The University of San Carlos, led by president Fr. Dionisio Miranda SVD (extreme right) and USC Alumni Association chairman Ronald Po (extreme left), and Outstanding Carolinian Alumnus Awardee Jesus Alcordo (2nd to the right) presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to JG Summit Holdings founder and chairman emeritus, John L. Gokongwei, Jr. Joining them onstage are (from left): Augusto Go, Elizabeth Gan-Go, Edward Go, Elizabeth Gokongwei, Lily Ngo Chua, Judy Gaisano, Jack Gaisano, Edmund Gaisano Sr., and Antonio Go.
Fourteen years after the University of San Carlos bestowed an honorary doctorate in Business and Enterprise Development on John L. Gokongwei Jr., the Cebu-based institution of higher learning has once again honored JG Summit Holdings’ founder and chairman emeritus. At the first Grand Reunion for Alumni Champions of the University of San Carlos held on October 18, 2018, at the Summit Galleria Cebu hotel, school officials led by USC President Fr. Dionisio Miranda, SVD, and USC Alumni Association Chairman Ronald Po presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Mr. John.
What a life it has been for Mr. John, now 92 years old. His arc has been described as a twist on the classic rags to riches tale, as Mr. John began his life born to privilege. However, a variety of circumstances pushed his family to lose everything, forcing the then-13-year old John Gokongwei, Jr. to rely on his wits, intelligence, hard work, and perseverance to pull himself and his family out of despair, molding him into the man that he is today.
For many years, the University of San Carlos’s motto was “Scientia, Virtus, Devotio,” Latin words that stand for knowledge or learning, virtue or moral character, and dedication or devotedness. For the university, Devotio is embodied by being public service-oriented and culturally sensitive. Without question, Mr. John has embodied these very same traits throughout the course of his life and career.
After the university presented Mr. John with the Lifetime Achievement Award, given “For a lifetime, fully lived, of invaluable contributions that addressed the needs of local, national, regional, and global communities, and for having deeply touched, empowered, and transformed the lives of others through a legacy of entrepreneurship and education,” a commissioned portrait of Mr. John was unveiled. Then, it was time for the man of the hour to speak.
Addressing the gathered crowd of school officials, fellow alumni, and his close friends and family members, Mr. John began his brief yet inspiring acceptance speech by showing his deep appreciation for his hometown and his alma mater. “I flew this morning on the airline I named after the city I love, Cebu Pacific. I went to school here at the University of San Carlos for my primary and high school. I was valedictorian in grade school and I was number one in high school and because of that, I received free tuition in school. I thank the school for that,” he said with gratitude.
Mr. John delivering his inspiring speech.
Displaying his still sharp memory, Mr. John then shared a recollection from his younger academic years, back when the school was still known as Colegio de San Carlos, drawing chuckles from the crowd. “I especially remember Fr. Smith, who was the disciplinarian, because one day he caught me running in front of his office, and I had to stand in the corner for one hour,” said Mr John, providing a rare glimpse at his mischievous side.
Mirroring his own life, the speech then grew serious. “When I was 13 years old, my father died, leaving me to take care of my mother, my four brothers, and my sister. At the time, my youngest brother James was only nine months old. I took care of them all because the family has always been my priority,” he said. As life’s twists forced him to drop out of school, Mr John honed his entrepreneurial skills, first by selling peanuts from his backyard, then by becoming a peddler at the market. Along the way, he also developed his legendary toughness and resilience. “It was here in Cebu that I earned my first few pesos. I always used to wake up before dawn to ride my bicycle to the public market many kilometers away. I set up a little table in the market to sell spools of thread, bars of soap, and candles,” he said. “I earned about 20 pesos a day by working longer and harder than everyone else, but it didn’t matter because I really loved my work. I loved being an entrepreneur.”
Budding entrepreneurs today often seek the help of angel investors or test their ideas in start-up incubators. Mr. John didn’t have these luxuries when he started. He founded his first few companies with the money he had saved as a trader and learned to refine these early businesses through trial and error. There were some successes and there were some failures. He was, as he said in his speech, “Always learning from the school of life.” In the book Lessons From Dad, John Gokongwei, Jr., Mr John’s only son Lance Gokongwei writes about his dad’s thoughts on this subject: “To be successful, you have to be willing to try out many ideas. Some of them will succeed, some won’t. Do five or ten things, and one of them will work.”
In the same book, we saw more of what makes Mr. John tick. Son Lance hazards a guess that not finishing college was a chip on his father’s shoulder for many years. So in the mid-1970s, despite already being a successful businessman, Mr. John went back to school to finally earn a degree, his master’s in business administration from De La Salle University. He spoke about this to his audience in Cebu: “It took me four years since I was a working student. When I got my diploma, it was one of the proudest moments of my life,” said Mr. John, underlining his personal views that education should be a number one priority. Besides having an MBA, Mr. John also completed the 14-week Advanced Management Course at Harvard University. It is no surprise then that the philanthropic institution that he started with his brothers, the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation, has always had education as its main thrust.
Using himself as an example, he proved that it’s never too late to learn and that you are never too old to be working—as long as you have the passion for it. “Today, I am 92 years old. I still wake up early and I still love what I am doing. I still know everything that is going on in my company,” said Mr John, bringing his speech to a close. “I still love to learn and I’m always reading books, and now, online stories in this digital age. I always tell my children, my grandchildren, and my colleagues: Love your work, Work hard at it. Love your family. Love your country, never stop learning, and always look back and be grateful to where you came from.”
Speaking to jgsummit.com.ph a few days after the event, Mr. John was still on cloud nine. “It is my third award in the span of a year,” he quipped, referring to the 2017 ASEAN Legacy Award, the 2017 Management Association of the Philippines’ Man of the Year Award, and the USC Lifetime Achievement Award. “I’m very happy about San Carlos, because that’s where I studied for seven years.”
Even the punishment that he sometimes endured, as mentioned in his acceptance speech, is something that he has grown to appreciate. “The discipline was very good, it was run by German priests. They were very strict.” Pushed to elaborate on the incident that got him into trouble with Fr. Smith, Mr. John smiled. “Well, we were just kids being kids, you know,” he said, recalling the moment from a little over 80 years ago.
From a precocious, intelligent child to one of Asia’s most admired businessmen, it’s a lifetime achievement definitely worth celebrating. Congratulations, Mr. John, on this much deserved award.
