Lucio Tan Jr., 53: Big dreams for PAL cut short

Lucio Tan Jr.–CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — When Lucio Tan Jr. was handed the reins of the holding company of Philippine Airlines (PAL) two weeks ago, he made a simple appeal seldom heard in a business where cutthroat competition is the norm.

“Hoping for support from Filipinos,” Tan told the Inquirer of his ascension as president and chief operating officer of PAL Holdings Inc. on Oct. 28.

The new position placed Tan in a more direct role to oversee PAL’s planned financial turnaround, an initiative that was expected to show results starting 2020.

But people close to Tan said the call for unity also spoke of his desire to succeed in running the country’s flag carrier, one of the crown jewels of the sprawling business empire of his father and namesake, taipan Lucio Tan, fondly called “Kapitan” by colleagues and friends.

Nicknamed Bong inside and beyond the boardroom, the younger Tan’s big dreams for PAL were cut short on Monday morning.

His sister Vivienne Tan confirmed his death days after collapsing unconscious during a basketball match on Saturday, but did not mention the cause. He was 53.

A GMA News online report, quoting Insurance Commissioner Dennis Funa, a family friend, said Tan died of brain herniation. This happens when a portion of the brain is displaced because of increased pressure in the skull.

Despite his investments outside the family’s core business—airline, liquor, tobacco and property holdings—Tan most of all valued the respect of his father.

“He always wanted to prove himself outside the family business,” Benjamin Bitanga, Tan’s business partner who sold aviation services company MacroAsia Corp. to the Tan family in the 1990s, told the Inquirer.

“But he knew very clearly that if he had to give up everything else, if it came to that, he will stay with the family business,” Bitanga said.

From 1996 to 2003, Tan was president and CEO of MacroAsia, which was then an airline catering company. Today, the company is worth P30.8 billion and handles a range of ground handling services apart from aircraft maintenance with partner Lufthansa Technik AG of Germany.

Tanduay

Tan was president and COO of Tanduay Distillers since 2014, helping the liquor maker maintain its status as the world’s rum industry leader for a second straight year in 2019.

“This shows that the Filipino craftsmanship is truly world-class,” he had said.

Tan was also a director of the family’s main holding company, LT Group Inc., since 2003.

He held key positions in many of its subsidiaries, which include Philippine National Bank (PNB), Asia Brewery Inc., Fortune Tobacco Corp. and Eton Properties Philippines Inc.

The group’s publicly listed companies—LT Group, PAL, PNB and MacroAsia—are worth a combined P330 billion today, making Tan Sr. one of the country’s richest people, with a fortune of about P170 billion, according to Forbes magazine.

Education

Tan studied in St. Jude Catholic School in Manila and later went to Dunman High School, Singapore, where he was sent amid a rash of kidnappings in Manila during the early 1980s.

In the University of California, Davis, he earned a degree in civil engineering, minor in mathematics, economics and linguistics, specializing in ancient Chinese classics and Mandarin.

He took his executive master of business administration program at Kellogg University through a linkup with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Tan is survived by his wife, Julie, and sons Hun hun (Lucio Tan III) and Kyle.