TOP 10 FILIPINO

Entrepreneurs
 Extraordinary business leaders leave their mark when they create
brands that shape the lives of consumers. For it's 10th Anniversary
issue, Entrepreneur Philippines puts the spotlight on 10 successful
entrepreneurs in the Philippines who are not only known for raking
in the big bucks, but as game changers who infulence, innovate
and inspire
 World-renowned fashion
designer Rajo Laurel says his
love affair with fashion started
when he was 11. "I often
daydreamed about beautiful
women drifting by, dressed in
elegant gowns made from rich
fabrics... these dayreams would
end up in notebooks," Rajo
Rajo Laurel
Laurel Enterprises has built
multiple brands
 and crafted clothing lines to
dress the country's elite, and
has landed him the cover US
fashion magazine Womens
Wear Daily for his cobweb
dress. To date, his muses
include some of the most
prominent local personalities,
including former Presidents
Corazon Aquino and Gloria Rajo's cobweb dress
Macapagal Arroyo
 "You have to think thrice
before going into business",
master McDonald's
Franchisee George Yang tells
Entrepreneur. It took him 5
years to convince All-
American hamburger chain
to do business in Manila, and
the competition was fierce
when he finally opened the
first McDonald's branch in
George Yang 1981.
After all, he had to introduce the
global brand to a local market
that already had a long standing
favorite fast food chain. Yang
says it wasn't easy, but with the
help of his son Golden Arches
The First McDonald's
Philippines Branch in Morayta
Manila opened in 1981
The Biggest McDonald's Store in
Asia located at San Fernando
Pampanga Philippines

President and CEO Kenneth

Yang, the Filipino-Chinese
entreprenuer says the key to his
McDonald's Newport City in
success was adapting to local Pasay City

culture.
 Retail mogul Ben Chan founded
BENCH with the intention of
improving the quality of Manila's
retail scene. Chan credits the
clothing line's success to a number
of things: being picky about
celebrity endorsers, having an
adventurous attitude in
advertising, and making a lot of
mistakes along the way.

Ben Chan
 "Sometimes it's just a matter of the
market not being ready," Chan
tells Entrepreneur. "Other times
we just didn't get it right. I look at
theses trials as lab work: you can't
expect to get the perfect formula
on the first try, but then you're also
smarter about what doesn't work
and you know better the next
time."

Ben Chan
Even in her late 80's, the woman
behind the country's oldest and
largest bookstore chain is still
working and, refuses to retire
anytime soon. Socorro Ramos
opened the first National
Bookstore in Escolta with her
husband more than 60 years
ago, and has established 70
Socorro Ramos
more locations and employed
2,500 employees since then
 To date, Nanay Coring, as
Ramos is otherwise known, has
several accolades in her name:
the Agora Award for
Outstanding Achievement in
Entrepreneurship in 1991,
Department of Trade and
Industry's Outstanding Filipino
Retailer Award in 2005, Ernst
Socorro Ramos
and Young Entrepreneur of the
Year for the Philippines in 2005.
"All my life I've never
had a vacation, but I'm
not complaining,"
Ramos says. "It's fun!"
Socorro Ramos
Concepcion is the chairman of RFM
Corp., one of the leading food and
beverage conglomerates in the Philippines.
Established in 1958 as the Republic Flour
Mills, the company has delved into
agriculture, poultry, livestock, soft drinks,
ice cream, fruit juice, and noodle
manufacturing, among other things.
Concepcion is the father of eight
entrepreneurs, all of which were groomed Jose Concepcion Jr.

by him.
In his Entrepreneur interview, the
food and beverage tycoon
emphasizes the need to properly
train the young so they develop the
leadership skills necessary to run a
business. "You don’t wait until you
die before turning over the reigns,"
Jose Conception Jr.
he says.
 The chairman and CEO of
Jollibee Food Corporation tells
Entrepreneur that the country’s
largest fast food chain started
with just two ice cream parlors
in 1975. Today, the Jollibee
group has grown to include
Chowking, Greenwich, Red
Ribbon, and Delifrance (the
sale of which will be completed
within the year), and has
expanded abroad. Soon, the
Tony Tan Caktiong group will also own 70 percent
of Mang Inasal.

Caktiong says, "The secret of
Jollibee’s success is sharing.
We share our success with
people; we give good
compensation; we share any
honor that comes our way."
Food Brands that
Jollibee Group Owns
and Operates
Jollibee has embarked on an aggressive
international expansion plan, with more than
270 international branches in the United States,
Canada, Hong Kong, Macau, Brunei, Vietnam,
Singapore, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, United
Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain,
Italy, Spain, and in the United Kingdom.
Core Values
Through the years, JFC has formed its foundation
from good business practices and strong core
values of Customer Focus, Speed with Excellence,
Integrity, Spirit of Family and Fun, Humility to
Listen and Learn. JFC continues its steadfast
commitment in upholding these core values:
 Tan has yet to open the grocery
store he dreamed of as a kid, but
as the CEO of real estate giant
Megaworld, he can "build one
every week" if he wants to, says
Entrepreneur. Tan’s Megaworld
Properties and Holdings is
currently estimated at P30 billion,
and its affiliate--Empire East
Landholdings--is considered one
of the leaders in the property
sector.
Andrew Tan
His first business venture, the
Consolidated Distillers of the Far
East, is the third biggest distillery in
Manila. "Most entrepreneurs are good
salesmen," says this accounting grad
who graduated magna cumlaude. "But
a good salesman, who is also good at
numbers could also become a good
entrepreneur."
John Gokongwei’s rags-to-
riches story is one of the
most inspiring tales in the
local business scene. His
humble beginnings more
than 60 years ago include
selling soap on his bike and
peddling goods in Cebu. John Gokongwei Jr.
 Today, he's the chairman and
founder of JG Summit
Holdings, one of the biggest
conglomerates in the
country."You have to save
money instead of spending all
of it," Gokongwei tells
Entrepreneur. "Look for areas
[where] you can compete in.
John Gokongwei Jr.
Work damn hard. Most
importantly, you have to love
it."
For many years, Lucio Tan's many
business endeavors has made him
the second-biggest taxpayer in the
country. Tan built multiple empires
in a number of industries--airline,
banking, tobacco, liquor, and real
estate--but surprisingly, the Chinese
businessman’s lifelong dream was to
be a scientist. Lucio Tan
"I was part of a poor immigrant
family, so I had to work harder than
everyone," Tan tells Entrepreneur.
"Perhaps I was really destined to be
an entrepreneur, although up to now,
my childhood dream of studying
science continues to fascinate me to
no end."
Lucio Tan
 He's the retail giant behind the
SM Group of Companies and is
also among Forbes.com's
billionaire list with American
bigwigs like publishing tycoon
William Hearst III, hotelier
Richard Mariott, and media
mogul Oprah Winfrey. The
richest man in the country credits
his success to "hard work,
tenacity, frugality, self-discipline,

Henry Sy
Confucian values, and an undying
thirst for learning," according to
Entrepreneur.
 Henry Sy SM MALL OF ASIA

"I don't give up on things

easily," the 85-year-old says. Banco De Oro (BDO)
"I look for solutions to
problems. I want to make
things happen."
National University
(NU)
Thank you for listening

Presented by:
Ibardaloza, Robert D.
BSBA 1-1