WASHINGTON SyCip, founder of SGV & Co., one of the biggest and most sought-after accounting firms in the country, has died. He was 96.
A statement from SGV& Co. confirmed SyCip’s passing, and said his family “requests for some private time at this moment”. “Please pray for the eternal repose of his soul,” it added.
A statement from the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) said: “His passing is a great loss to the institution and the country’s business community, but his legacy will live on in the AIM alumni, who have become ethical and responsible business leaders, and who strive to live up to Mr. SyCip’s call to lead, inspire and transform.”
SyCip was one of the founders of AIM, one of the country’s foremost business schools.
Malacañang expressed its condolences to SyCip’s family, friends and colleagues.
A statement released by the Office of the Presidential Spokesman said SyCip was a “respected voice in corporate governance,” adding “he gave us all a sense of what F
ilipinos could be”.
Fr. Jett Villarin, Ateneo de Manila president and a member of the Board of Governors of AIM, remembered SyCip as a compassionate man and a good mentor.
Speaking to CNN Philippines on Sunday, Villarin said, “Wash was a mentor. He was known for his business acumen, but, perhaps, what many people do not know was that his heart was also for Filipino people, especially when it came to public education.”
“It was not just accounting, it was not just business—he was truly concerned about building our people,” Villarin said. Philippine Airlines (PAL), where SyCip was a long-standing member of the board of directors, also issued a statement expressing their “sadness and grief over the passing of Mr. Washington SyCip”. The statement said SyCip was “a leader, advisor and guiding force behind many other Filipino businesses and philanthropic organizations, and an advocate for poverty alleviation, public education and economic freedom”.
“We feel his loss keenly, and will greatly miss his wise counsel and commanding
presence,” they said.
A giant of business
SyCip was the founder of the SGV Group and the AIM, one of the foremost business schools in the country.
He was a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding in 1992.
He also served in the Board of Century Propertis Inc.; ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation Inc.; Philippine National Bank; Metro Pacific Investments Corp.; and PAL Holdings Inc.
SyCip was born in Manila in June 1921.
At 17 years old, he graduated summa cum laude from the University of Santo Tomas with a degree in commerce. He became a Certified Public Accountant at 18, but was not able to practice because he was too young to receive a professional license.
He left the country to pursue his PhD in Columbia University in the US and returned after World War II to establish what was to become SyCip, Gorres, Velayo & Co. (SGV).
SyCip became the first chairman of the AIM in 1968. He retired from SGV in 1996.
SyCip is survived by his wife Anna Yu, and his children Victoria, George and Robert.