THE eldest grandson of Rustan Commercial Corp.'s late founders, Gliceria and Bienvenido Tantoco, will take the helm at SSI Group Inc. following the passing of retail billionaire Zenaida "Nedy" Tantoco.

The country's largest specialty retailer announced in a filing on Thursday the appointment of Bienvenido Tantoco 3rd as the new chairman of the board, effective February 21.

The younger Tantoco, who also serves as Rustan's president, will manage the SSI Group, which represents over 80 brands such as Hermes, Gucci, Zara, Bershka, Stradivarius, Lacoste and Samsonite in over 520 stores nationwide.

Anthony Huang was also designated as the new chief executive officer, effective Wednesday, in addition to his current roles as president and director.

Huang also holds key leadership positions in Stores Specialists Inc., a subsidiary of SSI Group; Landmark Management Services Ltd.; MUJI Philippines Corp.; Rustan Marketing Corp.; and Philippine FamilyMart CVS Inc.

As of end-December 2022, SSI Group operated 13 e-commerce websites for brands such as Payless, Beauty Bar, Banana Republic, GAP, Dune London, Superga, Lush, Marks & Spencer, Trunc, Massimo Dutti and Old Navy, Securities and Exchange Commission data showed.

SSI shares dropped by 9 centavos to P3.14 each on Thursday.