Wilfred Steven Uytengsu

Wilfred Steven Uytengsu
Personal information
Birth nameWilfred Steven B. Uytengsu Jr.
National teamPhilippines
Born (1961-11-21) November 21, 1961 (age 63)
Cebu City, Philippines
Alma materInternational School Manila, University of Southern California
OccupationBusinessman
Sport
CountryPhilippines
SportSwimming, Triathlon
RankUnranked (triathlon)[1]
University teamUSC swimming team
Coached byPeter Daland
(swimming, c.1979-1983)
Updated on February 18, 2016

Wilfred Steven "Fred" B. Uytengsu Jr. is a Filipino businessman. As of August 2017, Forbes lists him as the 35th richest in the Philippines with a net worth of $240 million.[2]

Personal life

Uytengsu was born in November 11, 1961 in Cebu City[3][4] to Wilfred T. Uytengsu, Sr. and Bonnie Brooks. His paternal grandparents were Chinese Filipino.[5] He obtained a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California in 1983.[3] After completing his studies in the United States, he returned to the Philippines and joined the family owned Alaska Milk Corporation (AMC). He became president of AMC in 1998 and its CEO in 2007. He stepped down as CEO and President by the end of 2018 and remains as Chairman of the company.[6]

Uytengsu is married to Kerri Elaine Dunn with whom he has three children.[3]

Athletic career

Uytengsu joined the swimming team of the University of Southern California (USC) on his first year at the institution. He was coming from an injury on his right leg which he sustained in a car accident during his last school year as a high school student. In 1982, at the end of his third year in the university, he was voted to be the captain of the team in the next school year in 1983. He was coached by Peter Daland during his stay with the USC team.[7] He also represented the Philippines in international competitions[3] as part of the national swimming team, including the team that competed at the 1981 Southeast Asian Games.[7]

Uytengsu also became involved in triathlon, doing his first race in 1984 and competed intermittently until the mid 1990s when he decided to take the sport more seriously. At the 2011 Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, United States, Uytengsu set a personal best.[7] He is credited for bringing the Ironman Triathlon, XTERRA Triathlon and IronKids races to the Philippines.[8]

In 2012, Uytengsu made an $8 million donation to USC. The donation helped fund the reconstruction of USC's swim stadium originally constructed for the 1984 Summer Olympics and opened in July 1983.[9] The new center was named the Uytengsu Aquatics Center which officially opened on February 21, 2014. It is the largest gift to the USC Athletic Department by a former student-athlete.[10]

Alaska Aces

Through the efforts of Uytengsu, Alaska Milk Corporation organized the Alaska Aces basketball team which competed in the Philippine Basketball Association from 1986 until 2022.[7][8] The Aces won 14 PBA championships in 36 years.

During his tenure as team owner, Uytengsu spoke his mind, particularly on instances of trades he believed to be dubious and caused disparity and unlevel playing field.[11]

Honors

At the 2016 PSA Annual Awards, Uytengsu was named PSA Executive of Year for his contribution to the promotion of various sports in the Philippines such as basketball, triathlon and football.[12]

From the PBA Press Corps, Uytengsu has received two Danny Floro Executive of the Year awards (1998 and 2010) and became the first Lifetime Achievement Award recipient (2018).[13][14]

References

  1. ^ "Wilfred Uytengsu". International Triathlon Union. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  2. ^ "#35 Wilfred Steven Uytengsu, Jr". Philippines' 50 Richest - 2017 Ranking. Forbes. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d "Wilfred Steven Uytengsu" (PDF). International School Manila. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  4. ^ "Happy Birthday Boss Fred Uytengsu – Alaska Aces". m.facebook.com. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  5. ^ "G.R. No. L-6379 - In the matter of the petition of WILFRED UYTENGSU to be admitted a citizen of the Philippine. WILFRED UYTENGSU, Petitioner-Appellee, v. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, Oppositor-Appellant". ChanRobles Virtual Law Library. ChanRobles Publishing Company. September 29, 1954. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  6. ^ Galvez, Waylon (October 7, 2018). "Uytengsu retiring but remains Aces head". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  7. ^ a b c d Goldberg, Paul (November 5, 2015). "From a walk-on to a leading role". USC News. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  8. ^ a b "Alaska team owner Wilfred Uytengsu to be honored as PSA Executive of the Year". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. February 8, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  9. ^ McDondald's Olympic Swim Stadium page of the Los Angeles Sports Council's website (www.lasports.org); retrieved 2021-10-28.
  10. ^ Keith, Braden (May 1, 2012). "USC Gets $8 Million Gift For New Swim Center; Name Revealed". Swim Swam. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  11. ^ Catacutan, Dodo (February 22, 2022). "The many times Wilfred Uytengsu jolted the PBA with real talk". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  12. ^ "Uytengsu is PSA Executive of Year". The Standard. February 8, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  13. ^ Joble, Rey (September 30, 2010). "Alaska chief's comments spice up PBA Press Corps Awards". GMA News. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  14. ^ Giongco, Mark (January 22, 2019). "Night of firsts as PBA Press Corps recognize best in the league for 2018". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved January 23, 2019.