The new lady boss of flag carrier Philippine Airlines once described herself as “reflective + fun + funny.” Vivienne, who also established a business school with campuses in the Philippines and in China, also hopes to be a “beacon” to people who look up to her.
Dr. Lucio Tan’s daughter Vivienne K. Tan has been appointed as Philippine Airlines’ officer-in-charge, on top of being PAL’s executive vice president, treasurer and chief administration officer.
“On behalf of my father, I am asking all of you to continue working toward our goals. I am personally committed to working with all of you hand in hand, and build on what we have already accomplished,” said Vivienne, in a statement released by the Philippine Airlines.
The lady executive takes on the post as PAL president and COO Jaime Bautista retires after 26 years in the company. “As this is the beginning of [Bautista’s] retirement life with his family, let it also be the beginning of even greater dreams for PAL,” she said.
Appointed as officer-in-charge of PAL Tuesday, Vivienne, who established the Entrepreneur School of Asia (ESA), a school with campuses in the Philippines and China, said that she wanted to be a beacon to her students and simply not be known as a COO (child of the owner) of PAL.
During an interview with PeopleAsia writer Stef Juan in 2007, Vivienne said, “I want to be a beacon to my students, a loving daughter to my mother, build a business more successful than my father’s.” She then added, with a faint smile on her face, that she wanted to “enjoy a glass of wine, be pampered by my partner in life, wear chic black clothes and eat a healthy serving of steak (without feeling guilty). After all, the secret to success is to include happiness, too.”
The new lady boss of flag carrier Philippine Airlines also described herself as “reflective + fun +funny.”
Before all these, however, she was a determined working student who graduated with a double degree in Computer Science and Math at the University of San Francisco. She went on to achieve a post-graduate degree in Fashion and Merchandising from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles.
In spite of all the opportunities her family had provided, it was apparent that she wasn’t going to rely on her family more than she had to. So, after graduating, she ended up working outside the family business.
Vivienne’s first venture as an entrepreneur was in women’s sports apparel in the United States. She, however, ended up selling the business after a year because her family asked her to help her father out when he bought the Philippine Airlines (PAL). Being the dutiful daughter, she decided to come home and work for PAL for two years, alongside Dr. Tan.
