The Gokong-Way

It wasn’t a thing that happened overnight. Perhaps it’s the clarity of vision provided by the life-changing year that was 2020 that started the seeds of this rebranding of sorts for the Gokongwei Group, the sprawling business empire founded by the late tycoon John Gokongwei, Jr.

It was intuitive, says Lance Gokongwei who took over  the helm of the group in 2018. But it involved a lot of planning that started over the past year.

They talked to different stakeholders, consulting them on the family’s plan to be known as the Gokongwei Group instead of the usual, but varied names such as the JG Summit or the Robinsons Group.

Thus, it was a journey that was carefully planned and thought out with the aim of carrying the conglomerate onward into the future and assuring its place in an ever evolving and changing business landscape.

Vitamin B

“Our family council worked with Vitamin B over the last year, gathering data, interviewing over 20 stakeholders, including senior government officials, bankers, customers, board members and management team members to gather the insights to support the decision to brand us the Gokongwei Group,” Lance shared with me.

“Although it seems to be an intuitive decision,” he added.

Vitamin B Inc. is a brand consultancy that helps companies build brands.

After a year of gathering invaluable insights from various sectors, the group finally unveiled its master brand, which perhaps, encompasses not just its different businesses, but all that it does as a group, including the projects it undertakes to give back to the community.

The Gokongwei Legacy

The Gokongwei Brothers Foundation is one such project. The late taipan, John Gokongwei Jr. and his brothers – Henry, Johnson, and James – established the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation (GBF) in 1992 with the goal of helping advance education in the country.

Today, the foundation is one of the largest philanthropic educational organizations in the country.

It was only fitting then that at GBF’s 30th anniversary event last week, the Gokongwei family officially launched the Gokongwei Group master brand, which is the umbrella brand name that encompasses all the companies and organizations in the family’s diversified business portfolio.

“Our name carries with it the legacy of our founder Mr. John and his siblings – a legacy of integrity and reliability, and one which my siblings, cousins, and I in the third generation have been working very hard to live up to. It is our fervent hope that this legacy will live on to succeeding generations of the Gokongwei family, so that we can continue to make lives better and … yes, to make our forefathers proud,” Lance said during the anniversary celebration.

Disruptive innovations

Indeed, the master brand embodies the Gokongwei Group’s commitment to carry on its founder’s legacy of disruptive business innovations that provide better choices for consumers.

“This joint launch of the Gokongwei Group’s master brand and the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation 30th Anniversary kick-off underscores the essence of our identity,” Lisa Gokongwei Cheng, GBF general manager and Summit Media president and CEO, said during the event.

Business and philanthrophy

Lisa said that for 30 years now, GBF has been at the forefront of giving learners access to quality education through scholarships. GBF has supported a total of 1,841 scholars to date, 1,116 of whom have already graduated.

“Our active onboarded scholars will grow from 913 this year to 2000 by 2025. We are, by far, the largest private sector provider of scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics or STEM education in the country,” she said.

College and master’s degree for teachers

Moving forward, Liza said that while they would continue funding scholarships, they would also have a new focus on teachers. Thus, GBF will prioritize elevating the quality of teachers through professional development.

“The quality of our future workforce is largely determined by the quality of our educators. We have launched and will aggressively expand our teacher scholarship program for college and master’s degree,” she added.

In all, GBF aims to be part of the learning journey of 10,000 educators and one million learners by 2025.

“To end, much has been achieved, but much work remains as challenges in education abound, especially post pandemic.   As the founding generation has built – against all odds – a leading business in the nation, we hope we can play our part in educating a generation of Filipinos ready to take on the challenges of a new world.

“Allow me to share with you our 30th GBF anniversary’s battle cry – walang imposible,” LIza said.

Education

Congratulations to the Gokongwei Group for these milestones. It is certainly on the right path in continuing its investments in education.

The country’s educational system certainly needs all the help it can get. I hope other business groups also invest heavily in education, especially in training our teachers.

More than being just a new master brand, the “Gokongwei Group” is certainly a testament to the tried and tested Gokong-Way, which is all about helping build a nation while building different businesses. This is proof that business and philanthropy can complement each other. The Gokongweis have shown us how.

Iris Gonzales’ email address is [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @eyesgonzales. Column archives at eyesgonzales.com.