Tovic Salvador

Boardroom Tea: Mukbang, Lance Gokongwei-style

Article (news)

Salve Ibaňez

ABS-CBN News

<div><br/></div><div><strong>BILLIONAIRE SOCIAL MEDIA MASTERY</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Billionaires would do well to borrow a page from the Gokongwei siblings when it comes to posting on social media. I have it on good authority that Lance&#x27;s LinkedIn account commands one of the most followers among the Philippines&#x27; billionaire A-list—and for good reason. He&#x27;s fearlessly silly and refreshingly personal. His latest post featuring him at Paradise Dynasty at Robinsons Magnolia, cheekily asking &quot;Pwede na ba ito maging mukbang post?&quot; has become an instant viral sensation.</p><p>The comment section, however, oscillates between endearing and utterly cringeworthy. Some of the most toe-curling responses include brazen requests for him to invest in random Tomas Morato buildings or desperate pleas to hire them as personal assistants—complete with &quot;just message me&quot; sign-offs that would make any CEO&#x27;s security team break into a cold sweat.</p><p>Lance Gokongwei, the 58-year-old President and CEO of JG Summit Holdings, is the son of the late business titan John Gokongwei Jr. Lance has commanded the empire since 2018, orchestrating a diverse portfolio spanning airlines to retail to real estate.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:633px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17484195334641747457383280.jpg" style="width:633px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><em>Courtesy: Lance Gokongwei&#x27;s LinkedIn Account</em></span></span></span></div><p>Here&#x27;s a family tea: among the Gokongwei siblings, the inside joke is that Lance actually possesses the driest humor. Sister Robina claims the crown for being most self-deprecating and wittiest—a trait they inherited from their mother. While the mukbang post probably registers as dry by his sisters&#x27; standards, they most likely remain supportively amused. Lance&#x27;s communications team observes that he is a quick study, however, and that he is remarkably adept at finding his authentic voice. Hence the mukbang musings and candid family moments—those gems are purely Lance, unfiltered.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/5/7/boardroom-tea-retail-royalty-keeps-it-real-1926">Boardroom Tea: Robina Gokongwei keeps it real</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>AYALA HEIRESS MAKING HER MARK</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>While Lance championed his mall&#x27;s allegedly superior kimchi xiao long bao, Mariana Zobel de Ayala was collecting accolades with the country&#x27;s largest Muji flagship store debut in Glorietta 3.</p><p>Mariana and her siblings are methodically positioning themselves across strategic leadership roles throughout the sprawling Ayala empire. She actively participates in high-stakes investment roadshows, spearheads ambitious tech-driven initiatives like integrating AI into BPI&#x27;s banking applications, and—according to boardroom tea insiders—enjoys genuine adoration from staff across the organization.</p><p>How could they resist? She disarmingly admits things like: &quot;There are times I agonize over my budget and overspending, because I&#x27;m so easily &#x27;budol-ed&#x27;.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>SEC SUCCESSION SPECULATIONS</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Industry whispers strongly suggest the next Securities and Exchange Commission chairman will be Francis Lim, former Philippine Stock Exchange president and current Senior Partner at ACCRALAW, where he specializes in corporate law and high-stakes litigation. Lim maintains strategic board positions at PSE-listed powerhouses Energy Development Corporation and Converge ICT Solutions Inc., while serving as President of the Shareholders Association of the Philippines.</p><p>Lim apparently commands complete confidence from SEC commissioners and directors. Armed with credentials as a financial market virtuoso, esteemed legal mind, and active Management Association of the Philippines member, sources tell me Lim is quietly architecting ambitious reforms designed to deepen capital markets substantially.</p><p>Outgoing Chairman Emilio Aquino represents that rarest of SEC chiefs—one who genuinely rose through the ranks, hailing from far beyond Metro Manila&#x27;s privileged corridors, specifically from Zamboanga. His tenure witnessed massive institutional transformation: farewell to those notorious dusty Ortigas offices with glacially slow elevators and fire-hazardous microfiche records; hello to <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/business/06/22/23/sec-launches-new-e-services">comprehensive digitalization</a>, aggressive shell company cleanup, <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/5/5/marcos-jr-commends-gov-t-officials-for-removal-of-ph-from-fatf-gray-list-1941">triumphant exit from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) gray list</a>, and sustainability advocacies for the markets and internally at SEC.</p><p>Aquino bequeaths an SEC still grappling with formidable challenges—AI disruptions, <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/5/27/-blind-spots-expert-sounds-alarm-as-unlicensed-cryptocurrencies-being-used-in-crimes-2158">cryptocurrency scam proliferation</a>, and complex geopolitical tensions threatening capital market stability. During the IOSCO conference in Doha last week, crypto scams and AI advances, including deep fakes, were identified as the most dangerous risks facing securities commissions globally. Boardroom Tea insiders say SEC, while imperfect, now possesses structural foundations for faster evolutionary adaptation.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>I SPY: POLITICAL ENTITLEMENT EXPOSED</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Aspiring public figures, take heed: maintain your humility because even whispered hints of entitlement can torpedo careers before they launch. Case in point: one relatively minor political figure who, during a high-profile roundtable discussion before influential businessmen, demanded staff to replace the assigned seating, declaring: &quot;I do not sit on monoblock chairs.&quot;</p><p>Spoiler alert: The said political figure lost. Spectacularly.</p><div><strong><em>Boardroom Tea comes out every Wednesday. </em></strong></div>

<p>Billionaires would do well to borrow a page from the Gokongwei siblings when it comes to posting on social media.</p>

Billionaires would do well to borrow a page from the Gokongwei siblings when it comes to posting on social media.