The Asian Institute of Management conferred an honorary Doctorate in Management on Jollibee Foods Corp. founder and chairman Tony Tan Caktiong on June 30, 2019.
Dr. Tan Caktiong was honored for his visionary leadership of the first Filipino fast food global brand. With Caktiong at the helm of JFC, the company has established over 4,500 outlets in 21 countries, successfully introducing its iconic take on burgers, chicken and spaghetti as well as popularizing “panlasang Pinoy”.
Caktiong’s entrepreneurial judgment and expertise have been rewarded with accolades both local and international. He is an Agora Awardee for Outstanding Marketing Achievement, an AIM Triple A Alumni Awardee, a TOYM Awardee for Entrepreneurship, two-time Star of Asia Awardee of BusinessWeek International and a Lifetime Achievement Awardee of the Hong Kong-based Asian Chain Restaurant Operators and Suppliers Series.
Caktiong was also named 2002 Management Man of the Year by the Management Association of the Philippines. Two years later, after receiving the Philippine Master Entrepreneur award and the grand award as Entrepreneur of the Year from Ernst & Young, Caktiong went on to garner the prestigious World Entrepreneur of the Year award in Monaco.
He has served the Philippines as one of its representatives to the APEC Business Advisory Council for six years and was chairman of the 2015 APEC CEO Summit held in Manila. For this particularly significant contribution, he was given the Gawad Mabini award with the rank of Commander (Dakilang Kasugo) in 2016.
Less heralded yet just as noteworthy is Caktiong’s advocacy for providing Filipinos with access to basic community services. As chairman of the Jollibee Group Foundation, the social corporate responsibility flagship of Jollibee Foods, Caktiong’s community service endeavors provide livelihood programs for small farmers, leadership development for local organizations, educational opportunities for disadvantaged youth and disaster relief and rehabilitation for calamity-stricken areas.
This commitment to upholding the social good while consistently driving shareholder value up makes Caktiong an admirable example of an AIM alumnus who has consistently lived up to our AIM mission by being a professional, entrepreneurial, and socially responsible leader committed to advancing Asian business and society.
In the commencement address to the Class of 2019, Caktiong emphasized the importance of leadership and character. He advised the graduates not to prioritize financial rewards but also focus on giving back. In his experience, he said, the most important thing in his business was not “location, location, location” but “people, people, people”. It was important to always dream big, and then dream even bigger, but above all, “taking care of your people is paramount.”
Caktiong earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Santo Tomas and is a graduate of both AIM’s Top Management Program and Harvard University’s Owner/President Management Program. He has also received honorary degrees from Southwestern University, St. Paul University, Far Eastern University and the University of Santo Tomas.