Lance Gokongwei

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Lance Yu Gokongwei (born 23 November 1966) is a Filipino businessman. He is the President and CEO of JG Summit Holdings, Inc. since 2018.^[1][2][3] Gokongwei is the only Son of John Gokongwei Jr.^[1] He, along with his siblings, were listed among the richest in the Country.^[4]

Early life

Gokongwei was born in Manila, as the second of six children. His father, John Gokongwei, established JG Summit Holdings Inc., while his mother, Elizabeth, was a founding member of Robinsons Department Store.^[5] He went to Xavier School until the second year of high school. He then finished his last two years of high school in Singapore.^[6]

In 1988, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a double degree in Finance and Applied Science (summa cum laude).^[7]

Business career

Gokongwei began his career joining the family business as a management trainee at Universal Robina Corporation (URC).^[8] He sold Jack ’n Jill snacks to supermarkets, groceries, and sari-sari stores.^[9]

Universal Robina

In the late 1990s, Gokongwei became general manager of URC's branded food business, where he led the development of beverages.^[7] In 2004, the company introduced C2, a ready-to-drink tea that went head-to-head with foreign cola companies that dominated the beverage sector in the Philippines. It was sufficiently successful that another production line was required to meet demand.^[10]

In 2013, Gokongwei became chief executive of URC.^[7] The following year, he partnered with Japan's Calbee and France's Danone for potato chips and beverages, respectively. He also acquired New Zealand-based cookie maker Griffin's Foods for 700 million New Zealand dollars ($609 million at the time), giving Universal Robina a presence in the South Pacific. The partnership with Calbee, however, ended five years later as Calbee suffered losses in the Philippine market.^[11]

In 2021, URC bought Malaysia’s Munchy Food Industries for 1.9 billion ringgit ($454 million) to become the nation's leading biscuits manufacturer. ^[12]

Cebu Pacific Air

In 1996, Gokongwei was tasked by his father to take on the challenge of building a new affordable airline, Cebu Pacific Air.^[13]

Tragedy struck, when in February 1998, two years after the company's inception, Cebu Pacific Flight 387 slammed into a mountainside, killing all 104 people aboard. At the time, it was the nation's worst air disaster.^[14]

"Our world seemed to turn upside-down," Gokongwei said, as he faced the greatest challenge of his career.^[15]

In 2010, Cebu Pacific became the Philippines' largest airline.^[15]

In December 2022, Gokongwei announced his resignation as president and CEO of Cebu Pacific.^[16]

In 2023, when COVID-19 fears subsided, Cebu Pacific stated 10 new Airbus jets were set to arrive within the year, increasing its fleet size to 76 aircraft. ^[17]

Earlier in the year, Gokongwei joined five other businessmen in a consortium that proposed to revamp Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport by spending 267 billion pesos. The government rejected the bid in July. ^[18]

JG Summit Holdings

In 2018, Gokongwei was named CEO of JG Summit Holdings.^[19] In 2020, the company was hit by quarantine measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[20] As a result, its income and revenues fell.^{[citation needed]}

In August 2023, JG Summit Holdings reported its core net income reached P9.5 billion in the first half of 2023, a nearly sevenfold increase from the P1.4 billion it earned in the same period a year earlier. ^[21]

Sustainability

Gokongwei is a member of the National Advisory Council of WWF Philippines.^[22] In 2020, Gokongwei was named a member of board of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), representing the business enterprise sector.^[23]

Philanthropy

Gokongwei is the chairman of the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation, the largest private sector provider of STEM scholarships in the Philippines.^[24] On its 30th year, the foundation's goal is to participate in the learning journey of 10,000 teachers and one million learners by 2025.^[25]

Awards

Gokongwei was awarded the 2005 Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young, one of Ten Outstanding Young Men in the Philippines in 2000, Finance Asia's Best CEO in 2015 and 2018, and Institutional Investors’ Best CEO in 2015.^[3]

Personal life

Gokongwei is married to Jay Leong.^[26] They have a daughter and a son.

In 2016, Gokongwei wrote a book titled Lessons from Dad, John Gokongwei Jr.^[27] He also contributed to an anthology titled Letters to My Children.^[28]

References

External links

• Lance Gokongwei profile on Forbes