BIZ BUZZ: Sy: The consummate manager

On Monday, many of the country’s top executives gathered at a ballroom in a Taguig hotel to toast this year’s top executive: SM Group’s Hans Sy.

As a member of the Philippines’ richest family, with an estimated $11.8 billion in combined wealth among the six Sy siblings, Hans inherited more than just assets from his father, the late SM Group founder Henry Sy Sr.

He inherited a legacy, and that legacy figured prominently in his speech as he accepted the “Management Person of the Year” award from the Management Association of the Philippines, one of the top honors for management excellence in the country.

Hans spoke of the turbulence the conglomerate had weathered over the decades and the values their father had instilled that kept them steady through it all.

After all, management excellence is nothing new to the Sy family. Henry Sy Sr. received the same award in 1999, while Hans’ sister, SM Investments vice chair Teresita Sy-Coson earned it in 2016.

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Hans accepted the award amid a sea of industry heavyweights, including Penshoppe Group’s Alice Liu, former Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry president Cecilio Pedro and PLDT and Smart director Alfredo Panlilio.

When his name was announced, the ballroom erupted and guests rose to their feet, cheering the Sy scion who, for that moment, stood at the summit of the management world.