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Vivian Que AzconaThe low-profile Forbes billionaire Vivian Que Azcona, president of the Philippines’ leading pharmacy retail chain Mercury Drug Corporation, passed away at 69.
She was the eldest daughter of Mariano Que, who founded the company in 1945 and was responsible for its rapid growth to a vast network spanning 1,200 locations across the country and more than 15,000 employees.
Que-Azcona was Mercury Drug’s largest shareholder; Forbes Magazine estimated her net worth, including the stakes held by her siblings, at $1.7 billion in 2024, ranking her family 14th among the Philippines’ 50 richest.
After graduating cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Santo Tomas, she became a licensed pharmacist. She joined Mercury Drug in 1977 as a staff assistant.
When Dr. Mariano Que passed away in 2017, Vivian had already been leading Mercury Drug as its president for nearly two decades. However, she became president not by default but because she earned it by rising through the ranks.
Under her father’s direct mentorship, Vivian was immersed in all aspects of the business, from warehousing to distribution, inventory and stock control to store operations, merchandising to marketing, HR development and training to research, finance and overall management.
With no special treatment, she worked hard and progressed from assistant general manager in 1980 to vice president and general manager in 1984. By 1998, she had taken over as president and CEO, proving her capability to lead the company into the future.
Under her leadership, the company introduced innovations such as Gamot Padala options of Call Order Pick-Up, Order Online and Order Anywhere Pick-Up Anywhere to serve customers’ orders at their convenience; Drive-Thru service, a first in pharmacy retailing in the Philippines; Pharmacy Counseling service to help customers with medication queries; mercuryTV in-store health education service; Suki Card customer value card rewarding members with good-as-cash points and discounts; and Gising 24 Oras 24/7 service in over 100 strategically-located stores.
As head of Mercury Drug Foundation, she spearheaded large-scale medical outreach programs. In partnership with the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), the foundation has also made safe, potable water accessible to waterless communities.
The foundation also conducted free health profiling, NCD screening, medical-nutritional counseling, and lectures in urban poor communities. It supports education through a scholarship program to assist employees needing help with their children’s education.
The foundation also grants full scholarships to deserving but financially challenged pharmacy students, academic recognition to public and private high school students excelling in Mathematics and Science, and due recognition to gifted Filipino children and youth – all to help build a new generation of future leaders.
For her work in community service and service to the pharmacy profession, Vivian has been the recipient of numerous awards, the most recent being the 2013 Philippine Pharmacists Association Bowl of Hygeia Award and the 2010 Outstanding Thomasian Alumni Business Leader Award given by her alma mater.
Tirelessly working through the pandemic, Que-Azcona has catapulted Mercury Drug into even greater heights by creating services such as the Mercury Drug App and drive-thru service.
Her resilience and dedication to service would later be recognized by the Asia Corporate Excellence and Sustainability (ACES) Award, where she would win as 2021’s Woman Entrepreneur of the Year.
