Letting Women Lead the Way

To celebrate International Women’s Day, Women’s Business Council Philippines (WomenBizPH) and the Italian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ICCPI) held a conference entitled “Women Lead” last March 8 at Dusit Thani Manila.  The conference featured five panels: Women Leadership, Women Entrepreneurship, Life Balance, Health and Nutrition, and Women in Professions and Career.  

I was honored to moderate the first two panels upon the invitation of the Italian Chamber.  Let me share what happened.

Leadership Panel.  All three women in the Leadership Panel have risen from the ranks, succeeded in male-dominated fields, set-up numerous organizations, served on various boards, and have garnered numerous local and international awards. 

First, we have our petite power woman president of the Women’s Business Council Philippines Ms. Rosemarie Rafael.  Ut as we fondly call her is chairperson and president of the Airspeed Group of Companies.  She founded Airspeed, a global corporate logistics company that provides freight solutions management, warehousing, distribution, customized logistics, and customs clearance.  During the pandemic, Ut launched new digital products, such as UnboxMe, Pinaspeed, SpeedGifts, and SpeedConcepts. She ventured into making innovative hot food boxes delivered to homes during the lockdown, under 1Sycamore Food Ventures, Inc.  Ut holds the distinction of being the first woman president of the Air Cargo Forwarders Association of the Philippines.  What I love about Ut is that she never fails to send an inspirational message to the members of WomenBizPH each morning, a great way to start the day with eyes focused on the Lord!

Next, is Rhoda Castro Caliwara, the president and chairman of Executive Genesis, a 27-year-old service contracting company.  Rhoda is also the president of the Philippine Association of Legitimate Service Contractors, Inc., an organization composed of registered service providers in the Philippines.  A mompreneur, she believes that women can have a greater impact in their communities and have the capability to generate income for themselves to help provide for their families.  She brings this message across in her inspiring YouTube Channel, negoSHEnte to bridge aspiring and seasoned entrepreneurs together.  

The third panelist is the ever-young and oh-so-beautiful Myrna Tang-Yao, who started as a micro-entrepreneur and built an empire of five companies: Goodyear Tires, Mattel Toys Barbie, Fisher Price, Hotwheels and V-Tech. She recently added the Italian brand Kiko to her stable of brands.  A staunch advocate of women’s economic empowerment, she served as chairperson of the Philippine Commission on Women from 2004-2010, is the founding chairperson of the Philippine Federation of Local Councils of Women and Filipino-Chinese Federation of Business Women and Professional Women of the Philippines, and the Chairman Emeritus of Pearl S. Buck, Philippines.

Here are some nuggets of wisdom I picked up from the discussion.  First and foremost is Servant Leadership, forging the path into the unknown and setting the example for others to follow, and looking after and taking care of your people.  There is a quote I came across, “If serving is beneath you, then leadership is beyond you.”  I am also reminded of Simon Sinek’s book Leaders Eat Last, where he says that leaders choose to go first into danger and put aside their own interests to protect their people.  

Next is the idea of hard work (yes, doubly hard because you must prove to the industry that you can do it despite being a woman) coupled with dedication, responsibility, and commitment, that all lead to creating a sterling reputation in the industry.  Passion and agility are added to the mix.  Discipline is critical as there are days when you may not be at your best, but you need to show up and lead.    

And then there was the reminder that our task as leaders is to create the next bench of leaders, and thus we need to mentor and sponsor women in our organizations to empower them, give them the skills they need to excel, open opportunities for them, and cheer them on.  As women leaders, it is imperative that we take the responsibility of supporting other women seriously.  Incidentally, WomenBizPH wrote a book called I am Woman: A Gender-Responsive Guide for Business and Corporate Leaders.

What I love most about this panel are two things: the panelists’ abiding faith in God and the power of prayer.  They were brave in declaring their faith in the Lord and being a witness to God.  This I found truly inspiring and committed to do more of.  They also believe in love, with partners who support them fully, like Pastor Joey Rafael, Jojo Caliwara, and Mike Hamlin, for me. And when our partners go ahead as in the case of Rhoda and me, then we draw on the beautiful memories to sustain us, and possibly open our hearts to new loves, just like Myrna who was beaming with new-found happiness.

Entrepreneurship Panel.  This panel interestingly enough featured a seasoned entrepreneur, a start-up entrepreneur, and a corporate leader helping MSMEs.

First was Marilou Peña-Koa, president of Euromode, a company she established 30 years ago today. As a young and aspiring entrepreneur then, she took a leap of faith, trusted her own instincts and moved back to Manila from Canada to open the first ESCADA luxury boutique in the Philippines. She’s seen the ups and downs, the ins and outs of the Philippine fashion retailing industry and willingly shared her experiences and insights.  The latest addition to her network of retail brands is MAX MARA, the iconic Italian luxury label that exudes the sophisticated European style and is famous for their 101801 coat.

In choosing to become an entrepreneur, Marilou said she didn’t want to work for someone else but because she was well traveled and used to buying clothes, she felt this was something she could easily do.  She didn’t have actual work experience when she pitched for the ESCADA brand, but the brand could see in her great potential for giving 100% focus, dedication and commitment in building the brand in the Philippines, and so they gave it to her.  She never looked back and just grew and grew the business.  Admittedly, there were ups and downs, as in any business, but she just took this on as part of life and went on.  Another factor for wanting to become an entrepreneur was Marilou’s having grown up in a family of businessmen.  This was the world she knew, and so it was like a duck to water.  It also helped that her family was there to help her finance her first venture.  

Second was Marjorey Rubio who had just flown in from Taiwan that morning to grace the event.  Marjorey is CEO of BEXCS Logistics Solutions, Inc., the first Blockchain Logistics Solutions provider that supports the growing numbers of MSMEs through effective and cost-efficient end-to-end logistic solutions.  They have 278 branches, including offices in Taiwan and HongKong.  While she started with a capitalization of only P70,000, her valuation is now at $2M.  Young Marjorey bagged ICCPI’s Innovation Champion award.

Well-educated and experienced, Marjorey started as a Virtual Assistant and Trainer who created ideas to make her client’s daily tasks more manageable and ensure a high return on their investments.  She built an arsenal of virtual tools and CRM platforms that helped clients in various industries like real estate, training, sales and customer service. With all the experience under her belt, she decided to go on her own and set-up a start-up venture.  But what really drives Marjorey is her desire to take care of her autistic child who is dependent on her, 24/7.  Marjorey admitted the hardships encountered, saying there were times she wanted to give up, but realizing that her child needed her, she soldiered on as best she could.  Getting positive feedback from the MSMEs starting their own businesses is another reason for her to carry on, knowing she can help them succeed.  It helped that her husband was very supportive.

Our third panelist was Angeline Po, product marketing head of Globe Business MSME Group.  Angie has  17 years of experience leading various telecommunication arms, such as VAS/Content, Prepaid Mobile Data Service Business and the Postpaid business.  Today, she takes on Core and ICT Product Marketing and Management, Enablement and Integrated Marketing, helping MSMEs become telco and tech-enabled.

Angie, as she is better known, shared Globe’s various initiatives to help MSMEs manage the now normal.  Under 917 Venture, Globe has a Fundspace that allows MSMEs get access to funding and guides them throughout the process.  This is one welcome initiative as access to finance can make or break a business, especially daunting for smaller businesses to apply for funding or loans.  She has worked with MSMEs and seen how they prosper once they embrace technology and digitally transform their businesses.

And just like our Leadership panelists, our Entrepreneurship panelists talked about the importance of faith and prayer in their life, and how their partners are very supportive of what they do.  Kudos to the husbands of our panelists who were there cheering their wives on, with special mention to Pastor Joey and Johnlu Koa.  May your tribe increase!

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