PJ Lhuillier, Inc - Lifetime Achievement Award - Business Products Industries

Company: PJ Lhuillier, Inc (PJLI), Makati City, Philippines
Company Description: Formally established in 1988, PJ Lhuillier Inc., through its flagship brand, Cebuana Lhuillier, is the Philippines' largest microfinancial services company. It offers a wide variety of financial services such as collaterized and non-collaterized microloans, microsavings, money transfer, microinsurance, bills payment, eLoad, corporate pay-out, and business-to-business solutions.
Nomination Category: Management Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Lifetime Achievement Award - Business Products Industries

Nomination Title: Jean Henri Lhuillier: An advocacy of bringing financial wellness a reality for every Filipino

Being the visionary that he has always been, Jean Henri Lhuillier continues to raise the PJ Lhuillier Group of Companies (PJLGC)—a multi-industry company that owns and operates micro financial services, banking, retail, IT, and sports management in the Philippines—to higher levels of excellence as its president and CEO.

This year saw milestones in the history of the institution as expansions and philanthropic initiatives were rolled out through its flagship company, Cebuana Lhuillier.

After a very successful celebration of more than 30 years in the field, Mr. Lhuillier challenged each and every employee including himself to Level Up for 2020. Mr. Lhuillier also led the company into acquiring and serving more than 30 million clients, expanding to more than 2,500 branches nationwide, connecting to more than 20,000 domestic partners and establishing more than 1.7 million virtual and physical touchpoints worldwide.

Taking into consideration the impact of Cebuana Lhuillier’s roster of services to many Filipinos, Mr. Lhuillier has taken the initiative to introduce an easy and effective way for Filipinos to save by taking advantage of Cebuana Lhuillier’s extensive network and technological capability.

According to a study by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines), majority of Filipinos maintain a positive attitude when it comes to saving their money but are generally put-off by various factors. With this in mind, Mr. Lhuillier spearheaded the development of a new product dubbed the Cebuana Lhuillier Micro Savings which simplifies opening a savings account for all Filipinos. Through Mr. Lhuillier’s visionary strides in the field, more than 4 million Filipinos and counting now have access to a savings account that does not have the onerous requirement that usual savings accounts have.

Mr. Lhuillier is also leading the Iponaryo external cascade where employees of Cebuana Lhuillier go out and encourage more Filipinos to save through targeting communities and gatherings; they conducted 500 sessions for the year and raked in at least 100,000 attendees who were exposed to the Iponaryo movement and the Cebuana Lhuillier Micro Savings product.

Added to spearheading a revolutionary innovation in the field of Financial Services, Mr. Lhuillier also made sure to facilitate easier connectivity for Cebuana Lhuillier clients with the eCebuana App, where clients can check their Micro Savings account balance, send money through remittance, and load prepaid credits to their mobile phones.

Exciting times are ahead for Cebuana Lhuillier and with Jean Henri Lhuillier steering the ship, the possibilities are endless.

Beyond Cebuana Lhuillier’s products and services, Mr. Lhuillier also strived to make a difference in the lives of Filipinos through his advocacies in education and sports, through the Cebuana Lhuillier Foundation, Inc.; Mr. Lhuillier was able to open more Alternative Learning System centers in the country, opening close to 100 ALS centers nationwide which benefited more than 8,000 learners. He also initiated the offering of financial literacy crash courses in more than 525 communities nationwide and has supported more than 1,000 Cebuana Lhuillier scholars.

Also known for being a philanthropist, Mr. Lhuillier is dedicated to elevating Philippine sports to the international arena. He is the man behind top Filipino tennis players Treat Huey and Ruben Gonzales; and bemedalled swimmer and Olympian, Jasmine Alkhaldi.

He currently serves as the president of Unified Tennis Philippines (UTP), which advocates for an inclusive and dynamic tennis scene in the Philippines. He is also the man behind the Philippine Men’s & Women’s Softball Teams, currently making the rounds in international tournaments. As president of the Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines (ASAPHIL) and having been elected as Vice President of Softball Asia, his relentless support was instrumental in the successful campaign of the RP Blu Boys to who placed 2nd in the recent SEA Games, while the RP Blu Girls took home the gold medal for the sport.

Summary:

-Successfully rolled out his advocacy of financial wellness to Cebuana Lhuillier Employees.
-Led the successful expansion of the company nationwide and worldwide.
-In 2019, led the successful launch of Cebuana Lhuillier Micro Savings, changing the financial landscape in the Philippines.
-Led the Iponaryo Internal and External Cascade which converted some 4 million Filipinos’ mindset on saving.
-Introduced the eCebuana app to revolutionize the way clients access Cebuana Lhuillier services.
-Winner of up t0 20 local and 60 international citations from different organizations, including the IBA, Golden Bridge Awards, Best Business Awards, Anvil Awards, and Philippine Quill Awards, among others.
-Instrumental to the successful rallies of the Men’s and Women’s National Softball Team and tennis players Treat Huey, Nino Alcantara, and Ruben Gonzales in the 2019 South East Asian Games.