CEBU Landmasters Inc. (CLI) CEO was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young on October 18 in an awards banquet at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel.
Soberano was one of the 19 outstanding finalists representing enterprises from different industries nationwide chosen by Entrepreneur of the Year (EOY) Philippines in its search for the country’s most inspiring entrepreneurs.
Industry Entrepreneur of the Year is one of the four awards given by EOY Philippines.
EOY Philippines is a program of the SGV Foundation Inc., with the participation of copresenters the Department of Trade and Industry, the Philippine Business for Social Progress and the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).
Soberano was awarded for his remarkable role specifically in the real-estate industry. He was credited for establishing CLI, now one of the top local land developers in the Visayas and Mindanao, to address the need for quality and affordable housing, and later expanded to include residential estates, offices, condominiums, hotels and mixed-use projects.
Soberano is also this year’s Entrepreneur of the Year by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“We have worked very hard to put CLI to where it is today and to make an impact on the lives of many Filipinos. This would not have been possible if not for the never-ending support of my family and the CLI employees who are part of my extended family,” Soberano said in a statement.
In the last 14 years, CLI has rolled out fast-selling high-end, mid-market and economic housing real-estate developments.
CLI just recently went public at the PSE. Its debut in June made them the first Cebu-based real-estate developer to ring the bell.
“What inspires me now is to build a company that can last many generations. What further fuels us as a family-oriented company is the goal to become the leading homegrown real-estate developer in the Visayas and Mindanao region by 2020,” Soberano said.