Gen Soledad

(by Tess Robeson July 2026) 

“I always wanted to lead an interesting life.”

Mountain climbing. Rock climbing. Scuba diving. Skydiving. Skiing. Hiking. This sounds like a list of offerings from an adventure-promoting company. But these are just some of the regular activities of our featured member, Genevieve Soledad.

Gen hails from Davao, in the southern part of the Philippines. She is the eldest of three siblings. Her mother was an English Literature teacher who imparted a love of the written word to her. It is not surprising that Gen studied communications at the University of the Philippines in Metro Manila.

She became a correspondent for the Dow Jones Manila bureau and later for Reuters, where she covered financial news and general interest stories – “from disasters to fashion.” She later joined Asiamoney magazine, where she broadened her scope beyond Philippine shores, reporting across Southeast Asia, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. She then became a regional editor, located in Hong Kong, for Agence France-Presse’s AFX News. She returned to Dow Jones and, based in Singapore, held a series of positions for the Singapore Global Desk, including head of the equities desk. She managed regulatory analysis for Asia for Wolters Kluwer, then later went back to Dow Jones.

Before moving to Singapore, Gen took up scuba diving. “I developed a fanaticism for it – I used to dive every weekend!” Determined to pursue what she called “an alternative lifestyle,” Gen also practiced yoga, became a vegetarian, learned to do rock climbing “to get over my fear of heights,” became a licensed skydiver, climbed mountains, hiked and skied in far-flung places, and travelled solo. “I always wanted to lead an interesting life,” said Gen.

When asked why the proclivity towards seemingly risky exploits, Gen shared, “When I was young, I thought I would die at age 35. I wanted to do all these things – and I did!”

To date Gen has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia, and Kula Kangri in the Himalayas, among others. She has gone scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Galapagos Islands off Ecuador, among other places, and made 13 jumps from the sky. “In 2004 I considered quitting my job and becoming a scuba diving instructor,” said Gen. “Then I could dive and climb to my heart’s content.”

Gen explained the feeling she gets in the midst of these encounters with nature. “Being among mountains, or emerging from the depths of the sea, how can you think you’re important enough? You’re not the centre of the universe. It’s humbling, being in the face of all the beauty and diversity before us.”

In one of her rock climbing adventures, Gen met a fellow climber, an Englishman from Nottinghamshire. “Stephen was a more experienced and very strong climber.” The two dated for a while and wed in 2008. They have a daughter, Mayumi (Tagalog for “demure”), who now joins them in family hikes and climbs. “My daughter was raised on the climbing wall,” mused Gen.

The family moved to Portugal in 2024 to be near their daughter, who is now an intern with Disney in London. Gen works as a copywriter for Mastercard’s Client Training and Education team in Lisbon while her husband is head of mathematics at Saint Dominic’s International School in São Domingos de Rana. The couple just bought a flat in Parede.

When not engaged in one of her sporty activities, Gen likes to spend time doing crosswords and going on photography walks, as well as scrapbooking and card making. She enjoys IWP’s history talks, tours to historic sites, and afternoon tea. “Going to these IWP events is really fun!”