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SM Group's Hans T. Sy is MAP Management Person of the Year 2025

- By Jomarc Angelo M. Corpuz Special Features and Content Writer

OTHER THAN perhaps the Malacañang Palace, there is no building universally recognizable to any Filipino than a mall built by SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SM Prime), with its iconic blue and white SM signage. Such is the influence, excellence, and reach of a company that has constructed over 90 malls in the Philippines and abroad.

At the head of the beloved brand is the Founding President and Chair of the Executive Committee of SM Prime, Hans T. Sy. Stepping into the shoes of his father, the late Henry T. Sy, Sr., Mr. Sy has more than excelled in leading one of the most valuable public companies in the country with SM Prime, one of the best-managed, fastest-growing, and most profitable banks in the Philippines with Chinabank, and one of the top universities in the country with the National University (NU).

Due to this pedigree, combined with novel advocacies in sustainability, diversity, and disaster risk reduction, Mr. Sy was recently named “MAP Management Person of the Year 2025” by the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP).

The award, previously known as the “MAP Management Man of the Year,” is given to individuals in business or government who have displayed unquestioned distinction in the practice of management and have made valuable contributions to the progress of the country and in reshaping national values.

Adding to the glamour of the accolade, it has only been conferred 49 times in the six-decade history of the award. The criteria for the award include integrity, leadership, and management qualities; contribution to nation-building and values formation; and effective stewardship within the confines of the highest standard of business and management practice; among others.