- Published on Thursday, 22 November 2012 18:59
- Written by Roderick L. Abad | Special Features Writer
THE Philippines is seen as a key future player in the global market, but it needs world-class leaders to do so.
Chalre Associates
Executive Search Chairman Richard Mills told the BusinessMirror in an
interview that because of globalization, the country needs to have more
experienced and competent leaders to stir up the economy and,
eventually, make its presence felt more worldwide in the years to come.
“The Philippines has a
very young populace. While there are so many good quality young people
[here], there’s a critical need for high-quality senior managers to
develop them as good leaders in the future,” said Mills, who is also the
chairman of 2012 Asia CEO Awards.
A good leadership within an organization or a company is very important for its success.
This, among other factors, is dependent on the experience or time spent by its leaders to hone excellent management skills.
“So it is vital,
especially here [in the Philippines], where the population is very young
compared to other countries,” Mills noted.
The shortage of senior
managers, for instance, is very evident in fast-growing industries like
business-process outsourcing (BPO). Over the last 18 years, the BPO
sector rapidly has gone from employing roughly zero people to about
700,000 today—all of which are under the age of 35.
Industrywide, most of
the BPO locators at present are hiring young employees, averaging at the
age of 23 as compared to other countries at over 30 or even early 40s.
“As a result, it’s
very common to have a 26- or 27-year-old manager, managing either a
hundred, 200 or 500 people,” Mills cited. “The idea of that in other
countries would be considered risky.”
Such notion, nevertheless, seems to not dissuade foreign investors from doing business in the Philippines.
In fact, he said,
“most investors who come here are very impressed of the quality of young
managers” that they immediately have built large companies with them.
Taking a cue from his
own experience, he believes that most of the expats who come here will
agree that Filipino workers, especially the young ones, “have the heart
for what they do and they sincerely want to help other people and be
nice to them.”
Given their impressive
work ethics, however, Mills said they still need the right guidance and
direction from experienced leaders to be able to move up in their
careers.
“Unfortunately,
there’s a shortage of senior managers to develop them,” he admitted. “We
may have good quality of young people, but the one missing piece of all
of that that is critical is the management talent. We need more of them
[senior managers]. We have to develop their skills to be world-class
managers. Only by then that the country will move ahead. So this is the
purpose of the Asia CEO Awards—to promote excellent leadership and
management.”
The 2012 Asia CEO Awards
IN recognition of
leadership excellence within their respective organizations, 11
companies and individuals were conferred with the prestigious 2012 Asia
CEO Awards during the Oscars-inspired awarding ceremonies held at the
Resorts World Manila’s Newport Performing Arts Theater in Pasay City on
November 8.
The Asia CEO Awards is
an annual citation that recognizes leadership teams and individuals of
organizations operating in the Philippines and the region, who have
demonstrated outstanding achievement for their organizations and
contributions to others.
From over 150
contenders vying for the coveted 10 accolades, the winners in each
category were: Ayala Land for Executive Leadership Team of the Year; IBM
and Meralco, Top Employer Organizations; Doris Magsaysay Ho
(Magsaysay), Global Filipino Executive of the Year; Dan Spinks (Fluor),
Expatriate Executive of the Year; Smart Communications, Most Innovative
Company; Schneider Electric, Quality Excellence Company; Philippine
Stock Exchange, Most Admired Board of Directors; Pointwest Technologies,
Technology Team of the Year; Maersk Global Services Cent, Finance Team
of the Year; and Coca-Cola Bottlers, Sales and Marketing Team of the
Year.
They were adjudged
accordingly by the distinguished panel of judges, who are some of the
most accomplished and recognized figures in the business community in
the country, namely, Dr. Bernie Villegas, distinguished economist,
author and professor at the University of Asia and the Pacific; Don
Felbaum, founder and chairman of the ICT Committee and Health Committee
of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines; Edward Chang,
president of the Korean Chamber of Commerce Philippines; Francis
Estrada, independent director, chairman or vice chairman of a number of
major corporations and not-for-profit organizations; Jun Palafox,
president of the Management Association of the Philippines and principal
architect of world-renowned architectural design and planning firm
Palafox Associates; Nobuo Fujii, vice president of the Japanese Chamber
of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines; and Mills, Board of
Governors of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines.
“Each category was
different. But they [the winners] all seemed over the top [of their
game] or had something unique that they [the panel of judges] saw them
different from the others,” Mills said when asked about what made this
year’s batch of winners a standout from other finalists.
With an excellent
culture of leadership seemed so ingrained within their organizations, he
said they still have areas to improve on when it comes to managing
their respective businesses.
“If they want to make a
place in the global economy, they need to become world-class in
everything they do, such as the performance of their people and
business. They need to develop more of their young leaders. That’s where
they should focus on,” said the chairman of 2012 Asia CEO Awards.
More than 1,000 of the
nation’s most senior business leaders were all gathered to witness the
recognition rites. Hosted by Giselle Sanchez, John Henrix and Mills,
this year’s edition was a class in itself with world-class entertainment
numbers from internationally renowned stage performers Isay Alvarez and Robert Seña, with musical direction from Mel Villena and the AMP Big Band.
The 2012 Asia CEO
Awards was presented by American Express, in cooperation with the
BusinessMirror, Jones Lang LaSalle Leechiu, KPMG, NorthgateArinso, PLDT
Alpha Enterprise, Teleperformance and The Net Group.
In Photo: Coca-Cola Bottlers, Sales and Marketing Team of the Year
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