20 People In the World of Business Who Are the Talk of the Town

1. JD Abeneza
Posted by JD Abenaza on Tuesday, August 29, 2017
The technopreneur was one of the big winners at last year’s ASEAN Business Awards, as his game development company, Zeenoh, was voted Best Innovative SME. Founded in 2008, Zeenoh’s smartphone games are designed with a strong Filipino influence. It released Patintero Playtime in 2010, and the much more ambitious Nightfall in 2015, which features local monsters and folklore, such as the
2-5. Ramon Ang, Danding Cojuangco, Roberto Ongpin, Injap Sia
What do these men have in common? In 2017, they either returned to or joined the Forbes World’s Billionaires list (there were 14 Filipinos listed, either solo or as part of a family). The fortunes of Ang and Cojuangco are closely intertwined, as Ang was Cojuangco’s chosen successor at the mega-conglomerate San Miguel Corporation. Ang recently purchased Philippine Daily Inquirer and distribution rights for BMW. On the surface, Ongpin appears to have had a bad year, primarily after being singled out as an oligarch by the president, but somehow was able to break into the dollar billionaires’ club after missing out in 2016. Sia is the youngest Filipino on the list; he made his fortune with the Mang Inasal franchise, but he’s expanded his wealth with smart real estate deals, partnering with Jollibee’s Tony Tan Caktiong
6-9. Maricor Bunal, Matthew Cua, Gian Scottie Javelona and Carlo Ocab
This group of Filipino 20-something entrepreneurs (along with Shihab Shabibi, a Philippine-based Iranian) made it to Forbes’ 30-Under-30 list—a round-up of the region’s most influential millennials. Bunal is the founder of
10-11. Carlo and Macky Coronel
The young and enterprising brothers are behind the fast-growing firm Safehouse Storage, touted as the biggest self-storage company in the country today. Founded in 2010, Safehouse Storage has benefited greatly from the boom in new condominiums, most of which have units that are on the small size, hence the need for extra storage space.
12. Frederick Go
The country’s in the midst of a real estate boom, and Go, the president of Robinsons Land Corporation, is among those fueling it. At the helm of the company since 2006, Go was chosen as the 2017 Real Estate Personality of the Year at the fifth annual PropertyGuru Philippines Awards. In a statement, Go said, “We at Robinsons Land want to leave a legacy of having improved the quality of life of everyone we have touched in our businesses… We are building the business of building dreams and making life better.”
13. Anna Meloto Wilk
The co-founder and president of cosmetics brand Human Nature was named Global Beauty Industry Woman of the Year by the London-based trade publication Cosmetics Design. The award honors industry professionals who are “shaping the future of the cosmetics and personal care industry.” In a statement after winning the honor, Meloto Wilk said, “This award is proof that ‘Made in the Philippines’ can truly be just as good as ‘Made in France’ or ‘Made in the UK’ and I hope it will encourage other Filipinas to never give up on our country and our talented, heroic people.”
14. Lynette Ortiz
Since last October, Standard Chartered, the oldest international bank in the country has been headed by Ortiz, the first Filipina to hold the post. She was appointed as CEO after
15. Chris Peralta
T.I.P. conducts second session of #Technopreneurship Learning Series with #ManilaValley https://t.co/u3mOZ37boc pic.twitter.com/zWRhgLEJp2
— Chris Peralta (@manilavalley) July 5, 2016
A veteran in the global telecommunications industry, Peralta founded Manila Valley in 2015, with the aim of helping fellow Filipino entrepreneurs succeed in Silicon Valley. He recently partnered with Google Launchpad to host a
16. Carl Brian Tan Caktiong
The only son of Jollibee founder Tony Tan Caktiong, Carl Brian is handling Jollibee’s expansion in China. He’s the chairman of JFC China, which handles three brands: Yonghe King, Hong Zhuang Yuan and Dunkin’ Donuts—no burgers, for now. The Chinese fast food chain Yonghe King is the biggest part of the business, with 310 stores in China as of December 2016. Just like in the Philippines, Carl Brian reveals that “hugot” ads work well in China, as sales achieved double-digit growth after a viral ad campaign.
17. Dennis Uy
The Davao-based businessman has steered the growth of Phoenix Petroleum from a once-small oil-distribution business to a major player on the national stage—it was the first Philippine-owned independent oil company to be listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange in 2007. In more recent years, he’s started to expand the empire: He bought a franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association last year, is currently developing a casino and resort in Cebu, and just completed the acquisition of hospitality educational institution Enderun Colleges.
18. Earl Martin Valencia
Founder Spotlight: Earl Martin Valencia Co-Founder of Ideaspace / Program Manager of Corporate Data Analytics at...
Posted by TechShake on Sunday, November 13, 2016
A former executive at Smart Communications, Valencia is a co-founder of IdeaSpace Foundation, a nonprofit start-up
19. Benjie Yap
20. Mariana Zobel-Aboitiz
The eldest daughter of Jaime Augusto and Lizzie Zobel is helping lead the way for the family’s next generation as she takes charge of Ayala Land’s first mall in the Ortigas area, The 30th, as its general manager. Like her father and grandfather, she attended Harvard University, graduating in 2011 with a degree in Social Studies (interdisciplinary program in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics). After graduating, she joined JP Morgan in New York before coming home to join the family firm.
This story was originally published in the September 2017 issue of Town&Country.