The Big John

When taipan John Gokongwei, dapper in a dark suit and an elegant red and white tie, received his award on Monday, the crowd of tycoons and business executives gathered at the Shangri La The Fort gave him a standing ovation.

The 91-year old Management Man of the Year awardee, after all, very well deserves the recognition given by the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP). He joins the cream of the crop, a roster of some of the country’s best businessmen, government officials and top executives.

But some think the award came too late. He said so himself.

“I’d like to thank you for this recognition, which, funnily enough, comes 10 years after I retired and relinquished the management of the company to my brother James and my son Lance,” Gokongwei said in his acceptance speech.

But he also said the timing is impeccable, noting that the success of a manager is when he has made himself dispensable.

When I wrote about his award last month after MAP’s announcement, one businessman told me that he thought it was late.

“There is no doubt he deserves the award, but he should have received the award earlier – like maybe when he was still at the helm of JG Summit. Now, it’s already his son Lance’s time,” said my source, a Filipino-Chinese businessman who is also the son of a taipan.

I agree Gokongwei’s award came late. When I asked his son Lance about this, he simply gave me his trademark boy-next-door smile.

But all is well that ends well.

On Monday, Lance expressed his gratitude for his dad’s award.

“On behalf of the whole family, I’d like to thank all those who helped my dad make this possible, our extended JG Summit family,” he said.

When Gokongwei went down the stage soon after he received the recognition, I approached him, shook his hands and gave my congratulations. I was the first one to do so, mustering enough courage to approach the man of the hour.

He looked at me and thanked me sincerely — such a kind man.

He gave a heartwarming and funny acceptance speech, but what really moved me was when he thanked his very first customers.

“To our customers, from those who bought the thread, soap, and candles I sold in the palengke when I was 15 years old to support my family, to those who buy branded goods from our Robinsons Supermarkets today, thank you for your patronage,” he said.

You have to hand it to the taipan. Indeed, he is larger than life. He is called the Big John not so much for his size — although he once confessed that he got too fat that he had no choice but to fly business class – but because his achievements are larger than life, building an empire of food, budget airlines, bank, telecoms, property and petrochemicals from scratch.

When I think about what he went through, I am in awe. His father died when he was 13 and he had to help his mother, a widow at 32 to support the family. Building an empire was not easy. Along the way, his eldest daughter was kidnapped and amidst changing times, his different businesses went through ups and downs.

But Gokongwei survived and steered his empire, JG Summit Holdings Inc. to where it is now. He is the country’s second richest with a net worth of $5.5 billion, according to Forbes.

When I had the privilege to interview him in 2015 in Cebu, he shared some secrets to success – hard work, humility and wise use of money. He said he does not buy expensive things, not even the Apple Watch he was wearing at the time, which he said was just a gift. He would never buy such expensive things.

But he also said he doesn’t hesitate to spend on books and travel because those can help build character and widen one’s horizons.

In his speech, he noted the company’s success as a family-run business.

“Just a few years ago, the conventional wisdom was that family-run businesses could not be as well- managed as non-family run businesses. But the research has shifted, and our experience as a group shows that a hybrid of family-led publicly-listed business works,” he said.

But the best sign of his management skills, he said in jest, “has been to manage my many sons-in- law.

“Most of them are businessmen working with their own family-run businesses, and one lawyer. Guess who is the most difficult to manage?” Gokongwei said, drawing laughter from the crowd.

“Kidding aside. My wife Elizabeth and I always taught our six kids that choosing who they marry is the most important decision of their lives.  I believe marrying Elizabeth, my lifelong partner and love, has been just that,” he said.

Indeed, Gokongwei built an empire from scratch, but his success is more than just about that.

Most of all, it’s really showing the world that with enough perseverance, hard work and with the right life partner – if one chooses not to be single – we all can live our dreams.