MANILA, Philippines - Filinvest Group president, CEO and director L. Josephine Gotianun-Yap has made the prestigious Forbes Asia’s 2013 list of 50 businesswomen for achievement in business. The select few have been distinguished for their stalwart performance in the world’s most dynamic region.
Gotianun-Yap, 57, joined 49 other prominent women in Asia and is one of two from the Philippines who, in the midst of global economic challenges, have steered their businesses into producing higher profits or have repositioned for better business pickups.
Gotianun-Yap climbed the corporate ladder to head the family’s various Filinvest companies. She helms Filinvest Development Corporation (FDC), Filinvest Land, Inc. (FLI) and Filinvest Alabang, Inc. (FAI) as president and CEO. FDC has assets valued at P239 billion and stockholders’ equity of P78 billion.
Within the property arena, Gotianun-Yap has spearheaded the expansion of the group beyond its traditional housing market to commercial developments that include the 244-hectare Filinvest City in Alabang, Muntinlupa, with the biggest regional shopping center —Festival Supermall and the dominant IT Park in the south — Northgate Cyberzone and the pre-eminent Palms Country Club in its midst. The country’s tallest office building, PBCom Tower, is also a development of Filinvest Asia Corp. The group has now amassed a recurring income base of over 300,000 square meters of leasable area.
FLI, the group’s major property subsidiary, is a leader in the mass housing market with dominance in the medium-rise building space through its Oasis and Spatial Brands and is the developer of the breathtaking 677-hectare mountaintop residential community Timberland Heights near Quezon City.
From being “property-centric,†the group has ventured into power generation and hotels. She is president and CEO of FDC Hotels Corporation, which developed the Crimson Resort and Spa in Mactan, Cebu, as its maiden project. Crimson Resort and Spa in Mactan has reaped various accolades, most notably the 2012 Certificate of Excellence by travel website TripAdvisor and the 2013 Recommended List of Conde Nast Johansens, a comprehensive illustrated reference to annually inspected, independently owned hotels. The newly opened Crimson Hotel in Filinvest City is now a landmark in Southern Metro Manila. FLI also developed the Quest Hotel in Cebu City, the top in its category. Gotianun-Yap aims to build up its hotel development and management business with the aim of creating a world-class Filipino hospitality brand.
Gotianun-Yap also holds a key position in FDC Utilities Inc., a company poised to deliver energy at a better pricing through embedded generation and cost-effective renewable energy sources. FDCUI has successfully signed up bilateral supply contracts and will soon be groundbreaking its 270 MW plant in Mindanao.
In banking, Gotianun-Yap is also a director of FDC’s banking subsidiary East West Bank. The Bank undertook an initial public offering in 2012 and has seen its share prices rise from the IPO level of P18.50 to the P30 to P35 range.
Outside of her corporate successes, Gotianun-Yap is recognized for her personal advocacy in education. “Education has the greatest impact, not only on scholars, but on generations to follow.†Gotianun-Yap helps the Educational Research and Development Assistance Foundation, which provides educational assistance and programs to poor children in Muntinlupa. FLI and its official endorser, TV host Kris Aquino, donate funds for five kindergarten classroom building projects of the Aklat Gabay Aruga Tungo sa Angat at Pag-asa Foundation (AGAPP), which is headed by Aquino’s sister, Pinky Aquino-Abellada.
Gotianun-Yap is a conference speaker on topics pertaining to family business at the Ateneo de Manila. She was recently a panelist in the HSBC Women’s Forum in Singapore on balancing family and business life. Gotianun-Yap holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Chicago. She is married to Joseph M. Yap, current president of Cyberzone Properties Inc. and Filinvest Asia, and is a proud mother of three.