“10 FAMOUS FILIPINO ENTREPRENEURS”

1. SOCORRO C. RAMOS (National Book Store,

Inc.)
Ms. Socorro C. Ramos started working as a salesgirl
when she was 18 yrs. old in Goodwill Bookstore in
Escolta. She was good in selling, that’s why she
became in charge of the store. When she was
married to Jose Ramos, they put up The National
Book Store. Her vision was to extend the National bookstore not only here in Luzon but
also to Visayas and Mindanao for cheaper access to books and school supplies. Before,
the National Book Store was a general merchandise store. Until later on, it was selling
books, greeting cards, and school supplies. Today, more than 70 National Book Store
can be found nationwide.
2. TONY TAN CAKTIONG (Jollibee Foods
Corporation)
Jollibee was formerly selling Magnolia Ice Cream,
then it was recognized as selling chicken and burger.
Tony Tan Caktiong, the president and CEO of
Jollibee, was a name to remember, not only here in
the Philippines but also in other parts of the country,
like in US, Hongkong, China, Indonesia, and Japan.
He had received several awards in the business and the likes. The success of Jollibee
according to Mr. Caktiong is sharing to people what they had achieved. Jollibee had
been known to be a happy and hardworking insect. It is the favorite place to dine in of
many Filipinos especially the kids.
3. Lucio Tan (Philippine Airlines)
Lucio Tan’s story was from rags to riches tale.
Before working in the tobacco industry, his business
was a scrap. His dream was to become a scientist
but his fortune was bound to become an
entrepreneur. His hard work made him successful
and became famous. Now, he owns Asia Brewery,
Tanduay, Fortune Tobacco, Philippine Airlines, Allied
Bank, and many more to mention.
4. ATTY. FELIPE L. GOZON (GMA Network, Inc.)
Atty. Felipe L. Gozon is the chairman, president, and
CEO of GMA Network. He was credited for the
success of GMA Network in radio and TV
broadcasting, filmmaking, and music recording. He was Master Entrepreneur in 2004.
Because of the leadership of Atty. Gozon, he made GMA as one of the top networks in
the country today. Currently, GMA had via-satellite broadcasting in Asia and in other
parts of the world.
5. Henry Sy (ShoeMart)
Henry Sy was born on December 25, 1923, in Xiamen
China. In his early twenties, he used to sell American
shoes. Then after three years, he was able to have
his first shoe mart store. SM group of companies was
one of the biggest companies in our country and the
man behind it was Henry Sy. His self-discipline,
perseverance, and hard work made him what he is
today. In almost every part of the country (as well as
in Asia), there is SM mall.According to Henry Sy Sr., success will not last if you do not
care of it. That’s the secret of their success.

6. Jaime Zobel de Ayala (Ayala Corporation)

Jaime Zobel de Ayala was before president and
chairman of Ayala Corporation. He was considered
as one of the richest persons tied with Henry Sy in
2007. He had received many awards and the latest
was Entrepreneur of the Year 2012. His strategy for
being successful in this business was getting
partners with those who are in need in the
community. He believes that gaining profits was not
really the concern of every businessman, but to help
the poor people.

7. Alfredo Yao (Zest-O Corporation)

Alfredo Yao came from a poor family and became
rich due to hard work and determination. He didn’t
finish his education at Mapua Institute of
Technology. He experienced to work in the
printing press and then ventured to this business
for 20 years. Then, he shifted to a juice
manufacturing business. Zest-O became hit to
mothers because of its being convenient to be placed in every lunch box of the children.
Today, Zest-O was one of the leading juice manufacturers in the country, in China, New
Zealand, Singapore, and many others.

8. Mariano Que (Mercury Drugstore)

Mariano Que first worked in a drugstore. When he
was given the opportunity, he invested his 100
pesos in the sulfathiazole tablets. He sold his
products to the people by making use of the wooden
pushcart. After saving a lot of money, he was able to
built Mercury. It was made known to the people as
selling safe medicines and opened for 24/7.
Mercury, like any other leading drug stores, had
many stores nationwide.That was because of the
innovations he made in his products.

9. Cecilio K. Pedro (Lamoiyan Corporation)

Cecilio K. Pedro finished his business management degree in
Ateneo de Manila University. He founded the Lamoyan Corp.
which produces toothpastes like “Hapee” and “Kutitap.” This
made toothpaste affordable to the masses. He survived in the
industry because of being tough and innovative to fight for the
multinational companies. His company had received an
award, “Most Outstanding Program for Equal Employment
Opportunity,” giving importance to those who have difficulty in
hearing to work in his company.

10. Corazon D. Ong (CDO Foodsphere, Inc.)

Corazon D. Ong is the founder of CDO Foods. It was a
hobby of Ms. Ong to make processed meats products
such as corned beef, hotdog, meatloaf and hamburger
patties. She was a dietician by profession. So she
understood what the preferences of most Filipinos are.
Today, CDO Foodsphere, Inc. was recognized as the
leading supplier of meat toppings. Why?? Because
nowadays we have many working mothers and it is
convenient on their part to have foods which can be cooked easily.