Dennis Uy has become one of the most prominent figures in the business industry in the Philippines and is known as the Udenna Corporation’s founder, chairman, and chief executive officer (CEO). However, Uy’s most popular feather on his cap was when his Mislatel Consortium was named as the third telecommunications player in the country after forming a partnership with the state-run, China Telecom.
But let’s hit pause for a while to get to know more about the person behind these expanding empires.
His ancestors were Ega Uy and Tao Sui Eng. They were migrants from Fuijan, China who decided to build a business dealing with copra as they settled in Tagum, Davao City. They later expanded to mining, supermarkets, car dealership and many more.
Uy belongs to the third generation of the Uy family.
He graduated in 1993 from De La Salle University in Manila with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Business Management and worked 10 years in their family business before leaving to start his own.
He began with a barbecue business, Dencio’s, that later had up to six outlets. Uy handed over the business to his sister when he decided to establish and move on to the fuel retailing business, which ignited the beginning of his legacy.
Uy is married to Cherylyn Chiong Uy, a Davao City fashion and style icon, who graduated from Ateneo de Davao with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Business and Finance.
They have three kids namely, Chelsea Denise, Charlize Donatela, and Charles Dennison Uy.
In addition, Uy became the Honorary Consul of Kazakhstan in the Philippines in 2011, with the goal to further promote and improve the relations and bilateral ties between both countries.
Also, due to Uy’s love and commitment for sports, President Rodrigo Duterte appointed him as the Presidential Sports Adviser in 2016.
For his dedication to both leadership and management, Uy was given numerous awards to recognize his hard work. These were the ASEAN Business Awards’ Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2017, the MVP Bossing Award in 2016, the Agora Award for Outstanding Achievement in Entrepreneurship-Large Scale in 2013 and the Datu Bago Award in 2013 given by the City Government of Davao. He was also a finalist in the CNBC Asia Business Leaders Awards from 2011 up to 2013.
Uy is also a member of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), the American Chamber of Commerce-Davao Chapter, the Davao City Chamber of Commerce, and a representative to the Chinatown Development Council in the business sector in Davao.
A Path to Greatness
Dennis Uy is at the prime of his life and will undoubtedly continue to leave his expanding mark on the country. Let’s retrace the steps that led to his successful empire-in-the-making.
In 2002, he established Udenna Corp. with his wife Cherylyn. Udenna is a holdings company that will later become the center of his business interests in various industries. The same year saw the creation of Phoenix Petroleum as well.
Phoenix Petroleum and Udenna Corp. started as small companies and steadily grew over the years through perseverance and hard work.
By 2007, Uy had acquired ownership of Global Synergy Trade and Distribution Corp., Phoenix Petroleum Holdings, Phoenix Udenna Insurance Brokers, and Udenna Managements and Resources Corp.
The year 2010 saw the addition of Udenna Dev. Corp. and Udenna Environmental Services Corp. to Uy’s growing business empire. This was followed by Udenna Capital Inc. in 2012 and Udenna Tower Corp and Udenna Trade Corp. in 2014.
In 2016, marine-related companies were taken under Uy’s ownership, including Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp, Chelsea Marine Manpower Resources, Inc., Davao Gulf Marine Services inc. Dynamic Cuisine Inc. KGLI-NM Holdings Inc, Ocean Star Shipping Corp, Quality Metal & Shipworks Inc, Starsy Shoppe Inc, and the Trans-Asia Shipping Lines inc.
The next year saw the most growth in Uy’s corporate empire as he gained ownership of various companies including but not limited to the ADF Enderun 1010 Inc, Aetos Air Ph Inc, Donatela Hotel Panglao Corp, Duta Inc, GGDC Holdings Inc, Global Gateway Development Corp., and Kaparangan Inc. He also added Lapu-Lapu Land Corp, Lapu-Lapu Leisure Corp., Le Penseur Inc, PH Travel and Leisure Holdings Corp, Phoenix LPG Ph inc, Starlite Ferries Inc., Udenna Infrastructure Corp., Udenna Water Integrated Service Inc, Valueleases Inc, and Worklink Services Inc.
This was also the year he established Clark Global City Corp. and bought the Enderun Colleges Inc.
The end of 2017 had Udenna having investments in more or less 50 companies in varying industries from oil to infrastructure to logistics.
Last year saw even more growth for Uy’s businesses as Autostrada Motore Inc, Conti’s Holdings Corp, H2o Ventures Corp, Ph Familymart Cvs, Inc, Pos!Ble.Net, Pxp Energy Corp, Tipco Asphalt, and Udenna Energy Corp. have been added to his list of companies.
Early in the same year, the Udenna Tower located in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig finished its construction, yet another milestone in Uy’s business career.
Truly, there is no slowing down Uy’s path to greatness.