Sy‐Coson Honors Father Henry Sy with MAP Man of the Year 2016 Award

SM Investments Corporation (SM) Vice Chairperson Teresita Sy‐Coson received this year the prestigious Man of the Year award from the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), the same great honor bestowed on her father, retail pioneer Henry Sy, Sr. 17 years ago.

“I would like to share this with my dad as it is from him that I have become who I am today. He was one of the two awardees in the 1999 awardees and today he shares half of this honour with me,” Ms. Sy‐Coson said in her acceptance speech during the Management Man of the Year awarding at the Peninsula Manila.

Ms. Sy‐Coson was cited by MAP for steering SM’s retail business to greater heights; for transforming SM’s property business into one of the largest integrated property developers in Southeast Asia; for her valuable contribution in sustaining BDO’s position as a leading bank; for her leadership in the substantial contributions of SM to national development, job creation and income generation; for strengthening the identity of companies under SM as socially responsible corporate citizens; and for her contribution to reshaping national values through her track record of integrity, professional competence and strong leadership.

One key lesson she learned from her father, who was named MAP Man of the Year in 1999, was to always work hard especially if one is lacking in a particular core competence.

“My dad has always constantly told me: Should you be lacking in core competence in any endeavor we undertake, we should work extra hours and work harder to speed up and catch up with our colleagues in the business world. I learned how to keep up the pace when doing business with men who have wider business exposure,” she said.

She also said that SM is what it is today because of her father. “He had the vision not only of where to take the business in a 20‐year horizon but also of how. He also knew what my siblings and I should be working on,” Ms. Sy‐Coson said.

She added that Mr. Sy taught his children to aspire to be the best in any endeavor they undertake.

“We have to think creatively, stay disciplined, and be productive. We need creativity to find opportunities or develop concepts. We need discipline to see the implementation through and practice good governance. We need to produce enough to go for volume or to expand,” she said