Alpha flight

Because of the overwhelmingly positive response from my three female readers on the feature of Uno’s Alpha Males: an interview with distinguished business icons who appeared in Uno magazine, I am featuring the last set of men who shared with me not only their secrets to entrepreneurial success but also their positive outlooks on the Philippine economy.

Given all of their achievements in the field business, I believe that you can consider these men as superheroes, except that they do not wear their underwear on the outside of their pants.

Willie Soong: The Polo Barong-and Maong-Wearing Captain of Industry

Everything about Frigate Holdings and Management Corporation’s Wellington “Willie” Soong is larger than life: his booming voice, his zest for life and his appetite for business. And what an appetite it is! His businesses include electronic integrated facilities management, modular office furniture systems, sound systems, power yachts, luxury cars (Jaguar, Land Rover, Range Rover, Maserati and Ferrari), and luxury watches. And pretty soon? Trail mix. Yup, trail mix.

Success is as success does

“One’s ambition must be tempered so it is never overcome by greed, or else you lose the objectivity of a certain perspective. Having said that, one must never run out of ambitions, but those ambitions must be tempered by reality. When you can find a balance between ambition and greed and reality, then you can still take on new opportunities as they come your way. In fact, there will come a point in your career that you will be offered opportunities that you were desperately seeking for in the earlier part of your career. That is a great compliment to what one has achieved.

“I don’t really equate success with financial wealth. I always measure success by what we are able to achieve. Are we able to successfully introduce a brand? Are we selling well? Are we building better relationships with clients? Are we growing the market? But more importantly, I measure success by the values that money can’t buy: reputation, transparency, integrity and commitment. That is the foundation of whatever I have worked hard for and have achieved.”

Ton Concepcion: “The key to success is an entrepreneurial mindset, especially in a family business setting. You have to be right-brained and you have to be more creative.”

Ton Concepcion: The Cooler King

Ton Concepcion breathes, sleeps, eats and thinks refrigerators.

That’s why it’s no surprise that this president and chief operating officer of Concepcion Durables, Inc. has made his brand of refrigerators, Condura Negosyo Refrigerators, the best-selling refrigerators in the country.

Staying cool while never running out of steam

“I’m really an entrepreneur. I don’t like people to think that I have been handed things on a silver platter. I wanted to do things on my own. For example, there was a telecommunications startup called Contel that I managed to grow to the number one trunk radio company in the country.

“When I graduated from college, I wanted to go out on my own. But out of a sense of duty to both my family and to my father, I felt that I needed to help out the family business. When I came onboard with Condura refrigerators, the business was in the red and we were the number six brand in the market. However, I told myself that this was an opportunity to beat a multinational and make a Filipino brand number one. It was also an opportunity to demonstrate that a family business is a strength and not a liability. And in six years’ time, we were able to turn around the refrigerator business.

“The key to success is an entrepreneurial mindset, especially in a family business setting. You have to be right-brained and you have to be more creative as opposed to multinationals that have rigid structures and an aversion to risk-taking. As an entrepreneur, you are always taking risks.

“Since we are a family-owned business, our family’s reputation is at stake when it comes to the quality of our products. So we think very long-term. Accountability to our local consumers makes a big difference, and that’s why I believe Filipino family corporations will dominate the market.”

Jerico Fernando: “To be successful, you need to know your market inside and out… Know what you are doing, enjoy what you are doing, and love what you are doing.”

Jerico Fernando Makes Music Sound Better

Jerico Fernando, who runs JB Music, has a confession to make. “A lot of my marketing ideas for the business come from the rockers and rappers that I see on MTV,” he laughs. The next thing you know, he wanted to run the family-owned JB Music business. But more importantly, he realized he was in the position to influence the local music industry. And, true enough, JB Music is currently the exclusive distributor of almost 60 percent of the musical instruments locally.

“I never imagined that I would be working in the music business, but now I can’t think of being in any other business. I love what I do, I love working and providing opportunities for our musicians, and I love introducing innovations to the musical instruments in the country.

“To be successful, you need to educate yourself about your industry. Know your market inside and out and understand its needs and wants. Be open-minded. Look at all sides and perspectives of the business. Always, always question your ideas. Mock yourself and see if you can get yourself through it. Finally, know what you are doing, enjoy what you are doing, love what you are doing. But don’t step on other people’s toes while you are doing it.”

JDan Palami: “Running the Azkals is like running my business. Your players come from different backgrounds. You have a goal, and you make sure that everybody’s focused.”

Dan Palami: The Original Azkal

When I first heard the name of the Azkals’ team manager, my mind’s eye came up with an image of a gray-haired mustachioed Italian man with a partly unbuttoned shirt that exposed his chest hair who managed the Philippine National Football Team. “My ancestor, my great-great-grandfather was of Italian descent. That has been diluted over the years, for many generations,” he notes. Dan Palami is as local as Leyte.

This is a man whose passion is now his business. Aside from being the CEO of Autre Port Global Inc., a Filipino-owned company that handles railway engineering services, which include maintenance, operations and construction of railway systems, Dan was responsible for making the Azkals a household name after their surprising semifinal finish in the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup and subsequent World Cup qualifier bids. Through his management, the Azkals have scored a goal in the heart of this basketball-loving country. 

Playing the game

“It’s important to have credibility in your niche. I think the reason why we’ve managed to get the contracts and to have clients here and abroad is because of this credibility. It’s helped that most of the managers I have are shareholders of the company, and therefore they take pride in doing their work well. Thus the success of the company is their personal success as well. And if you are proud of your work, this translates more work for you in the future.

“Running the Azkals is like running my business. Your players come from different backgrounds. You have a goal, and you make sure that everybody’s focused on what they have to do. You have a vision, you share it with your employees or your team, you make sure they’re all on the same page when it comes to achieving the objectives that you’ve set for the company or for the team. This has yielded successful results for my company and for the Azkals.”

Stephen Reilly: “I believe the tourism industry in the Philippines is primed for growth along with the consequent employment opportunities.”

Stephen Reilly Has Got Game (A Lot Of Game)

Ever since he came to the country two and a half years ago, Stephen has only slept once in his Makati apartment. But, really, who has time to sleep when you are the executive vice president of Resorts World Manila? This 16-year veteran of the Genting group believes that Filipino hospitality coupled with Genting’s Asian-centric customer management experience will be the key to Resorts World’s continuing success.

“The growth of the Philippine gaming industry is just starting and this is what makes it terribly exciting. I’ve spoken with a lot of long-term international gamers who come to the country and say, ‘Wow, I didn’t know you had this in the Philippines!’ I believe the tourism industry in the Philippines is primed for growth along with the consequent employment opportunities. If you look at the casinos in Macau, they wouldn’t have been able to operate them without Philippine labor: from the gaming tables to the food and beverage to the other hotel services.

“After all, how many places in the world can offer a population that is generally well-educated, English-speaking, Catholics in Asia and with a strong cultural heritage? Tourism-wise, the Philippines will soon be catching up with its Southeast Asian neighbors. With the investments and the hotels and the integrated resorts coming into the country, there is no question about it. The Philippines is going to take off.”

Willie Uy: “Opportunities are not there for everybody. So when it is right there in front of you, and you see a way for you to make good use of it, then go ahead and grab it.”

Willie Uy is a Big Loser

In fact, he’s already lost 80 pounds. And counting. But this 32-year mainstay of the Phinma Group of companies remains a heavyweight as the president and CEO of Phinma Property Holdings Corporation. And his shrinking waistline has been very good for business.

The profit of doing good

“One of the things I am very happy about is that I belong to a company where everything we do has to have social impact. My exposure to the Phinma culture and to our top management is such that I am given a free hand in coming up with the best quality product that must be affordable and offer great value for money.

“When it comes to business, nothing beats the value of hard work. Next, you must learn to recognize when opportunities come your way. Opportunities are not there for everybody. So when it is right there in front of you, and you see that there is a way for you to make good use of that opportunity, then go ahead and grab it. Lastly, be fair with whomever you deal with. When you deal fairly with persons or groups for a specific deal and then you have to deal with them again for a potential future deal, they will always favor you over anybody else because they know that you are not out there to take advantage of them.

“The best investment? Still real estate. I have yet to see a real estate investment where you actually lose everything. There may be times when the real estate cycle is on a downward turn and you lose 20 to 30 percent of its value. But in due time, if you’ve got the funds and you are able to hold out, you will recover the money and even double your real estate investment in five to 10 years.”

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For comments, suggestions or a bottle of Alpha Male testosterone, email ledesma.rj@gmail.com, visit www.rjledesma.net or follow rjled on Twitter.