Domestic helper-turned-CEO shares secret to success

MANILA, Philippines - Rebecca Bustamante, founder and president of recruitment company Chalre Associates, has been hailed as one of the most successful CEOs in the country today. But she reveals that her current state of life is a far cry from her impoverished youth. Know her success story in today’s episode of Powerhouse, which airs after Dading, on GMA 7.

Even at a very young age, Rebecca knew hardship. Growing up in a big family, they were so poor that she would rather make a living than play and have fun like what the other children her age were doing. She would think about putting food on the table and selling things to help her parents earn money for her 10 younger siblings. She would also help her mother sell fish in the public market of Dasol, Pangasinan.

Her strong desire to give her family a better life compelled her to take any job that came her way. She worked as a helper to different families in her hometown. However, she didn’t receive any salary but instead, her employer sent her to school. She agreed with such arrangement because she wanted to finish her studies.

Fueled with strong faith and determination, Rebecca took her chance and decided to become a domestic helper in Singapore when she was 19. In her years of working there, she never had a day-off. She would spend her free days studying accountancy because she believes in the importance of education. 

Using the money she had saved from her wages, she immigrated to Canada where she finished her graduate studies in accounting and established a recruitment agency. Later, she returned to the Philippines and founded Chalre Associates, a management recruitment partner to multinational corporations throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Rebecca welcomes Powerhouse host Kara David in her home in Parañaque. The house that she bought in 2013 has a Mediterranean and tropical architectural theme.