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Filipina Tycoon
Loida Nicolas-Lewis is probably the richest Filipino living outside
her home country. She is the chairman and CEO of TLC Beatrice International
Holdings, Inc., a two-billion-dollar corporation of 64 companies based
in 31 countries. TLC is a marketer of ice cream in Spain and the Canary
Islands, the leading manufacturer of potato chips in Ireland, and a
prime distributor of beverage in the Netherlands, Belgium, France and
Thailand.
A lawyer by profession, Loida is also an author, a
philanthropist, and an active leader of the Filipino community in the
United States. She owns the distinction of having been the first Asian
woman to pass the New York State bar exam without having studied law
in the U.S. As a businesswoman, she was ranked number 1 among the "Top
50 Women Business Owners in America" by the Working Woman magazine in
1994.
In the United States, she is known as the remarkable
woman behind the success of Reginald Lewis, the first Afro-American
to hit the US$1B-in-assets mark. In January 1993, Reginald died of brain
cancer. So revered was Loida's love for her late husband and "tutor"
that she later wrote a book, entitled "Why Should White Guys Have All
the Fun? How Reginald F. Lewis Created a Billion Dollar Business Empire."
It sold several hundred thousand copies.
Reginald's untimely death left Loida with the responsibility
of raising their two daughters alone and taking care of the family business.
She finished her AB course at the Saint Theresa's College and her law
degree at the University of the Philippines.
