28 July 2016. Makati, Philippines) Retail pioneer Henry Sy, Sr. received the 2016 Ramon V. Del Rosario (RVR) Award for Nation Building.
This award is a project of the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Manila and the Asian Institute of Management’s Center for Corporate Social Responsibility. Named in honor of JCI’s (formerly Manila Jaycees) founding president, Ramon V. Del Rosario, it recognizes individuals who best exemplify outstanding corporate citizenship and have an underlying passion for nation-building. Sy joined JCI Manila in 1958 and became an officer in 1963.
“We are honored to receive this award from JCI Manila and in cooperation with RVR. This award is meaningful to my dad. He always enjoyed his time with Manila Jaycees. It is here where he learned a lot from other members,” Ms. Teresita Sy-Coson, SM Investments Corporation Vice Chair said in accepting the award on behalf of her father.
Ms. Sy-Coson said that Mr. Sy liked to tell his children that joining the organization made him realize a very important lesson in life.
“If you want to be a leader, you have to make things happen. It was through Jaycees that my father learned more about entrepreneurship, the importance of nation building and of corporate social responsibility which he continues to apply today,” Ms. Sy-Coson said.
Mr. Sy is the founder of SM and the chairman of the holding firm SM Investments Corporation. With roots in retail, Mr. Sy successfully built SM which today is now a dominant conglomerate in the country with interests in banking, property, and retail.
In a message, Former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban and the Chairman of the Board of Judges of the RVR Awards said Mr. Sy exemplifies Ambassador Ramon Del Rosario’s intertwining passions for nation-building and entrepreneurship. “Through sheer hard work, innovative spirit, exemplary leadership and indomitable conviction in the power of example, he rose from very humble beginnings to form and lead the largest Philippine business conglomerate comparable to the very best in the world,” Panganiban said.
“Truly the Board of Judges is honored and pleased to have chosen an icon whose life story proves that the Filipino can compete freely and excel grandly in the world,” he added.
Mr. Ramon del Rosario, Jr., President of the PHINMA Group also said, “As we congratulate Dr. Sy, we also thank him and his family for honoring us by accepting the award.”
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For further information, please contact:
Ms. Corazon P. Guidote
Senior Vice President for Investor Relations
SM Investments Corporation
E-mail: cora.guidote@sminvestments.com Tel. No. (632) 857-0117