The alumni association of Davao Chong Hua High School, formerly the Davao Chinese High School, congratulated last week Tony Tan Caktiong, founder of the phenomenal Jollibee Foods Corporation, and alumnus of Davao Chong Hua High for having been conferred an honorary degree of Doctor of Business Administration by the pontifical University of Sto Tomas, where he also graduated in chemical engineering. The solemn investiture rites took place on February 15, 2018 (Thursday), at the Medicine Auditorium.
Tony Tan Caktiong finished his chemical engineering degree at the University in 1975, and with his wife Grace established what is now the largest food service company in Asia: Jollibee Foods Corporation.
From being the corporation that carried the household name Jollibee, the Philippines’s first fast food chain, JFC is now a multi-brand conglomerate with over 3,100 stores worldwide carrying 10 brands: Jollibee, Greenwich, Chowking, Red Ribbon, Mang Inasal, and the Burger King franchise in the Philippines; as well as Yonghe King, Hong Zhuang Yuan, San Pin Wang, and the Dunkin’ Donuts franchise in China.
Tony Tan Caktiong traces his business acumen and inclination to the food industry to his family’s own restaurant business, which he and his siblings helped run while growing up.
Dr. Tan Caktiong, the lone recipient for 2018, was conferred the title of Doctor of Business Administration. Established in 1927, the rare award had been conferred on 78 personalities, including four Philippine presidents, nine cardinals, a number of Supreme Court chief justices and national artists, and General Douglas McArthur.
