Mercedes Gotianun, the family matriarch and chair emerita of the Filinvest Group, passed away on Sunday at the age of 94 surrounded by her loved ones, the company said in a statement.
The Filinvest Group deeply mourns Gotianun, fondly known as “Chita”, who was admired for her “work ethic, she was known to be organized, determined, and energetic.”
One of the country’s richest women with a fortune valued at more than $1 billion by Forbes Magazine, Gotianun is the wife of the late taipan Andrew Gotianun Sr., who died in 2016 at the age of 88.
The entrepreneurial couple married in the post World War II era before starting their first business in 1955, providing financing for used cars before diversifying into banking, property development, sugar production, energy, and infrastructure.
“She was an admired business leader who will be remembered as the first woman President of a Philippine Universal Bank, having co-founded and led Family Bank and Trust Co. in the 70s and 80s, the precursor to BPI Family Savings Bank,” the company said.
The Filinvest Group is one of the country’s largest conglomerates today, with Gotianun largely credited with being the chief advisor and implementer of her husband.
“She was regarded as the perfect complement to the visionary leader as [Andrew’s] tireless implementor,” the company said.
Gotianun graduated Valedictorian in both elementary and high school from the College of the Holy Spirit.
She maintained her status as a University Scholar through four years of college and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS Pharmacy degree from the University of the Philippines. She was also a member of the Sigma Delta Phi sorority.
Gotianun held key executive and board positions at the group’s flagship businesses such as Filinvest Land Inc., East West Banking Corp., Pacific Sugar Holdings Corp., and FDC Utilities Inc. before turning responsibilities to her children.
In 2018, the group diversified into airport infrastructure after joining the Gokongwei family in taking over operations at the Clark International Airport in Pampanga province.
Mercedes is survived by children Jonathan, Josephine and Michael, her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.