Gus Go named Entrepreneur of the Year

Veteran Cebuano businessman Augusto Go, the man behind the University of Cebu and other businesses, will be given the highest award tonight as “Entrepreneur of the Year” at the Grand Chamber Awards of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Considered as a strong icon in Cebu’s business community, Go reached the pinnacle of his life as an entrepreneur.

“An entrepreneur should know the Ten Commandments for a successful business: first, work; second, work harder; third, work; and the rest is harder,” he said.  

In 1964, lawyer Go founded the Cebu College of Commerce with less than 500 students.  Perseverance, patience, and a lot of hard work increased enrollment and this led to the elevation of the college to a university in 1992. 

From the main campus in Sanciangko, the University of Cebu has expanded, with campuses in Mambaling, Mandaue, and Banilad, bringing affordable education to 46,000 students. 

As a non-elitist institution that welcomes students from all walks of life, social background, race, creed, and culture, the University of Cebu boasts of quality education. 

Equipping students with the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values that are essential in living a fulfilling and meaningful life, the university has indeed come a long way.  With its opening in 1964, the university has graduated more than a hundred thousand students, most of whom have carved their own niches here and abroad.  

Using his incisive business acumen, Go was also able to transform ailing companies into profitable business entities.  From bankruptcy, the ASPAC Rural Bank now has thirteen (13) branches.  The Cebu Coliseum Complex was also on the verge of bankruptcy when Atty. Go assumed its management. 

Together with his business partner, the complex has continuously received bookings for events and activities. The same story can be said for Metro Ferry, Inc. bought from Magsaysay Lines.  The ferry-boat company now serves passengers from Muelle Osmeña, Opon, and Lapu-Lapu City to Pier 3 and vice-versa. 

Go was also responsible for making the Cebu Technical School into the biggest technical school in Cebu now known as College of Technological Sciences-Cebu. He is also the point man in the aggressive expansion programs the Visayan Surety and Insurance Corporation is currently undertaking. 

A Business Sage, Augusto “Gus” Go is one leader who develops and grows people who in turn, help build the future of businesses and lead them as well. 

Go was a former vice mayor of Cebu City. He was a charter member of the Rotary International in Cebu and during the election of officers as its first treasurer.

Known as an exemplary employer who takes to heart his employees’ deep concerns, Go is also acknowledged for his boundless generosity—a trait that merits staunch loyalty form his employees.

An Honorary Consul of Korea to Cebu, Go’s University of Cebu is poised to become an institution of higher learning, and aims to be one of the leading Universities in the Philippines and ultimately in the Asia-Pacific region.

The CCCI’s Grand Chamber Award will be held tonight at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC). – Ehda M. Dagooc