Hans Sy: SM prevails, despite adversary, challenges (1)

The chairperson of the Executive Committee of SM Prime and chairman of the board of China Banking Corp., Hans Sy, maintained that despite experiencing backlash on occasion, the SM Group will always remain a vanguard of the environment and continue to strive to be an inspiration to many.

In his speech during the awarding of the Management Person of the Year at the Shangri-La The Fort, in Taguig City on Monday, Sy recalled how SM was condemned for cutting down trees in Baguio City.

Sy was chosen by the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) for his integrity, leadership and management qualities; his contribution to nation-building and values formation, and effective stewardship within the confines of the highest standard of business and management practice, among other attributes.

“Today, I want to tell you why that was the right decision, and what it taught me about leadership. Across SM Baguio is the University of the Cordilleras, the oldest post-war university in the region. It sits on a hillside and serves thousands of students,” he said.

In 2012, Sy said he noticed signs of potential soil erosion on the slope above the campus, where the SM Mall stands, wherein each rainfall risked sending soil toward the classrooms below.

“I could not sleep knowing the danger it posed to the school. The only way to keep the campus safe was to build a retaining wall and reinforce the ground. That required the removal and relocation of several trees in the SM Baguio property. As someone who has long cared about the environment, it was a very hard decision to make,” he narrated to members of the MAP.

Many saw the act but not the intent

Sy recalled that despite SM’s efforts to explain the situation, many accused it of destroying the environment for financial gain, a harsh reaction which moved a renowned foreign artist to even cancel a concert at the SM MOA Arena in protest.

“We finished the work anyway. The hillside held, and the school remains safe. That choice — of doing what is right, even when unpopular — sharpened my understanding of leadership. The incident also led to a truly unexpected blessing. I had a meaningful exchange with the head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UN-DRR),” he said.

The conversation with the UN official led to another, and soon after, Hans was invited to serve as the first Filipino private sector representative to the UN-DRR.

Through ARISE Global, Hans was able to share what SM has quietly practiced since the late 1980s: forward thinking and resilience.

“I now work across sectors to help communities prepare and recover faster from calamities. The Philippines sits in the Pacific Ring of Fire and the typhoon belt. We deal with earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and storms regularly,” he shared.

Sy said that for 21 years, the Philippines has been named the world’s most disaster-prone nation, with geography having made the reality tougher than most countries.

‘We chose to stay’

“To some, that might be reason enough to leave the Philippines. But my family and I — we chose to stay. I am 70 years old now. And I still hold only one passport, a Philippine passport. That is both a fact and a statement of faith. Despite the risks, the noise, and the many uncertainties, I have never doubted our country’s promise or the strength of the Filipino spirit,” he stressed.

Sy recognizes that neither the nation nor its people are perfect.

However, he emphasized that many Filipinos remain here and keep going, “because (they) believe that hope is stronger than hardship.”

“That life in the Philippines, no matter how difficult, is worth the struggle. And that, in time, things do get better. It is hard to imagine now, but SM was built on hardship and hope. My grandfather got my father to dream big, not just to lift himself from poverty, but to earn more than enough to help others,” he said.

From a single shoe store in downtown Manila, SM now has an ecosystem that includes real estate, banks, retail, schools, and more.

Journey not linear

“Our scale has allowed us to turn growth into service, generating jobs, building infrastructure, and supporting scholars and livelihoods nationwide. The SM journey has not been linear. We have been tested by political unrest, economic challenges, and natural disasters. A pandemic even closed our malls,” he stated.

He said after each test, the conglomerate came out stronger, not because they were spared, but because they learned, adapted, and dreamt bigger.

“We were able to navigate those moments because two constants guided our choices: our values and our sustainability framework. In our family, we live by three core values: integrity, hard work, and humility. These are the same values we teach our people,” he said.