Ten Successful Filipino Entrepreneurs

1, Soccoro Ramos – founder of National Bookstore

Socorro C. Ramos is the matriarch of National Bookstore, the Philippines' leading retailer of
books, office supplies, and greeting cards. In 1965, she and her husband Jose set up a nine-story
building along Avenida Rizal which would be the very first National Bookstore. What has become the
Ramos family business has not stopped growing since, having opened Powerbooks, a now popular
specialty bookstore, in 1996.

2. Tony Tan Caktiong – founded the fast food chain Jollibee.

He is a Chinese Filipino entrepreneur. He is the founder and chairman of Jollibee Foods
Corporationwhich owns the Filipino fast food chain Jollibee, and the co-chairman
of DoubleDragon Properties. Tan was born to Chinese immigrant parents from Fujian. He attended
high school at Chiang Kai Shek College and graduated from the University of Santo Tomas with a
degree in chemical engineering. Tan had initially planned an ice cream parlor when he founded
Jollibee, then added dishes such as hamburgers, french fries, and fried chicken.

3. Vivian Que Azcona – President of Mercury Group (Mercury Drug Stores)

Vivian Que Azcona is the president of Mercury Drug Corporation, the country’s
biggest drugstore chain and operates more than 500 outlets. Forbes listed Azcona as the
15th richest Filipino with a networth of USD445 million. She is the second richest Filipina after
Beatrice Campos (8th). She is also the NCR director of the Philippine Retailers Association
(PRA)

4, Wilfred Uytengsu Jr.- President and Chief Executive Officer Alaska Milk Corporation

Wilfred Steven B. Uytengsu Jr. is a Filipino businessman, sports team

owner and athlete. As of August 2017, Forbes lists him as the 35th richest in the
Philippines with a net worth of $240 Million. Uytengsu was born in 1961 in Cebu
City to Wilfred T. Uytengsu, Sr. and Bonnie Brooks. He obtained a bachelor's
degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California in
1983. After completing his studies in the United States, he returned to the
Philippines and joined the family owned Alaska Milk Corporation (AMC). He
became president of AMC in 1998 and its CEO in 2007.

5. Lucio Tan – owns Asia Brewery, Tanduay Holdings, Fortune Tobacco, Philippine Airlines
(PAL)
 He is a Chinese Filipinobillionaire businessman and educator with interests in
banking, airline, liquor, tobacco, real estate industries and education. In
2013, Forbes magazine listed him as the second richest billionaire from the Philippines
with a net worth of $7.5 billion.

6. Manuel V Pangilinan – Chairman of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT),
owner of ABC/TV5 network, Cignal Digital TV and Smart Communications.

Manuel V. Pangilinan, BOLk,KLD, (born July 14, 1946 in Manila, Philippines) is

a Filipino businessman, and sports patron. Primarily known to be the business
magnate of the Indonesian Salim Group to the Philippines. He is the managing
director and CEO of First Pacific Company Limited, a Hong Kong-based investment
management and holding company with operations in the Asia-Pacific region. He is
also First Pacific’s chief executive for the group’s investments in the Philippines, such
as Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, PLDT and Philex Mining Corporation. He
was the first president of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), serving two
consecutive terms from 2008 to 2015.

7. John Gokongwei – chairman of JG Summit Holdings, Cebu Pacific Air, Digital

Telecommunications (Sun Cellular), owns Universal Robina Corporation, controls Robinsons Land
and Malls (Robinsons)

John Robinson Lim Gokongwei, Jr.(traditional Chinese: 吳奕輝; simplified Chinese: 吴奕辉
; pinyin: Wú Yìhuī; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Gô͘ E̍k-hui; born Go Ek-hui on August 11, 1926) is a Chinese-Filipino
business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He has holdings in telecommunications, financial
services, petrochemicals, power generation, aviation and livestock farming. As of 2015,
Gokongwei is the second richest entrepreneur in the Philippines, with a net worth of over $5
billion, ranking behind Henry Sy.

8.Felipe L. Gozon – current chief executive and chair of GMA Network Inc. (GMA 7)

Felipe Enrique Lapuz Gozon (born December 8, 1939), known

professionally as Felipe Gozon, a Filipino lawyer and the current Chairman
and CEO of GMA Network Inc., one of the largest media networks in
the Philippines.
A lawyer by profession, the Yale-educated Gozon is seen as the
network executive who has successfully turned-around GMA from its state as
the one of the leading television networks in the Philippines to its current
stature, at some point toppling the long-dominant ABS-CBNin 2004 from their
Mega Manila stronghold until today in the Mega Manila ratings. Under his
watch, the network has also experienced stability in terms of revenues, mostly from advertising and other revenue sources.

9. Emilio T. Yap – owns Manila Bulletin, chairman of the Manila Hotel and Chairman Emeritus of
Philtrust Bank

Emilio T. Yap was a Chinese Filipino business tycoon. He was the

chairman of the board of the Manila Bulletin. Yap, who was of Chinese
descent, was born on September 24, 1925. He began his business career in
1942. In July 1984, Yap was elected as the chairman of the board of
the Manila Bulletin, a position he held until his death in 2014. He was also the
vice president of the executive department of the Manila
Bulletin. Additionally, Yap was the chairman of Manila Hotel from 1997 until
2014, chairman of Centro Escolar University since 2002, and the chairman
emeritus of Philtrust Bank. Forbes ranked Yap as the 15th wealthiest person in
the Philippines in 2013, with an estimated net worth of $1.1 billion.

10. Ben Chan – Bench Apparels (Bench)

Ben Chan is a Chinese-Filipino entrepreneur. He is the founder of Bench,

the Philippines's largest clothing chain, under the trademark Suyen Corporation.With his
world-class fashion style and work ethic, Chan has expanded the Philippine clothing chain
into international markets including China, the land of his forefathers. He is the brother of
Liwayway Marketing Corporation founder Carlos Chan.

Ben comes from a family of serial entrepreneurs. He is the son of Chan Lib, a Chinese
immigrant. Together with his wife See Ying, Chan Lib established Liwayway Marketing
Company, which soon became the country's leading starch supplier with its flagship
product, Liwayway Gawgaw (laundry starch). The company primarily specialized in
repacking flour and coffee products. In 1966, the business was converted into a corporation,
as it expanded into the distribution of pomade, candles, candies, and sauces.