Lance Gokongwei, PHINMA chief Chito Salazar named Management Persons of the Year 2026

MANILA — JG Summit Holdings president Lance Gokongwei and PHINMA Corporation president Chito Salazar have been named Management Persons of the Year 2026 by the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP).

The Management Person of the Year Award honors those in business or government who have attained unquestioned distinction in the practice of management and contributed significantly to national development.

Gokongwei was awarded for his leadership that transformed the Gokongwei Group into a “professionally managed institution built to endure across generations, and one of the Philippines’ largest and most diversified conglomerates.”

He was also feted for offering low-cost travel through Cebu Pacific, and for making Universal Robina Corporation one of Southeast Asia’s major consumer-goods companies.

Salazar, meanwhile, was lauded for building a “student­-centered, financially sustainable business model” that offers quality and affordable higher education to young people from low-income families. MAP noted that PHINMA Education has produced 104,000 college graduates and has become the largest private education network for underserved learners in Southeast Asia.

MAP also said Salazar is the only Filipino to receive the prestigious London-based Education Leaders Forum Fellowship, which honors those whose lifetime contributions have transformed education in their respective countries.

Previous awardees include SM Prime Holdings executive committee chairman Hans Sy, former Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson, Jollibee chief executive officer Ernesto Tanmantiong, DMCI chairman Isidro Consunji, and First Philippine Holdings chairman Federico “Piki” Lopez.