The University of Santo Tomas honored its alumnus, Jollibee Foods Corp. founder and chairman Tony Tan Caktiong, by conferring on him the degree Doctor of Business Administration, honoris causa, at a ceremony on Feb. 15, 2018 at the University of Santo Tomas Medicine Auditorium, Manila.
The University of Santo Tomas confers doctorate degree, honoris causa, on illustrious individuals and alumni who have manifested outstanding contribution in the field where he/she is being recognized.
In the history of the 407 year-old university, only 77 individuals from diverse fields from all over the world have received the honorary doctorate degree. Among them are President Manuel Quezon, President of the UN Assembly and Filipino diplomat Carlos Romulo, Prince Juan Carlos de Borbon of Spain, President Corazon Aquino, SGV founder Washington SyCip, Focolare founder Chiara Lubich, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Lebedev and Jaime Cardinal Sin.
The most recent awardees were Mercury Drug founder Mariano Que and UnionBank president Justo Ortiz, who received the awards in 2015.
Tan Caktiong becomes the 78th awardee of a doctorate degree, honoris causa.
Citing his achievements in the food industry that has spanned 40 years, Tan Caktiong’s visionary leadership has not only placed Jollibee as the first food service company in the Philippines to be publicly listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange. It has also acquired business interests in various food brands in Asia and the United States.
Aside from being at the helm of Jollibee, Tan Caktiong is also the co-chair of Double Dragon Properties Corp. and director of First Gen Corp. and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, all of which are listed in PSE.
In addition to his chemical engineering education from the University of Santo Tomas, Tan Caktiong went to the Asian Institute of Management and the Harvard University for further studies.
Tan Caktiong, the first Philippine winner of the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2003, also won the World Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2004 in a ceremony held in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
He is listed in Forbes’ list of richest Filipinos where he ranked eighth in 2017.