Ayala has most family members named ‘Management Man of the Year’

FERNANDO ZOBEL DE AYALA is Management Man of the Year 2018, the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) announced today.

This makes the Zobel de Ayalas the family with most members (three) in this elite list. Previous to Fernando, his father Jaime and brother Jaime Augusto, or JAZA, were separately featured as “Management Man of the Year.”

The Sy family has two: Henry Sr. and eldest daughter Teresita Sy-Coson.

In its annual Philippines Rich List, Forbes magazine has ranked the Sy family as the wealthiest in the country for at least a decade. In its latest world billionaires list, Henry Sr is the only wealthy individual from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) who made it to the top 100.

The family conglomerates of the Ayalas and the Sys have been rivals in various industries, including real estate and banking. Both conglomerates are currently run respectively by the brothers Jaime Augusto and Fernando, and by Tessie Sy-Coson and her five other siblings.

Here were the other previous 41 awardees recognised by MAP:

• Washington Z. SyCip (1967)
• Geronimo Z. Velasco (1977)
• Henry A. Brimo (1978)
• Jose M. Soriano (1979)
• Cesar E.A. Virata (1981)
• Jaime V. Ongpin and Vicente T. Paterno (1982)
• Dante G. Santos (1983)
• Cesar A. Buenaventura and Roberto T. Villanueva (1985)
• Jaime Zobel de Ayala (1987)
• Ramon V. del Rosario, Sr. (1988)
• Jose B. Fernandez, Jr. (1989
• Raul T. Concepcion (1990
• Oscar J. Hilado (1991
• Alfonso T. Yuchengco (1992
• Juan B. Santos (1994)
• David M. Consunji and Rizalino S. Navarro (1996)
• Gabriel C. Singson (1998)
• Delfin L. Lazaro and Henry Sy, Sr. (1999)
• Oscar M. Lopez (2000)
• Tony Tan Caktiong (2002)
• Jesus P. Tambunting (2003)
• Rafael B. Buenaventura (2004)
• Manuel V. Pangilinan (2005)
• George S. K. Ty and Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala (2006)
• Jose L. Cuisia Jr. (2007)
• Antonino T. Aquino and Jesus P. Estanislao (2009)
• Lilia B. de Lima and Ramon R. del Rosario, Jr. (2010)
• Erramon Aboitiz (2011)
• Aurelio R. Montinola III (2012)
• Edgar O. Chua (2013)
• Albert F. del Rosario (2014)
• Amando M. Tetangco, Jr. (2015)
• Teresita Sy-Coson (2016) and John L. Gokongwei, Jr. (2017)

In it’s press release, the MAP wrote:

“The ‘MAP Management Man of the Year’ is a prestigious award that MAP bestows on individuals in the business community or government for attaining unquestioned distinction in the practice of management and for contributing to the country’s progress. The conferment of the award follows a thorough, stringent selection process. The distinction of ‘MAP Management Man of the Year’ has only been conferred 42 times in the five-decade history of the award.

“The criteria for the award include integrity, leadership, and management qualities; contribution to nation building and values formation; effective stewardship within the confines of the highest standard of business and management practice; among others.

“Mr. Zobel was chosen for the following:

1. for helping steer the Ayala Group to being consistently ranked by the global investor community as among the best in the Philippines for management excellence, corporate governance, sustainability, and people management;

2. for nurturing the strategic transformation of Ayala Land by improving the commercial and residential landscape of several areas all over the country, and by being a solid proponent of providing greater access to affordable housing to help augment the country’s housing backlog;

3. for helping establish the country’s highly successful Public-Private Partnership, the Manila Water Company, and transforming it into a water infrastructure player in Southeast Asia;

4. for his active participation, support and leadership in nation-building organizations, such as Centex (Education), Habitat for Humanity (Housing), HERO Foundation (Fallen Soldiers), Caritas (Church), Asia Society (Culture), and National Museum of the Philippines (Arts);

5. for his major contributions to national development, job creation and income generation through the Ayala Group’s huge investments in various industries; and

6. for his contribution to re-shaping national values through his track record of integrity, professional competence, and strong leadership.