Aguiluz’s true measure of success

Author Stephen Richards once said, “The true measure of success is how many times you can bounce back from failure.” This quote perfectly describes the life of Ambassador Amable R. Aguiluz V.

Amb. Aguiluz grew up in a large and happy family where he says that, all “were gifted with having strong family ties that allowed us to grow as individuals, while at the same time treasuring our commonly held values of discipline, determination, humility paired with ambition, and a high regard for all the correct principles of hard work and sacrifice, and most paramount, concern for everyman.”

He adds that, “Fairplay was inculcated in all of us early on. Honesty was, and remains, the prized attribute. All of these early lessons we all took to heart, and this has helped us further our reach at no expense to any of our fellowmen.”

A bright boy, he graduated salutatorian from a public school. Although he initially had difficulty in Ateneo, he aced Math, Algebra and Trigonometry in his report card. He placed second in the national exam for Physics in all of Mindanao. He admits, “And yet, my ambition then was to be a janitor. After talking to my dad and learning how much a janitor was making, I was already computing how much I would make monthly and yearly.”

Amb. Aguiluz moved to Manila and entered UP. He became a member of the Tau Alpha Fraternity. He shares, “History would have been different had I not joined it. It was in a frat shindig in 1963 where I met my wife Cielo. It was love at first sight. Competition was stiff but I won. In 1969, the best decision I ever made landed me a fortune, when Cielo accepted my marriage proposal.”

Amb. Aguiluz also has his own fair share of hits and misses in life but he never loses hope and like a true warrior, he faces the battles head-on. Unflinching in the face of adversity, drawing inspiration from his family that provides him strength and love.

Getting an early start in business, Amb. Aguiluz was not picky in the ventures that he would get into. In the past he sold anything and everything — imported rice and fertilizers, exported cement, pioneered in distributing low-priced calculators, sold insurance, distributed MD smokers kit and puncture-proof tires.

In June of 1978 all his hard work and diligence paid off when he was able to secure the franchise of Computerland. At that time, Computerland was the biggest computer retail network in the world. The franchise he acquired became the eighth in the world and the first in Asia. In January 1979, Computerland started operations in Manila, pioneering in selling microcomputers.

In 1980, AMA Institute of Computer Studies was born on the second floor of the David Building in Mandaluyong City. “We pioneered in advertising schools. We initially offered short-term courses. The computers came from Computerland inventory,” Amb. Aguiluz shares.

AMA became a college in June 1981 and offered BS Computer Sciences. There were only 13 students. “In a mini symposium, I announced to them that ‘AMA will be the largest computer science school in Asia.’ I think everybody laughed, including my wife Cielo.” Computerland was eventually closed to focus on the school.

Now at 70 years old, Amb. Aguiluz is enjoying a career milestone. Several milestones in fact. He has now ventured into the real estate and banking businesses. AMA has the biggest IT infrastructure in the country. There are now five brands: AMA University and AMA Computer College, ABE International Business College, ACLC College, AMA Computer Learning Center and St. Augustine International School.

“My father taught me never to rest on my laurels. And that for every dream realized, a new one must take its place. So the mantra of discipline was simply: Ambition, integrity, honesty and hard work. As we all know, my dad who was audit clerk in the national penitentiary aimed to become auditor general. And became one,” he says.

“It is not luck that led the way in getting us to where we are today. It has been hard work and diligence, fueled by continuing vision and strong inspiration. All of these are what have helped us build up an empire of the heart, which now reaches out to hundreds of thousands of people all over the world.”

He credits his parents for inculcating in him and his siblings the “love of education, respect for decency and integrity, and for abiding by hard work and burning ambition.”