Ayala patriarch retires, ends 49-year career

Yesterday marked the end of a very important chapter in the history of the 172-year-old Ayala Corp. as company patriarch Jaime Zobel de Ayala formally stepped down as chairman of the board, a position he held for 22 years.

He presided over the stockholders’ meeting for the last time, marking the end of his active involvement in the management of Ayala Corp., the culmination of his 49-year career with the company.

"It is with a great deal of gratification and shared pride that I look upon Ayala today and see an eminently successful and highly respected company that has progressed so far beyond anything I could have imagined when I first came to work for the company as a young executive assistant in 1957," Don Jaime, obviously choked with emotion but also beaming with pride, told stockholders.

When asked why he was stepping down as chairman, he jokingly replied: "Tama na, sobra na, palitan na," a phrase that reminded many of the listeners of his active involvement in the people power revolt in February 1986.

Borrowing a quote from his late uncle, Joseph McMicking, he added: "One wonders why so many people think they are immune to old age. I have never found anyone indispensable so why not exit smiling when Ayala’s brightest net income is great and go when hopefully one is still wanted?"

He recalled that when he first joined Ayala Corp. 49 years ago, it was a very private company that kept a very low profile and shunned all publicity. It was then still a partnership composed of members of the family that descended from its founders in 1834. In 1968, Ayala was incorporated and eight years later, it went public and was listed on the local stock exchange.

Aside from Ayala Corp., the group has five other listed companies, namely Ayala Land, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Globe Telecom, Manila Water and Cebu Holdings. "We have gone into important partnerships with large international companies and have enjoyed the benefits of an excellent working relationship with them," he said.

As a 172-year-old company, Ayala continues to grow "and will continue being dynamic and ever faithful to its traditional values and principles, ever conscious of its role in economic development, and its obligation to contribute to the betterment of the quality of life for the Filipino," Don Jaime said.

Early years

In presiding over Ayala’s annual general meeting for the 23rd and last time, the patriarch of Manila’s oldest business house said: "As I look back on all these years, I reminisce about the decisions I had to make at crucial times. No doubt, I have had my share of triumphs and disappointments — but on balance, the overall experience has been gratifying and rewarding. It has been an immensely fulfilling professional life."

Born in 1934, Don Jaime has been with Ayala for close to 50 years and has served as chairman of the board of directors and executive committee for 22 years since 1984.

In 1957 at age 24, he joined Ayala as an executive assistant after earning a bachelor’s degree in architectural science from Harvard University.

"Age 24 was when I came in to Ayala. I was given a job as a clerk. I took pad papers from one to another. I would attend Mancomm meetings. I took notes and, no, I wasn’t special. I was there in one little corner, with the lawyers that attend. I was just taking notes, doing minutes. And then they put me at the training section of the insurance companies. That was the more serious part of my earlier years. That was my launch, when I really started just being one of the boys," he recalls.

Largely credited with the transformation of Makati into the financial district that it is now, Don Jaime humbly explains that the original Makati was built on a 25-year plan which he says he didn’t start. "I took advantage of the things that were given to me and I managed them, thankfully, properly. At that time, I think it was a trend to make everybody a generalist. They kept shifting people from one position to another because they wanted them to be well-rounded. I changed that completely, dramatically. I said no, each one is going to be responsible for their jobs. I have always been a consensus builder. I like to talk to people, even in my heart I like to reach out. I trusted the people I appointed and although I was closely following what they were doing, they were very talented and we started off to a new era so everybody was kind of gung-ho. It was the new dawn."

In 1986, Don Jaime figured prominently in the EDSA revolution that eventually toppled Ferdinand Marcos. He explains that the death of former senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino was crucial in their decision to go out on the street. "Ayala has always been apolitical but this was a time that you knew that you had to be political, there was no other way. Filipinos were united and they were working for a cause and Corazon Aquino was our symbol. And therefore in that kind of environment, it’s good to work. It was a new leaf, everybody was noble. It was a beautiful period. There was a golden period in the Philippine environment and I so happened to be there."

His eldest son Jaime Augusto recalls that his father was very instrumental in making that transition at the key moment in the economic history of the country. "We’re believers in empowering people, getting the very best executives, giving them ownership in companies as well as in aligning their interests as well to the owners and so we act in unison as a team… as a team of peers."

Passing the baton

Don Jaime officially ended his active involvement in the company’s management in favor of his two sons Jaime Augusto (or JAZA) and Fernando, who were named chairman and CEO and president and COO, respectively, during yesterday’s board meeting.

He fondly reminisced about the days when his two sons first came back from Harvard.

"They came from Harvard, very well-read and very well-trained, but they had to prove their worth. It was a challenge because they were all up against the ante. They didn’t want to work in Ayala. I kept telling my wife, I gave them too much independence and I felt I was losing them. And so I called them back and said, ‘Let me ask for one thing. Come back for a year, choose your field and find out what Ayala is all about — not as leaders but as line people — and if you find it exciting and you think you want to spend your time here, you’re more than welcome because I’m alone here.’ And they never left," he narrated.

The family patriarch says he could have extended his term to 60 or 70 years but decided that this was a good time. His two boys had assumed areas of responsibility. "They had to be recognized and accepted by their superiors," he said.

He notes that his sons Jaime and Fernando have brought their own styles to Ayala Corp., but he hasn’t interfered with them, since as chairman he was there more to offer guidelines.

"He knew who to trust and then listened very carefully to them," Fernando says of his father. "He’s a person that you can communicate with very, very easily. The affection of the employees and the executives for my father came from this — he’s just extremely good with people."

For his part, JAZA said: "He’ll say ‘What is your idea? How do you want to implement it?’ You say this and that, and then he says, ‘Okay, I trust you.’ And with that trust comes a greater sense of commitment in many ways because it’s all on your shoulders. You know he’s there to give you support if you need it, but you really want to come through based on that trust."

But the father says he doesn’t take credit for the things his sons do. "They value my opinion and I value theirs and it’s a strong relationship. But I think I do take credit for the fact that, again, I never waver from my concept. If the person has talent, I give him the opportunity, and I did that with my two children, with reservations of course. because I was their father so I put them in charge, not under me but under tutors that I knew would develop them. The philosophy is simply: Do it right, do it well. Is it right? Is it just? Is it innovative? Is it challenging? We want to live by those standards, by our principles. This was something that is really passed on from generations."

When people ask whether he is an artist or a businessmen, Don Jaime says he is both.

"You see so many beautiful things in nature. That’s where you see God’s creation. When I go out walking on my own with a camera, I kind of relate to nature and when I relate to nature, I relate to God," he explains.

He adds: "To go through life and find out that you’re an old man and that you have not been able to expand in things that are not necessarily business but they enrich your mind, I find that that’s part of life. Why do you write, why do you dive, why do you love mountaineering? I think it’s part of one’s life and you do it with passion."

JAZA, meanwhile, describes his father as something of a Renaissance man. "Interaction and decision-making become far more interesting than having a single-minded view of how things evolve," he said.

Ayala Corp. took seriously corporate social responsibility even before it became a byword in the business world. Don Jaime explains why.

"There is something in the Filipino that is refreshing. Cross the street at the most difficult place, at the most difficult time, and you will see two people crossing and laughing. That they have the time to laugh even if you know that when they go home, they’re probably going to live in a shanty but still they have it in them to be happy, even if they are not. And there’s a lot of that. Unfortunately, too much of it, the poverty," he muses.

"You try and help wherever you can. And you don’t want to be a dole-giver that doesn’t build anything. To understand the human condition, to know that we are privileged, and that we have to give out, that we have to reach out, that is part of our corporate social responsibility," Don Jaime adds.

The legacy

People will remember Don Jaime in different ways, but there’s a common denominator — he is first and foremost a good man.

Fernando says that the strongest and most valuable legacy that they’ve received is the amount of trust that stakeholders have in the brand and in the company. "He’s constantly reminding us about that, how difficult it is to build and how easy it is to break. For him really the behavior of the company, the managers, the way we handle partners, employees, stockholders has been a very, very important legacy.

"It is the stability and predictability that will be his legacy. We tend to be conservative as a group. There is this legacy we have to ensure that we pass on the company to the next generation in a stronger way. We are in a lot of critical industries and we need stability in the shareholder base," he adds.

JAZA, for his part, says the single-minded focus his father has maintained on those issues is something that has filtered down into the way both he and his brother do business and has helped mold them as individuals.

Don Jaime is no doubt admired by the entire business community of this country, and of course, his Ayala family.

BPI president Aurelio "Gigi" Montinola describes Don Jaime as very supportive and nurturing. "And it is important that you have a chairman who is well respected and loved. And he picks the best people," he said.

Globe Telecom president and CEO Gerry Ablaza for his part says that what he admires most about Don Jaime is his "humanness."

"He is a man of honor, an excellent chairman, very professional, but most importantly, a genuine human being," Ablaza said.

When asked what his plans are after retirement, Don Jaime says "that’s a secret."

But Ayala Foundation president Vicky Garchitorena expects to see more of Don Jaime, who is now free to devote his undivided attention to his other passions. "The Ayala Museum, for one, is his baby. And of course, his photography," she said.

JAZA and Fernando, meanwhile, agree that their father will remain a guiding spirit in the company. "His presence will still be available and he will have a continuing influence in the affairs of the company. His voice will always be highly respected and I guess, he will be the third vote," JAZA noted.