Category Archives: Communication

Business, competence, Gender, Technology, Women

Speaking at the Cartier Women’s Initiative Female Founders Breakfast

(July 31, Manila)  When my friend Ces Rondario, founder and CEO of Impact Hub Manila and Regional Lead for Impact Hub Asia Pacific, asked me to be a speaker at the July 31 Cartier Women’s Initiative: Female Founders Breakfast, I readily agreed, not knowing I was in a for a most enjoyable and meaningful experience. 

On the way to the event, I googled who the other speaker was, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that Audrey Pe, founder and executive director of WiTech, short for Women in Tech, started her business at the tender age of 15.  WiTech is a community organization that educates, inspires and empowers youth to break gender barriers and use technology to make positive differences in society.  My curiosity was piqued and I looked forward to meeting Audrey.

Arriving at Happy Garden Café, I was ushered to the speakers’ table, where everyone seated there seemed younger than my children.  I met Audrey, with her colleagues Marla Abao and Bing-Rong Hsieh of Launchgarage, and Carmina “Carbs” Bayombong of InvestEd.  It was refreshing to meet such young women engaged in start-ups and serious about their craft. Soon, our keynote speaker, Republic of the Philippines Sen. Risa Hontiveros arrived, tipping the age balance slightly in my favor.   

Our panel dealt with the issue of building an effective ecosystem for women entrepreneurs to thrive.  Moderating our panel was Riva Galveztan, founder of Customized Dating, who I met years ago at another event, this time by the Business and Professional Women – Makati.   Riva is another accomplished young woman, who has overcome odds and come out stronger and better. She is an entrepreneur and wellness advocate. Aside from running her company The Natural Shelf, which offers a variety of essential premium quality Filipino-made natural health products, Riva mentors students at the ABS-CBN Bayan Academy Grassroots Enterprise Management Program.

Sen. Risa, a staunch advocate for women’s rights, shared the importance of finding out and pursuing what you really want to do in life and what makes you happy.  She talked about her early days as a student leader at St. Scholastica’s College which awakened her desire to help solve the country’s problems.  She is behind the Safe Spaces Act that punishes catcalling, wolf whistling and online sexual harassment, among others.  Before the event began, I congratulated her on getting this passed into law, and whispered my fervent wish that all our public officials, from top down, follow the Bawal Bastos Act.

Young, vibrant and driven, Audrey is a poster child for women in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math).  While still in grade school, Audrey decided to learn coding by signing up for online courses and doing research.  Realizing that very few women pursue tech and that there is a dearth in women role models in STEM, Audrey began a blog on inspiring women in technology.  Her interviews and blog gained attention and soon some friends joined her.  The WiTech community grew, and they organized the very first Women in Tech Conference (WiTCon) last year, a student-led conference for female students in tech.  Together with WiTech members, she travelled to Marawi, a neglected area in the Southern Philippines that was bombed in 2017, to teach basic programming skills to teens living in evacuation centers. Audrey shared her dismay upon finding out the gender gap where women earned much less than men for doing the same kind of tech work and so she has decided to make eradicating this an advocacy.   Clearly, Audrey is on the right path to helping empower women.

I, on the other hand, shared how I started TeamAsia in Hong Kong 27 years ago, organizing a management award program in six Asian countries, at a time when mobile phones and the Internet were still in their infancy stage. Proudly women-owned and women-led, TeamAsia is now an award-winning, strategic marketing communications firm that brings brands to the next level experience.  I talked about the difficulties and choices I had to make as a wife, a mother, and as an entrepreneur, finding the right work-life balance while growing the company, and the need for women to have access to markets, access to finance, access to information, and access to a support system.  For the latter, I said I could not have accomplished what I have without the support of my mother who took care of my children while I had to travel for work.

The event ended with a conversation between Ces Rondario and Carmina “Carbs” Bayombong.  Carbs is president and CEO of InvestEd, an investment platform providing student loans to underserved youth using a proprietary credit rating algorithm. Coming from humble beginnings herself, Carbs came up with the idea of helping marginalized youth to achieve their dreams by providing student loans that cover tuition, miscellaneous fees, daily allowance, dorm and project expenses.  Why, there is even a laptop loan!  This is such a worthy social endeavor, and she proudly announced that her students have now started paying back their loans.  

Carbs bested candidates from other countries to win the Cartier Women’s Initiative laureate for SouthAsia and Oceania in 2019.  Only one other Filipina has won this award, and that is Jeannie Javelosa, who came in as Asia-Pacific finalist in 2012.  A staunch advocate of culture, sustainability and gender, Jeannie is co-founder of the pioneering ECHOStore and the GREAT Women brand.

The Cartier Women’s Initiative, an international business programme, was created in 2006 by Cartier in partnership with INSEAD Business School to identify, support and encourage businesses led by women entrepreneurs (www.cartierwomensinitiative.com). Twenty-one women entrepreneurs, three finalists per region (Latin America & the Caribbean, North America, Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East & North Africa, East Asia, South Asia & Oceania) are awarded every year.  Seven laureates are chosen, one for each of the different regions.

As laureate, Carbs took home $100K in prize money which she is using for InvestEd, a scholarship to attend the six-day INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Executive Education Programme in Switzerland, media visibility, and ongoing support for the further growth and development of their business.   Carbs shared how all finalists received one-to-one personalized business and financial coaching prior to the Awards Week, attended a series of business coaching workshops and networking sessions during the Awards Week, enjoyed media visibility in the months leading up to the Awards Week, and were interviewed  by local and international press during the Awards Week. 

Many thanks, Ces and Impact Hub, for inviting me to the Cartier Women’s Initiative: Female Founders Breakfast, and for sending me this recap of the event: IMPACT_HUB_CARTIER_This was indeed time well-spent with the next generation of inspirational women leaders and entrepreneurs.

Technology

The 10th NICP Summit at Naga, City of Smiles

November 25, 2018. Somewhere between Naga and Manila. Here I am on the way back home from Naga City where I emceed the 10th National ICT Councils Confederation Summit together with good friend ex-IBPAP CEO Jomari Mercado.

Months back, when I hosted the press launch of  the digitalcitiesPH portal of IBPAP, DICT and NICP, my AIM classmate Dan de Leon and NICP president Dr. Tony del Carmen asked me to help with the national summit which was to take place at the Avenue Convention Center in Naga City.  Dan is president of the Naga ICT Council. I readily said yes to Dan, and the rest was history.  Dan assigned me to co-emcee the two-day conference and the NICP Awards, as well as, moderate two interesting sessions.

It was rewarding to be part of the summit, learn about block chains, cryptocurrency, e-governance, and what the different cities are doing to develop their local IT-BPM Industry and bring about digital transformation and Inclusive growth to the countryside.  It was also a great opportunity to meet old friends in the industry like DICT Usec. Monchito Ibrahim (who gamely took our ribbing) and DICT Emmy Lou Versoza-Delfin, and make new ones, like Metro Angeles Chamber of Commerce & Industry president Dr. Frankie Villanueva, NICP executive director and operations manager AJ Araneta, and dynamic young entrepreneurs of Streetby.com Cherry Ann Lee Angoy and Ronald Rhey Miñoza.  I also had the honor of  meeting Mayor John Bongat, who had penned the moving opening prayer, and VP Leni Robredo, whose intelligence, honesty and humility, I admire greatly.

It was interesting too not to have to worry about all the moving parts of event management. Honestly though there were times that I almost jumped to my feet to give directions but stopped myself in time to just go with the flow. After all, I wasn’t  in charge of organizing the summit, and I had a very capable and funny co-emcee who could easily adjust to last minute changes in the program, and who knew almost everyone in the room.

After the two-day summit was over, the executive director of the Naga Investments Promotions Board Ruel Oliver, learning the I was longing to do some shopping, kindly arranged for a quick trip to the market, accompanied by John Buendia, Sam Bantegui-Ballenas, and Edward Dimaiwat.

Edward is an intern at the City Tourism Office. On the way to the market, we had a lively conversation on what Naga City could offer a tourist like me who only had a few hours to spare. Aside from culture and churches, Edward said Bicol food was a big draw, especially because of its spiciness. I was waiting for him to start naming restaurants when he pointed out that there was a drugstore on almost every street to take care of the effects of over eating.  That was hilarious! Seriously though, he recommended visiting The Red Platter for its kari-kare and laing or Bob Marlin for its crispy pata.

John, on the other hand, is in charge of developing livelihood in 27 barangays, many of which are in remote areas. For instance, he is helping Barangay Panicuason in the Uplands of Mount Isarog to start an abaca plantation with the help of Bicol University. He is very passionate about helping the barangays under his watch prosper. From John, I learned that Mayor Bongat’s flagship program Grow Negosyo looks at growing opportunities for wealth by providing four services to MSMEs and SMEs: training, market support, product development and micro-financing.

My three guides proudly pointed out that the old public market was considered to be the largest single-roof wet market in Asia when it was inaugurated in 1969.  Shortly before the start of Mayor John Bongat’s term, it was renamed as Naga  City People’s Mall. We combed the market for local pili delicacies and dried fish.

I was happy to have Sam and Edward as my shopping guides, especially when it came to the dried fish section.  The lady at the first stall was charging me much higher than the other stalls (I guess it was obvious I am not a local), and Edward helped locate a friendly and accommodating vendor.  A smiling and kindly Merly Diego not only extended wholesale prices, but also sealed several kilos of danggit, pusit, espada and dilis in vacuum packed plastic bags and then packed them in boxes that could easily be checked in.

That night, Jomari and I skipped the Governor’s dinner to eat crispy pata and creamy laing at the famed Bob Marlin while catching up on industry news.  Definitely, Bob Marlin is a “must-not-miss” destination in Naga City.  When I first saw the crispy pata, I said this was too much, but it was so good, there was hardly anything to take away.

On the way back, we learned that there was a church close by that had a 6am Sunday mass.  Back at the hotel, Dan who had come to give us several bottles of homemade laing as promised, confirmed that Peñafrancia Minor Basilica was just a 3-minute walk, so we agreed to hear the 6am mass.

Early the next day, we walked to the Basilica which houses “Ang Ina” or Our Mother as the Naga people fondly refer to the wooden image of the Blessed Mother crafted in 1710, which is carried aboard on its fluvial parade.  We learned from much earlier risers Tats and her husband Elmer that mass was at 6:30 am and not 6:00 am but that there is another church close by with a 6:00 am mass. Since we had to leave by 8:00 am for the airport, we decided to just quickly pop into the Basilica to pray and see “Ang Ina” then briskly walked (almost ran) to the next church.

Huffing and puffing, we made it to the other church for mass, which was in the local dialect. I was captivated by the beautifully painted ceiling with murals from the life of the Blessed Mother.  Walking leisurely back to the hotel, we were greeted by the busy and colorful sidewalk market scene. I was tempted to buy suman but thought better knowing I already had a suitcase heavy with bottled laing.

Truly, this trip to Naga City was well spent, not just about doing my small bit to help NICP and countryside development, learning about digital transformation, networking with the industry, meeting new and old friends, but also savoring the experience of discovering the beauty of Naga, the City of Smiles.

 

Communication, competence, Governance, Tourism, Women, Work

Do we need women in corporate boards?

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Do we need women in the Board?

This was the interesting question posed during the WomenBiz Talks organized by the Women’s Business Council Philippines at the Dusit Thani Hotel today, and which sparked a healthy debate.  Aside from being inducted as a member of WomenBiz, I was glad I attended the talk, though I missed attending the Amcham General Membership Meeting next door.

After a hearty lunch of ginisang munggo, laing and adobong manok, and the inevitable photo taking, the intimate group of powerful women tackled the day’s theme.   Chit Juan, president of Echostore Sustainable Lifestyle, opened the discussion with a premise that we need a law to ensure seats in corporate boards, as the addition of women corporate directors results in better decisions and more diversity in outlook.

Atty. Lorna Kapunan, senior partner at Kapunan Garcia & Castillo Law Office, roundly disagreed citing the case of Norway that had passed legislation mandating a 40% woman-man ratio on public limited companies to disappointing results. Because there were not enough competent (aka trained) women corporate directors available, companies forced to take on women to comply with the mandated ratio, quickly saw their stock prices plunge.  To protect themselves from this legislation, about 70% of public limited companies delisted since 2003; while new companies incorporated outside of Norway to avoid this requirement.

Because men and women are wired differently, it was observed that women in boards tend to push for property acquisition rather than leveraged organic growth.  And then there’s the issue of women having other interests, such as having children and taking care of their families. This is not to say that we cannot have women corporate directors, especially in the Philippines.

In the case of companies of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs), it would be disastrous not to have women on the board as they would represent the interests of the consumers, being the ones with the buying power.  There are also industries where women dominate.  One such example is the Tourism Industry, to which I belong.

In the country’s Tourism Promotions Board, for instance, three of the five private sector directors are women: Margarita F. Munsayac, VP of Maribago Blue Water Beach Resort (Representing Accommodation Sector); Margarita F. Villarica, president and general manager of Destination Specialists, Inc. (Representing Travel & Tour Services), and me (Representing Meeting, Incentives Travel, Conventions, Exhibitions & Events Services & Facilities M.I.C.E.Sector).  And on the public sector side, we have Usec. Laura del Rosario of Department of Foreign Affairs, Usec. Fe Reyes of the Department of Trade and Industry, and Usec. Catherine Gonzales of Department of Transportation and Communication.  Clearly, TPB is a woman-dominated board.

According to the International Business Report (IBR) released by local audit company Punongbayan & Araullo and global firm Grand Thornton, on average women comprise about 34% of company boards in the Philippines, which is way above the global average of 19%.  One advantage Filipinas have is the availability of househelp to assist in taking care of the house and children, freeing women to pursue careers in the corporate world.   And I’d like to add the social support system of families.  I don’t think I could have gone very far in business without my beloved mom being there to supervise my yayas in looking after my children and my home.

What advantages do women bring to the board room?  According to a study by Professor of Strategic Management Bart of the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University which polled 624 board directors in Canada, women were more likely to use “co-operation, collaboration and consensus building” when dealing with complex decisions.   Also, women were more likely to take into account interests of multiple stakeholders as they viewed fairness as an important factor in their decision-making.

A Credit Suisse report on gender diversity and corporate performance indicates that companies with women on the board exhibited higher return on equity (ROE) and better average growth.  Catalyst Inc. (2007) showed that Fortune 500 companies with more women on their boards were found to outperform their rivals with return on sales and return on equity.  What could possibly be the reason for the better financial performance?

Credit Suisse proposes that gender diversity signals a better company, with greater effort across the board, a better mix of leadership skills, access to a wider pool of talent, a better reflection of the consumer decision-maker, improved corporate governance, and risk aversion.

Lorna was emphatic that there should be no legislation to mandate appointment of women on corporate boards.  Rather, competence was the only reason women should be on corporate boards.  I totally agree on this point.  And that’s why I am seriously considering Chit’s recommendation to take the Institute of Corporate Directors Course, and help in raising awareness of women to aspire for board seats for greater diversity.

Communication, Family, Technology, Work

On Close Calls and Being a Mobile Phone Junkie

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For several hours yesterday, I was off the communication grid, and I felt terrible!  Now, I understand how attached we all get to our mobile phones, that not having a working one in your hand is like a life sentence. This meant though that I was incommunicado.

On my way to a tourism promotions committee meeting yesterday, I was charging my phone in the car and browsing email at the same time, when the phone suddenly felt so hot I almost dropped it. I smelled burning, looked at the car charger and saw smoke coming out.  Damaged cordQuickly, I removed the car charger from the charging port (and burnt my fingertips in the process).  Turns out the lightning to USB cable exterior had melted and the wires exposed.  Mama mia!  That was a close call! 

This meant though that I was incommunicado.  All afternoon, I kept reaching out to my phone to check messages, only to be reminded that it was out of battery.  I even asked those attending the meeting if they had a charger I could borrow.  Unfortunately, no one had the model I needed. It dawned on me that this was why smokers would ask friends or even strangers for a stick of cigarette when they were out.  Shudder! What a “junkie” I’ve become with all of these new technologies!

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Why, oh, why, can’t iPhone batteries last long enough so constant charging is unnecessary and  you don’t need to bring along a slew of accessories and back-up chargers, and a large bag to carry everything in?  My Blackberry would last me all day before, while I’m lucky if my iPhone charge would last three hours.  

It’s a throwback to my early motherhood days, when bringing my babies out of the house meant lugging around a large bag full of diapers, towels, milk bottles, extra change of clothes, and what have you.  Now the baby has been replaced by a mobile phone.   

As soon as the meeting ended, I rushed back to Alabang from Roxas Boulevard, intent on getting to the malls before they closed to buy a new cable.  Without a phone in hand to check messages or FB, I suffered as we inched our way through heavy rush hour traffic, narrow roads, potholes and road repairs.  And when a traffic enforcer stopped my driver for turning right from Roxas instead of from the service road, all hope of getting to ATC in time plummetted and my stress levels zoomed.  

It was then that another realization hit me: I had been using my mobile phone as a baby sitter to distract me from travel stress.  But then again, I argued, doesn’t it allow me to be more efficient?  I can respond to client and work-related requests right away, check on my children, connect with friends on Facebook, Linkedin, Google+ and more.  Relax, I told myself, and enjoy the moment.  

Selfie with daughters
Selfie with daughters

Luckily, I did make it on time, thanks to the Skyway.  And, my now grown-up daughters were at ATC, so they accompanied me to the store.   I decided to get not just a cable but a Boostcase as well as another back-up option for when I run out of power.  

So, here’s my challenge to the inventors out there.  Design a phone that gets charged simply by holding it.  Takers, anyone?