Lance Gokongwei, Chito Salazar Named MAP Management Persons of the Year
Key Takeaways
- •Lance Gokongwei, President and CEO of JG Summit Holdings, and Chito Salazar, President and CEO of First Philippine Holdings, have been named Management Persons of the Year by the Management Association of the Philippines.
- •The award, traditionally presented to a single individual as the MAP Management Man of the Year, this year recognizes two executives at once, drawn from the JG Summit and Lopez groups.
- •MAP, founded in 1951, is one of the Philippines' leading organizations of senior business executives and presents the honor annually for exemplary leadership and contributions to management practice.
- •Gokongwei, the son of JG Summit founder John Gokongwei Jr., previously served as President and CEO of Cebu Pacific, and JG Summit's investments span aviation, consumer foods through Universal Robina, property through Robinsons Land, and petrochemicals.
- •Salazar leads First Philippine Holdings, the flagship holding company of the Lopez Group, whose core interests include power generation through First Gen alongside real estate and other industrial ventures.
BusinessWorld reported on October 16, 2026, that Lance Gokongwei and Chito Salazar have been named Management Persons of the Year by the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), one of the leading organizations of senior business executives and management practitioners in the Philippines.
The distinction, historically conferred as the MAP Management Man of the Year, is presented annually to individuals recognized for exemplary leadership and outstanding contributions to Philippine business and management practice. MAP was founded in 1951 and counts among its members many of the country's most prominent corporate leaders. This year's citation extends the honor, historically carried under a singular title, to two executives at once — drawing its honorees from two prominent Philippine business groups, JG Summit and the Lopez Group.
Mr. Gokongwei is the President and Chief Executive Officer of JG Summit Holdings, Inc., one of the Philippines' largest conglomerates, with investments spanning aviation through Cebu Pacific (Cebu Air, Inc.), branded consumer foods through Universal Robina Corporation, property development through Robinsons Land Corporation, and petrochemicals. The son of the late John Gokongwei Jr., who founded the JG Summit group, he previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Cebu Pacific, the Philippines' largest carrier.
Mr. Salazar is the President and Chief Executive Officer of First Philippine Holdings Corporation (FPH), the flagship holding company of the Lopez Group of Companies, whose core interests include power generation through First Gen Corporation, together with investments in real estate and other industrial ventures.
Taken together, the joint selection brings the heads of two conglomerate groups with combined interests across aviation, consumer foods, property, petrochemicals, and power generation under a single honor — a breadth of coverage that reflects how closely the award tracks the country's corporate leadership landscape.
Source: BusinessWorld Online
