Virgilio and
Nenita Lim and his uncle
Ben Chan set up as a small shirt shop in 1987, the now iconic Bench, under Suyen Corporation, which has since become a diversified empire of food, fashion, furniture, grooming, and lifestyle brands, both homegrown and flown in from across the world.
Bryan started in product development for Bench’s underwear section. As we know, Bench is not an overnight success, catapulted to the top, as it has been, reaching as far as the US, the Middle East, and China, by a series of small leaps, during which Suyen pioneered many breakthroughs, including high-concept activation events and celebrity endorsements. As vice president for business development, Bryan is officially tasked to manage its future.
Published February 1, 2021, 8:00 AM
This is part of a series of profiles on a new generation of leaders, thinkers, creators, innovators, and trailblazers across many fields in the country. The list is drawn under the theme “What’s Now, What’s New, What’s Next” in celebration of Manila Bulletin’s 121st anniversary as an exponent of Philippine progress.
Pauline Suaco-Juan: A case of reinvention
When former fashion editrix
Pauline Suaco-Juan was appointed executive editor of the Center for International Trade, Expositions, and Missions (CITEM), it wasn’t at all like she moved to a new planet. To her, it’s the same thing, just a different medium. And then the pandemic happened. “It’s surreal how life before the pandemic was only about a year ago but is already an entire chapter of world history unto itself,” she muses. Yet Pauline and CITEM adapted just as quickly as she moved from one industry to the next as though just changing shoes.
Published February 1, 2021, 8:00 AM
This is part of a series of profiles on a new generation of leaders, thinkers, creators, innovators, and trailblazers across many fields in the country. The list is drawn under the theme “What’s Now, What’s New, What’s Next” in celebration of Manila Bulletin’s 121st anniversary as an exponent of Philippine progress.
Nicole Coson: Making her mark in the art world
In London, nobody cares who
Nicole Coson is, or who her mother is or her grandfather was (
Teresita Sy Coson and
Henry Sy, of course), or how big her family’s business is back home.