How the Gokongwei Group is Betting Big on AI

AI is not just a technology shift—it’s a cultural one. Success depends on how well companies empower their people, translate data into decisions, and build trust through responsible, transparent adoption.

This was highlighted at the “Go Limitless: Gokongwei Group Digital Conference 2025,” which gathered a thousand attendees, leaders from across the Gokongwei Group’s companies, and 21 technology partners last August 6 to 7, 2025, at Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria.

In her welcome remarks, Tina Alvarez, Chief Information Officer of JG Summit Holdings, emphasized that AI’s real power lies in collaboration, noting that its value comes from working together to grow businesses, deliver greater value, and make work easier.

In his keynote speech, JG Summit President and CEO Lance Gokongwei stressed that AI has already moved from niche to necessity. “AI is no longer a specialized tool; it’s become part of how all of us work, think, and serve,” he said, emphasizing that the AI opportunity “isn't just technical, it's cultural, it's operational, and it's urgent.”

Gokongwei also underscored the need for responsible adoption, explaining that while leaders across the Group are already using AI to solve real problems in real time, innovation must be paired with responsibility.

Gokongwei Group execs together with representatives of the platinum sponsors during the ribbon-cutting ceremony (from left): Lionel Ting, Senior Vice President for Business Development of Nexus; D.V. Srikant, Client Partner of Infosys; Karla Borromeo, Head of Strategic Categories Procurement Group of JG Summit Holdings, Inc.; Tina Alvarez, Chief Digital and Information Officer of JG Summit Holdings, Inc.; Howard Go, Chief Operations Officer of Summit Publishing Co. Inc., Karen Salgado, Chief Information Officer of Universal Robina Corp.; Jayson So, CEO and President of Inewvation International; and Stanley Yu, Executive Vice President for Finance and Operations of AMTI.

Paths to AI Adoption

The highlight of Day 1 was the panel discussion “Leading the Shift: Navigating the AI Transformation,” moderated by Gully Go, Chief Human Resources Officer, JG Summit Holdings, featuring Candice Iyog, Chief Marketing Officer, Cebu Pacific; Mian David, President, URC Branded Consumer Foods Group; and Gigi Puno, Chief Information and Technology Officer, GoTyme Bank Corporation.

Go opened with a challenge: “Faster service, more personalized experiences, and smarter interactions are becoming the norm for all the industries that we are in in the Gokongwei Group. And these shifts are creating pressures… we need to be able to look at responses that are quicker and also more thoughtful.”

As the discussion unfolded, three powerful themes emerged for AI adoption across the Gokongwei Group, each offering a different lens on how to harness technology, empower people, and embed new ways of working into the company’s DNA.

Empower Employees First, Then Customers

For Iyog, AI’s first role is to equip Cebu Pacific employees—especially customer service representatives and frontliners—so they can access accurate information faster and deliver better service.

“We can’t give the right information to our passengers if our own people don’t know," she said. "Before we talk about the value to the customers, let’s make sure we look at the value to our workforce… There should always be a human in the loop as much as possible.”

Cebu Pacific is also using AI to speed up experimentation. But Iyog warned that playing it too safe can stifle innovation. Early on, her team celebrated an 80 percent test success rate, only to realize they were mostly hitting low-hanging fruit. “We do test and learn for all of our digital and marketing executions… Culture is very important, but so is de-stigmatizing or normalizing failure.”

Her takeaway: true learning comes from bold, ambitious tests—even if half of them fail—because that’s when new insights emerge.

She also stressed the importance of maintaining and aligning the company’s knowledge base so AI-driven answers stay accurate: “What we don't tell and what we don't see, but was very important in enabling the accuracy of the information that we give to our customers, is really ensuring that you maintain and continue to update your knowledge base.”

To avoid conflicting information between departments, Cebu Pacific formed a cross-functional knowledge management squad to align policies and processes across the company.

Cebu Pacific’s strategy shows that AI’s real impact begins inside the organization. By equipping frontliners with fast, accurate information, they ensure every customer interaction is backed by confidence and clarity. Normalizing failure in experimentation encourages bigger, bolder tests that lead to genuine breakthroughs, while maintaining a unified knowledge base across departments keeps every AI-assisted answer consistent and trustworthy.

Panelists together with JG Summit Holdings, Inc.’s executives (from left): David Gulliver Go, Chief Human Resource Officer of JG Summit Holdings, Inc.; Tina Alvarez, Chief Digital and Information Officer of JG Summit Holdings, Inc.; Candice Iyog, Chief Marketing Officer of Cebu Pacific; Gigi Puno, Head of IT Infrastructure and Operations of GoTyme; Mian David, President of Universal Robina Corp.; and Amina Rillo, Vice President of Digital Transformation of JG Summit Holdings, Inc).

Turn Data Into Everyday Decisions

David shared how URC is leveraging AI tools like DIVA for product ideation, and Blue Yonder and Llamasoft for demand forecasting that blends company data with external factors like weather.

She emphasized that any AI initiative should be rooted in a real business need, not just in the excitement of new technology: “So, it's the business model first, rather than the technology first. The better we are at creating products that our consumers will love, and the more we infuse AI into that to make us more creative and more intelligent in doing it, then the more our business will grow.”

She highlighted that the real breakthrough isn’t just the tools, but ensuring everyone can use data effectively: “The multiplier of the technology is actually the people and how they use it. Data is data, but if people… are not able to grasp it, convert it into insight, and translate it into actionable ideas and projects, then it's nothing.”

URC’s Command Center gives everyone—from the CEO to store agents—real-time access to sales, stock, and performance data, now enhanced with AI-generated business reviews and recommendations. Making data accessible, relevant, and actionable at every level transforms it from static reports into a living, daily driver of decision-making and performance.

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Embed AI in Culture, Compliance, and Trust

For GoTyme Bank, AI adoption is as much about shaping culture as it is about deploying new tools. Puno explained that successful adoption rests on three pillars she calls “Leadership, Lab, and Crowd.” Leadership means modeling AI adoption at the top; Lab refers to blocking time for hands-on experimentation; and Crowd highlights the importance of showcasing the best AI use cases across the company to encourage shared wins.

This approach is already powering practical use cases, from streamlining regulatory compliance to enhancing fraud detection. One initiative leverages AI to quickly interpret complex financial regulations, while another uses real-world data to train fraud models that outperform manual verification.

“In fraud, for example, the fraudsters are evolving so much. They're really faster than us, honestly. And if we can use AI also to help us predict this modus operandi, then it's better. Right now, we're really just scratching the surface.”

By embedding AI across core functions and reinforcing it with top-down support and open collaboration, GoTyme is making AI an integral part of how it protects, serves, and scales.

The Road Ahead

Every Gokongwei Group team faces the task of leading this shift, not only by adopting new tools, but by embracing a renewed culture of curiosity, bold collaboration, and relentless learning. The mandate is clear: push boundaries and do it together.

Esquire Philippines is published by Summit Media, a company owned and managed by the Gokongwei Group of Companies.