referred to simply as Royal) is a carbonation, carbonated fruit-flavored soft drink brand owned by The Coca-Cola Company that is exclusive to the Philippines. The brand was introduced in 1922 by the original San Miguel Corpora ...

commercials A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

in the Philippines in the late 1980s.

Early life and education

RJ Ledesma was born on June 10, 1974. His father Rene Locsin Ledesma is a real estate businessman while his mother is Fortune Aleta, a former

beauty queen A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes so ...

, commercial model, and eye doctor. RJ is the eldest of three children. Ledesma studied at

La Salle Green Hills La Salle Green Hills ("LSGH") is a private Catholic school run by the Philippine District of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in Ortigas Avenue, Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. It was established in 1959 by the D ...

in Mandaluyong for basic education, then at

De La Salle University De La Salle University (), also referred to as DLSU, De La Salle or La Salle, is a private, Catholic coeducational research university run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools with main campus in Taft Avenue, Malate, Man ...

in Manila for college. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in business management in 1995. He later attended the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

in the United States.

Career

Television and film

Ledesma started his entertainment industry career as a commercial actor playing the role of Joey for commercials of

which aired from 1988 to 1991. He auditioned for the role.

Lino Brocka Catalino Ortiz Brocka (April 3, 1939 – May 22, 1991) was a Filipino film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and significant filmmakers in the history of Philippine cinema. His filmography often addressed the co ...

directed Ledesma's first soda commercial. He was also able to work with other directors such as

Ishmael Bernal Ishmael Bernal (September 30, 1938 – June 2, 1996) was a Philippines, Filipino filmmaker, stage and television director, actor and screenwriter. Noted for his melodramas, particularly with feminist and moral issues, he directed many landmark ...

Peque Gallaga Maurice Gallaga (August 25, 1943 – May 7, 2020), better known as Peque Gallaga, was a multi-awarded Filipino film-maker. His most significant achievement in film was , which he directed after winning a scriptwriting contest sponsored by the ...

, and

Jun Urbano Manuel “Jun” Salazar Urbano Jr. (June 8, 1939 – December 2, 2023) was a Filipino actor, comedian and director who was best known for his role as Mr. Shooli, a self-styled Mongolian character who specialized in political satire and comment ...

. A total 15 commercials was produced which aired from 1988 to 1992. After his appearances in the Royal Tru commercials. Ledesma appeared in

GMA Network GMA Network (an acronym of its legal name, Global Media Arts and commonly known as GMA) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine commercial broadcast network, serving as the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network (company), ...

's ''Teen Talk'' with

Beatriz Lucero Lhuillier Beatriz Lucero-Lhuillier, born Beatriz Lucero and more popularly known as Bea Lucero, is a Filipino former athlete and Olympian. She won a bronze medal at the 1992 Olympics in taekwondo, a demonstration sports at the Games. Lucero graduated from ...

in from 1993 to 1995. He took a hiatus from the industry to take up a job as a brand manager of Ivory Soap and Shampoo for

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/con ...

where he worked until 1999. Under that capacity. He commissioned Urbano to direct commercials for his employer. Ledesma returned to television as part of ABS-CBN's '' Alas Singko Y Medya Weekend Edition'' which started airing in 1999 as host with Mon Ilagan and

Cheryl Cosim Cheryl Kathleen Cosim-Alvarez (; born February 7, 1974) is a Filipino journalist, news anchor and TV host, who has appeared on ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs and News5. Career She began her career as a journalist at ABS-CBN News and Curren ...

and later the ''Magandang Umaga, Bayan Weekend'' for two years. Ledesma hosted and produced the late-night adult show ''The Men’s Room'' at

Studio 23 Studio 23 (officially Studio 23, Inc. and stylized in all uppercase as STUDIO 23) was a Tagalog television network owned by ABS-CBN Corporation. The network was named for its flagship station in Metro Manila, DWAC-TV and carried on UHF chan ...

in 2004. He was also hosting ''Tahanang Pinoy'' of

ABC-5 TV5 is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine free-to-air Television network, television and Radio network, radio network headquartered in Mandaluyong, with additional studios in Novaliches, Quezon City. TV5 serves as the flagship netwo ...

. He is the host of ''Bright Ideas'' of One News which features startups and other business concepts as well as the eponymous ''The RJ Ledesma Podcast'' which are made available in various social media and other online platforms. Aside from hosting, Ledesma also did cameos and supporting roles in various television series and films such as ''

Magkaribal ''Magkaribal'' (International title: ''Rivals'') is a 2010 Philippine drama television series starring Bea Alonzo and Gretchen Barretto. The series ran on ABS-CBN from June 28 to November 5, 2010, replacing '' Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Clash 2010' ...

'', '' My Perfect You'', and ''

Bride for Rent ''Bride for Rent'' is a 2014 Filipino romantic comedy film directed by Mae Czarina Cruz starring Kim Chiu and Xian Lim. It is produced by Star Cinema as its opening salvo for the year. The film achieved numerous milestones: it became the seco ...

''.

Writing

Ledesma is a columnist for ''The Philippine Star with his section named "Pogi from a Parallel Universe". He authored at least five books, the editor-in-chief of ''Uno Magazine'', and head The Business Manual online subscription platform of One Mega Group.

Business

Ledesma was involved in establishing food

business incubator A business incubator is an organization that helps startup companies and individual entrepreneurs to develop their businesses by providing a fullscale range of services, starting with management training and office space, and ending with venture ...

Mercato Centrale, EnterPH which is a consultancy for foreign firms aspiring to enter the Philippine market, and Easy Franchise which assist businesses on

franchising Franchising is based on a marketing concept which can be adopted by an organization as a strategy for business expansion. Where implemented, a franchisor licenses some or all of its know-how, procedures, intellectual property, use of its busines ...

. He also heads the Filipino Homes real estate firm.

Personal life

Ledesma married Vanessa Pastor in 2008. They have three children. The couple first met in De La Salle but later met again at the Single Young Adults church group when Ledesma was hosting ''The Men’s Room''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ledesma, RJ 1974 births Filipino businesspeople in real estate Filipino company founders Filipino television presenters De La Salle University alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Living people