Henry sy sr autobiography

Henry sy business

To many Filipinos, taipan Henry Sy Sr. But to the entrepreneurs who were fortunate enough to have personally known him, Sy was so much more than just the Father of Philippine Retailing, who eventually became the country's wealthiest man and founder of one of the country's largest conglomerates with interests not just in retail but also in banking, property and infrastructure development.

To this lucky band of enterprising individuals, Sy, fondly called "Tatang," was very much human, a warm and generous spirit who was a constant source of motivation, a visionary who helped them on their own journey into becoming leaders and trailblazers in their chosen markets. Precy Ramos, who worked side-by-side for many years with her mother-in-law and National Bookstore founder Socorro Ramos, recalls fondly how Tatang personally supervised the construction of SM North Edsa — the first SM Supermall that opened in — with an eagle eye on the smallest of details to make sure that they were up to his exacting standards.

Tatang also made the extra effort through many years to ensure that SM malls would have the right space for a National Bookstore, a revered name as well in Philippine retailing. This solid partnership was a testament to the close personal and professional relationship that Tatang had shared with Nanay Coring who saw Tatang flourish from their early days in what used to be the commercial district of Avenida.

She sat beside him [during the party], katabi niya the whole time," shared Ramos, "They really had a lot of respect for each other. Liu can still vividly remember how Tatang would walk around the department store — where Penshoppe started in — with a team behind him noting his observations and taking down his instructions. I remember when we opened our display module in SM Makati, there was a portion that he thought was too dark.

He said that should be changed. Liu noted that it was largely expected that successful people like Tatang would control his growing enterprise from an ivory tower.