Dondi Gomez, the chief marketing architect of the country’s most successful brand Jollibee, has retired from his post after 16 years of fruitful and meaningful service this time to fulfill his personal goal of spending more time with his family at age 50.
Dondi Gomez
Gomez, whose early retirement as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of the Jollibee Group of Companies took effect on May 1, 2023, served as marketing office since 2013.
During his entire 16 years of service, Gomez spearheaded the group’s marketing initiatives that helped propel the Jollibee brand as the most distinguishable successful Filipino brand here and abroad.
He established the restaurant conglomerate’s Global Marketing Division and institutionalized the Jollibee Group Way of Marketing that has driven the success of the restaurant conglomerate’s 16 brands across 34 countries around the world, including the Philippines.
During his term, Gomez led the Jollibee Brand’s International Marketing Strategy, elevating Jollibee to a global brand with substantial local mainstream patronage in North America, Europe, Middle East, and Asia.
He likewise played a critical role in the successful marketing integration and brand repositioning of many of the company’s acquired businesses such as Mang Inasal, Red Ribbon, Burger King, Highlands Coffee Vietnam, Yonghe King China, and Smashburger USA, to name a few. Through his marketing leadership, many of Jollibee Group’s brands have become market leaders in their respective categories and geographies.
During the pandemic, Gomez led the group’s marketing pivot strategy in the Philippine business, which was critical in the Jollibee Group’s strong recovery in 2021 and record-breaking business performance in 2022.
“Dondi’s gift of marketing leadership, collaborative approach to problem solving, and compassion for our people have been instrumental to Jollibee Group’s success in the past fifteen years,” said Ernesto Tanmantiong, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Jollibee Group.
“I am deeply thankful to Dondi for his devotion to the company, our customers, and our people. I wish him well on his long-planned adventure with his family.”
Gomez joined the Jollibee Group in 2008 and was appointed as the company’s youngest Corporate Officer and Executive Team Member.
“It is one of the greatest honors of my life to have been part of the Jollibee Group’s global success story in the last 15 years,” shared Dondi.
“Although I am retiring early to spend more time with my loved ones, I am confident that I am leaving the Jollibee Group in the capable hands of world-class marketeers who will take the company to greater heights with the marketing capabilities we have successfully instituted for more than a decade.”
In the interim, Jollibee Group Chief Business Officer Joseph Tanbuntiong will be taking the role of Region Marketing of JFC Philippines, and Chief Digital and Technology Officer Marcos Cadena will support all global digital marketing initiatives.
Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC, also known as Jollibee Group) is one of the fastest-growing restaurant companies in the world. Its mission is to serve great-tasting food and bring the joy of eating to everyone through its 16 brands with over 6,500 stores across 34 countries including the Philippines, United States, Canada, the People's Republic of China, United Kingdom, Vietnam, United Arab Emirates, and Australia.
The Jollibee Group has eight wholly owned brands (Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, Mang Inasal, Yonghe King, Hong Zhuang Yuan, Smashburger); four franchised brands (Burger King, Panda Express, and Yoshinoya in the Philippines, and Tim Ho Wan in certain territories in China); 80% ownership of The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf; 60% ownership in the SuperFoods Group that owns Highlands Coffee; and 51% ownership of Milksha, a popular Taiwanese bubble tea brand.
The Jollibee Group, through its subsidiary Jollibee Worldwide Pte. Ltd. (JWPL) owns 90% participating interest in Titan Dining LP, a private equity fund that owns the Tim Ho Wan brand. The Jollibee Group has a joint venture with the THW Group to open and operate THW restaurants in Mainland China. It also has a business venture with award-winning Chef Rick Bayless for Tortazo, a Mexican fast-casual restaurant business in the United States.