How Susan Joven pioneered lifestyle PR in PH

We, like the rest of the Philippine lifestyle industry, remain in disbelief as we mourn the passing of lifestyle PR pioneer Susan Joven. Her death was a tragic surprise sprung on us because Susan had never really been absent from the lifestyle scene.

Her smile that would always turn into laughter, her vivacious presence at events, lunches, dinners, the real society dish she’d bring to the “maritess” table, the hard detailed work she put behind campaigns—all this didn’t forebode one’s immediate departure. Who would have known that that was to be the last lunch or dinner with her?

A PR practitioner in fashion and lifestyle for roughly four decades, Susan was a human connector who linked people and entities, even at-odds social sets (as in politics), not only because it was her profession, but more so, it was apparent to us, because she truly enjoyed it, especially during her last years.

She died Oct. 17, 2025, 11 days after her 76th birthday, of Rapid Intertitial Lung Disease associated with a rare autoimmune disease.

Her only daughter, Ginggay de la Merced, wrote in her social media about her mother’s death: “She was a people person—the quintessential extrovert and life of any party. Her spirit and optimism were simply infectious. We would always ask her where she got all her energy. It was from people. We always joked that going around was her sustenance—her vitamins and minerals. In the two months she was in isolation, we believe it was that very fact that deprived her of good health as much as the disease itself.”

In his homily at Mass celebrating Susan’s life, Archbishop Socrates Villegas considered Susan “a magnet” who drew people together, and how such magnetism emanated “from God.”

Even if friends and colleagues knew that she had been compelled into home rest, still they weren’t prepared that she would be gone that same week. When Rustan’s Makati unveiled its festive Christmas window display—a yearly kick-off of the holiday season—that afternoon of Christmas cheer on October 17, people, including the retail executives themselves, didn’t know that Susan had passed away before the break of dawn that Friday.

Susan was the PR and marketing head of Rustan’s, and later SSI, from the ‘70s to 1990, under the mentorship of Rustan’s matriarch and founder herself, Gliceria “Glecy” R. Tantoco, and later her successors, Zenaida “Nedy” Tantoco and Rico Tantoco, and much later, the grandson, Anton T. Huang.

In 1990, she formed her own Visions & Expressions that became the sole PR retainer of Rustan’s and then SSI.

She was with Glecy Tantoco, literally at her side…No PR practitioner could have gotten better training and exposure than that

She was with Rustan’s as the high-end department store was expanding into the leading high-end retail chain in the country. She was with Glecy Tantoco, literally at her side, at her beck and call. No PR practitioner could have gotten better training and exposure than that.

It was in those years that Rustan’s was acquiring the European and American luxury brands, such as Ferragamo, Feraud, or at least acquiring their licenses, such as Dior, Nina Ricci, Oleg Cassini. The successive acquisitions of top luxury brands set a precedent in Southeast Asia. Upon the invitations of the Tantoco matriarch, designers of Paris fashion houses were coming over to Manila to be acquainted with its society and its market. And Susan was right smack in the thick of the action, multi-tasking.

We remember her, heavy with child (her second and youngest, Ginggay), running around the office, fixing interviews, and attending to Louis Feraud himself.

There were others she would meet, entertain, and liaise with, as her job entailed—George Pipart of Nina Ricci, Pierre Balmain himself (who was flown here to present his collection), the Gucci heirs, even George Hamilton, who was a guest of Mrs. Tantoco at Rustan’s. You name it, Manila was on the radar of European fashion houses.

Later, as head of Visions, she would coordinate, under Nedy Tantoco, the visits of Diane Von Furstenberg herself and the heavyweight Domenico de Sole, the powerful Italian chief executive and associate of Tom Ford who was then the head of Gucci.

Lifestyle PR was a young, emerging field in the country in the late ‘70s and ‘80s, and Susan was a rookie who would evolve to be a pioneer—the OG, as they now call it. Lifestyle PR grew alongside Philippine retail, with the increasing influx of brands and designers, and a growing market. And thanks to Rustan’s and later SSI, Susan became a gatekeeper of such burgeoning content and media network.

This graduate of the University of Santo Tomas—“a very silent student,” former Entertainment editor of Philippine Daily Inquirer Emmie Velarde recalls—learned on the job. And she devoted a lifetime to the job, even as she raised a family with husband Roland, a businessman who preceded her in death; they have two children, Lloyd and Ginggay. Emmie and veteran hotel PR Rose Libongco were in the literature and journalism courses with Susan.

Susan was learning, even building, the template for lifestyle PR under the tutelage of Glecy and Nedy Tantoco. It would be a template to be followed by practitioners who wanted to go into lifestyle PR.

Anton T. Huang, the president and CEO of Rustan’s and the SSI Group, shares his grief with TheDiarist.ph: “She worked alongside my grandmother, Gliceria Rustia-Tantoco, in the early years, learning and helping shape the culture of elegance and excellence that defined Rustan’s. She later became a close colleague and confidante of my mother, Zenaida Tantoco, supporting her in countless endeavors with loyalty, brilliance, and friendship.

“In my own time, I too was fortunate to have SPJ as a mentor, collaborator, and protector…someone whose wisdom and candor guided me through many decisions as the Rustan Group evolved.

“Through her later work with Visions & Expressions, she continued to stand with us as a trusted adviser, helping tell the Rustan Group story with the same creativity and conviction she had always shown.”

‘For the Tantoco family, Susan Joven was not only a professional partner but a true friend, woven into the fabric of three generations’—Anton Huang

Huang added, “For the Tantoco family, Susan Joven was not only a professional partner but a true friend, woven into the fabric of three generations. Her legacy of loyalty, elegance, and devotion will always remain part of Rustan’s story, and of our family’s story.”

As a pioneer in lifestyle PR at a time when Philippine retail was just kicking off with local and foreign designers, artists, brands, Susan formed the template that was rooted in firm relations with media. She was of the PR school that gave media productive accessibility to news sources, be they the Rustan’s owners or management or marquee designers or visiting celebrities.

As early as the ‘80s she helped show how to harness media, and that accessibility is crucial yet must be managed. And her relationships with editors and writers became life-long.

With the Rustan’s family, she showed how to manage content—both for media and the consumer market at large. As early as then, she was helping manage events and building an enviable contact list of the socially visible society. Indeed, Susan was blessed to have worked and learned from Glecy and Nedy Tantoco who, long before branding was a term, already believed in and knew how to build a brand through marketing, publicity, and advertising. In time, Anton himself would hold the reins of this brand building and use advertising as a dynamic tool. It is no exaggeration to say that the Rustan’s/SSI Group helped build the foundation of glossy magazine publishing in the Philippines by propping up lifestyle media with its ads.

Again, long before influencer marketing, Susan and the Rustan’s/SSI Group were already building a database of desirable image-builders and clientele.

Donnie Tantoco, the oldest grandchild of the late Ambassador Bienvenido Tantoco and Glecy, and who is the chairman of Rustan’s Commercial Corp., shares with TheDiarist.ph what he believes is the footprint made by their loyal PR executive who’s seen him and his cousins grow in the corporation:

“The core value, I believe, the legacy of Ms. Susan, was to encourage us  to have a conviction, have a purpose, have a very high dream; and then to empower us  to joyfully and perseveringly become our very best in our chosen calling or craft. I know she invested her love and her life in thousands, she impacted many many people and lives.

“But I guess like those many, I feel like I am one of the biggest beneficiaries of her benevolence. She helped my Lola Glecy and Ninay Nedy when they were crafting the brand, the identity and culture of Rustan’s.

“To her, marketing and PR were not about optics, it was about having a strong and authentic identity, having a well-crafted product and service to offer, and connecting with whatever customer, family, person, or partner can benefit from your work.

“She is a pillar of Rustan’s, and I am who I am and have what I have because of an organization and movement she helped create and sustain. She also helped my wife and me with our own relatively smaller dreams and projects. She treated us and gave us as much importance as she did my Lolo, Lola and Ninay Nedy.

“She lent us her prestigious let simple voice, she was trusted by many, and she helped make this many support us, and trust us too. She gave us advice in her witty, light, and optimistic way.

“I will forever be grateful to Ms. Susan. And we continue the journey with Ginggay, Danica and her team.”

For her own company Visions & Expressions, beyond the Rustan’s Group, she branched out beyond fashion retail to mall development, trade events, other culture and lifestyle campaigns.

In recent years, like a chameleon, Susan was not only able to adapt to, but also to maximize the form and shape of social media and the digital environment.

She leaves behind her son Lloyd and his wife Karen and son Santi, daughter Ginggay with husband Noel and children Noey and Chloe.

Her family and friends gave her a beautiful send-off at Heritage Memorial Chapel. Celebrating the Mass  on separate days were Everest chaplain Fr. Mauricio Guajardo, Archbishop Socrates Villegas, Papal Nuncio Archbishop Charles John Brown, and Fr. Ronaldo Paulino, and the blessing by Msgr. Manny Gabriel. Singing their tribute were Gian Magdangal and Lara Maigue, Cris Villonco. Singing at the Masses were the 92AD choir and the Ateneo Chamber Singers.

Susan was still so much in the saddle when she passed away.

This people person wasn’t able to say goodbye.

But no matter. She helped make a happy place.