Photograph by Dookie Ducay
Having amassed his accolades in the field of dentistry and healthcare, the GAOC founder now looks to root his expansion in selfless service and education
“I’m a perfectionist. I have this obsessive compulsiveness to [strive for] excellence in anything that I do in life,” shares Dr. Steve Mark Gan, founder and chairman of the GAOC Group of Companies. For the past 23 years, the brand has aligned with this sentiment through its approach to dental service, eventually letting its reputation be the means for the brand to grow and cater to a wider range of Filipinos.
After launching subsidiaries like Novodental, GanTech Industries, and Samurai Dental Laboratory, Dr. Gan now sees an expansion into new areas within healthcare. This creates a network that reflects GAOC’s standards in various medical fields, cultivating what he visualizes as the “GAOC Universe”.
Despite the brand’s success, the business leader finds himself thinking about the legacy he wishes to leave not only on the medical industry but on the next generation of dentists, doctors, and business leaders as well.
He then recalls his past conversation with actress Nadine Lustre, reflecting on their shared ability to balance their work and personal lives. “She mentioned an on-and-off switch. And I think it’s true with any successful entrepreneur, you become who you have to be when you’re working.”
Throughout the growth of his businesses, Dr. Gan shares how he has had passing conversations regarding his potential in industries outside of medical practice. Yet, such moments only highlighted the depth of his relationship with dentistry. “I mean, I have been caught up in this world already for so long. My world is dentistry,” he emphasizes.
This resonates with the business owner’s relationship with his priorities, which he now sees within his roles outside of dentistry. “I want to focus more on fatherhood,” the 55-year-old shares.
For years, Dr. Gan’s efforts have been set on the growth of his businesses while providing for his family. Seeing the opportunities he has yet to seize, he now aims to one day flip the switch and hone on his parental intuition to prioritize not only his own but also the disadvantaged families in the Philippines.
Since its establishment, the GAOC Foundation has grown to provide more than just free cleft-lip and palate surgeries for the underprivileged, expanding its capabilities to not only provide scholarships for the company’s employees and their children but also to those who wish to seek a career in dentistry.
“I always say that education is key and knowledge is power, I learned that from my dad,” he shares. As a part of his mission to cultivate the next generation, Dr. Gan foresees the success of his clinics to become the backbone in the establishment of the GAOC Dental Academy, which is just one of the founder’s ventures which pursues his desire to “educate the Filipino dentist to give better smiles to the Filipino people.”
Dr. Gan hopes his work will continue to inspire and uplift future generations. “It’s all related to health care, and it’s about helping people. In that way, we can fund our foundation, which, in turn, helps even more people in the process,” he shares.
