Tony Tan Caktiong (Chinese: 陈觉中) is the founder and current Chairman and CEO of Philippine fast food chain Jollibee. He attended high school at Chiang Kai Shek College and graduated from the University of Santo Tomas with a degree in chemical engineering. Caktiong had initially planned an ice cream parlor when he founded Jollibee, then added dishes such as hamburgers, french fries, and fried chicken.
Caktiong, on July 8, 2008 was elected board director of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT)'s 11-member board replacing Ma. Lourdes Rausa-Chan. He is also an independent director of First Gen Corp.[1] Also, Caktiong top billed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) video documentaries.[2] The WIPO webcast page featured personalities chosen from the 184 member states.[3]
Caktiong founded the fast food chain Jollibee in 1978, after having started it as an ice cream parlor in 1975.[4] Jollibee became a household name in the Philippines even though it went head to head against fast food giant McDonald's.[5] Through expansion and acquisitions of Greenwich Pizza [4] Corp. in 1994 enabling it to penetrate the pizza-pasta segment. From a 50-branch operation, Greenwich has established a strong presence in the food service industry. In early 2006, Jollibee Foods Corp. bought out the remaining shares of its partners in Greenwich Pizza Corp., equivalent to a 20% stake, for P384 million in cash.,[6] Chowking in 2000 [7][8] and Hongzhuangyuan in 2007,[9] he has turned it into one of the largest fast-food chains in the world. As of August 2008, Tan's Jollibee has a total of 1,480 stores worldwide including Jollibee, Red Ribbon, Chowking, Greenwich, Manong Pepe's, Mang Inasal and Tita Frita's Uling Uling.[10]