Loida Nicolas-Lewis

Loida Nicolas Lewis (born 1942 [cite linked authority file |id=n91-90519] ) is a Filipino-born, New York-based industrialist, philanthropist, sociocivic leader, motivational speaker, author, and lawyer.

Business interests

Lewis is the Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer of TLC Beatrice, LLC, the Lewis Family investment firm and is also Chairman and CEO of TLC Beatrice (China), Limited, a Cayman company which operates retail convenience stores in five major cities in China and TLC Beatrice Foods (Philippines) which operates a fresh meat processing plant.

An attorney by profession, Lewis served as an informal adviser and confidant to her late husband, Reginald F. Lewis, TLC Beatrice’s first chairman and CEO. She assumed the leadership of the TLC Beatrice International Holdings, Inc. in February, 1994, a year after Mr. Lewis’ death. She moved quickly to cut costs, sell non-core and under performing assets, reduce debt and strengthen her management team.

In September, 1997, the company sold its French food distribution business. In 1998, the company sold its European beverage operations. In 1999 it sold the ice-cream operations in Spain and the Canary Islands and its potato chips and snack business in Ireland. In 2000, the last unit of the company, Bireley’s in Thailand was also sold. Proceeds were distributed to the shareholders who enjoyed a 35% return on their investment.

Spouse

Reginald F. Lewis acquired Beatrice International in December 1987 in a $985 million leveraged buyout, creating the largest African American company in the United States.

Lewis has spoken to audiences around the country and the world to promote the biography of her late husband, "Why Should White Guys Have All the Fun?….How Reginald Lewis Created a Billion Dollar Business Empire."

Authorship

Lewis has written books on U.S. immigration law. Her book "How to Get a Green Card", has reached the bestseller's list in the non-fiction genre.

In 1972, Lewis established a monthly magazine for the Filipino-American community and served as the magazine’s publisher until it merged with another publication in 1980.

Socio-civic activities

Lewis is the former National Chairwoman of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (2002-2006), the largest advocacy group for Filipino Americans in the United States.

Lewis frequently appears in charity and fund-raising events, making financial donations and moral support to poverty alleviation projects in the Philippines. She is also a renowned motivational speaker and lecturer on wealth generation, entrepreneurship, career planning, and immigration laws.

In 1999, she founded a school in Sorsogon City, [http://www.thelewiscollege.com The Lewis College] , that teaches Kindergarten through college students.

Early life and education

Born and raised in the Philippines, Lewis comes from a family of entrepreneurs. Her father started one of the country’s largest furniture manufacturing firms, Nicfur.

Lewis graduated "cum laude" from St. Theresa’s College, a private, Roman Catholic women's college in Manilla, Philippines (that location has since closed). Later, she earned a law degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law and was admitted to the Philippine Bar.

Lewis was the first Asian American to pass the American Bar without having been educated in the United States. She is eligible to practice law in the Philippines and New York.

A wide and frequent traveller, Lewis learned to speak English, French, Spanish, and Tagalog. She currently resides in New York City with her two daughters.

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