9TH AmCham BOP Day 3: Learning first-hand

9th AmCham BOP Day 3:

Learning first-hand

by Aldwin Chester Yap Dumago, AmCham BOP 8 Alumnus

Everyone was excited for the first round of company visits of the 9^th AmCham BOP. They had breakfast together with Mr. Rick Santos, President and CEO of CB Richard Ellis, at the AmCham Hall on Monday morning.

Mr. Santos focused his talk on leadership. He posed the question to the delegates, “If time and money were no object and success were guaranteed, what would you do?” and asked them to write their answers on a sheet of paper. He asked the delegates to send him an email of their answers to the question. The best answer will be recognized during the Awards Night and the winner will receive a mobile phone.

He continued to expound on his topic by citing famous leaders like Efren Penaflorida, Warren Buffett, Tony Meloto, Manny Pangilinan, Henry Sy, Jack Welch, Walt Disney, and Mahatma Gandhi. He also showed a video clip from the movie “Remember the Titans.”

“Be ready to change and adapt to the international world. If you want to be successful going forward, you look back to the piece of paper you’ve written on this morning,” he said. Apart from sharing other leaders’ success stories, he was also very generous to share to the delegates his personal story.

He then talked about the positive outlook of the Philippines under the administration of President Aquino. He cited the boost in investor’s confidence and financial health of the country. “Now is the best time for the Philippines; now is your best time to shine as leaders,” he said.

The delegates were all excited for their first company visit—Mead Johnson Nutrition at its headquarters in Makati City. The group was warmly welcomed by Mr. Paul Richards, MJN Country Manager, and his management team. He presented the history of Mead Johnson Nutrition worldwide as well as its local unit which has been in existence for more than 60 years. MJN Philippines is the fourth largest MJN subsidiary around the world and the second in Asia.

The delegates became more interested when Mr. Richards explained the different MJN products and how they are being marketed commercially. He said MJN’s strength is on strategy. “Marketing has no science; it’s all about creating a demand for your product and getting them to buy it,” Mr. Richards shared to the delegates.

He discussed the career opportunities in MJN. While they do not recruit new graduates, he was quick to add that MJN will be very happy to get BOP alumni after they get sufficient work experience from other companies. He also gave an unsolicited advice to the delegates, “Leap frog while early than to move from one company to another after 20 years.”

Lastly, he reminded the students of the significance of having a long-term goal but living life one day at a time. “Don’t sacrifice your health, your peace of mind, your friendship, your relationship, your family; you may be missing out on life trying to achieve your goal.”

The delegates were given a tour of its state- of- the- art facility. There, they were able to see first-hand how the milk products are placed in foil packs, then into cartons and, finally, into the boxes which are ready for warehousing and distribution. The fully-automated process made the delegates understand how an assembly line format of manufacturing works.

A buffet lunch was hosted by MJN. The executives sat down with the delegates to entertain their questions. The delegates wasted no time asking as many questions about product development, marketing strategies, company outlook, people management, and the whereabouts of the iconic Susi and Geno mascots of Sustagen, one of MJN’s premium brands.

The next stop for the delegates was Chevron Holdings at RCBC Plaza in Makati City. They were welcomed by Mark Quebral, Regional Manager for Human Resources, and Chevron employees to its training room. The topic on fuel and energy picked the interests of the delegates in view of the rising oil prices and looming power crisis. “It’s getting harder and harder to look for petroleum; oil in the Philippines is scarce,” Mr. Quebral said.

Chevron’s corporate strategy of enabling people has become an effective tool in achieving the companywide mission. “To ensure we have the right people with the right capacities at the right time, we create a world-class, high- performing, diverse global workforce, develop and manage our talent to ensure we have the organizational capacity to execute our strategies,” he explained.

Mr. Quebral took time to explain the Chevron Malampaya Asset, the biggest investment in the Philippines to date, and Chevron’s geothermal plants in Tiwi, Albay and Makban, Batangas. Chevron is the world’s leading developer of geothermal energy and the Philippines is the second largest producer of geothermal energy in the world after the US.

In Chevron, everyone puts a premium on safety according to Mr. Quebral. To prove the point, he presented a video on the companywide effort to ensure the safety of all its employees and stakeholders.

Tom Miclat (BOP 2 alumnus) and Jonalyn Andal (BOP 7 alumna), now Chevron employees, were present throughout the presentation. Ms. Andal shared her work experience on her six months of working with Chevron.

By 400pm, the delegates were back at the AmCham Hall to take the Test of English for International Communications (TOEIC) by John Hopkins International. The two- hour examination tested the listening and reading skills of the delegates. Results of the test are to be released and special citations will be given to the top scorers during the Awards Night on Saturday.

Shortly after the test, they had a forum on business integrity and corporate values by Ms. Grace Sorongon, Vice President of John Clements Consultants, and Mr. Richard McGonegal, President and Managing Director of RCG Information Technology Philippines. One delegate asked about the ethical parameters for employees who communicate thru social networking sites while another one asked about cases of employees sharing confidential information to people outside of the company.

Afterwhich, the delegates had their case mentoring with Mr. Tully Moss, a well-known educator of Harvard Business School programs and consultant to several multinational companies, and Ms. Carol Dominguez, President and CEO of John Clements Consultants. Both helped the groups work on their business plans.

9th AmCham BOP Day 2: Making sense of the case

9th AmCham BOP Day 2:

Making sense of the case

By Aldwin Chester Yap Dumago, AmCham BOP 8 Alumnus

It was a relatively “free and easy” day for the 32 delegates of 9th AmCham BOP since they did not have any activity until lunch time. In preparation for the case mentoring session later that day, everyone reread the case while having late breakfast at McDonalds.

Ms. Grace Alcid, a training expert of Harvard Business School case studies by John Clements Consultants, brought with her a variety of hair and skin care products by Splash Corporation and distributed them to the five groups to help them have a better grasp of the case study.

Right after lunch, Ms. Alcid immediately engaged the groups into a fruitful discussion. Together, they identified the challenges of Splash Corporation based on the scenario written on the case. Reading the case one day ahead gave the delegates an advantage because it became easier for them to process the case study. The session, which lasted for about four hours, greatly helped the delegates understand the objectives of the case.

The delegates went on working on the case until late night with just a short break for dinner. The delegates look forward to the company visits beginning Monday until Friday, saying that insights from the company executives might give them fresh ideas that can be of help as they work on their case.

9th AmCham BOP gathers the best business students

9^th AmCham BOP gathers the best business students

By Aldwin Chester Yap Dumago, AmCham BOP 8 Alumnus

It’s the time of the year when “the best meets the best” in Manila for the annual American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) Business Orientation Program for Aspiring Business Leaders. A total of 32 undergraduate students from 25 universities and colleges all over the country were selected to be part of the weeklong program consisting of company visits, talks and a case study.

Now on its 9^th year, AmCham BOP offers well-qualified Filipino college students the rare opportunity to gain a new understanding of the global business and economic issues through a variety of activities that are geared towards preparing the future business leaders for the real- life business environment.

Of the 145 applicants for the program, only 32 of them passed the procedure which comprises written and online examinations plus phone and panel interviews. This year’s delegates come from Ateneo de Manila University, Ateneo de Davao University, Ateneo de Naga University, Ateneo de Zamboanga University, Xavier University- Ateneo de Cagayan, University of the Philippines- Diliman, University of the Philippines- Cebu, De La Salle University- Manila, Enderun Colleges, Far Eastern University, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, St. Paul University- Quezon City, San Beda College, University of Asia and the Pacific, University of the East, Holy Angels University, University of Baguio, University of the Cordilleras, Silliman University, University of San Jose Recolectos, and Mindanao State University- Marawi City.

Delegates who flew in from Davao and Cebu were the first to arrive at the AmCham Hall for the welcome lunch. Shortly before 1200 noon, all the delegates have arrived and the sumptuous lunch was served.

Ms. Leslie Ann Murray, 9^th AmCham BOP Chair, officially welcomed the delegates while Mr. Jeffrey Woodruff, AmCham Executive Director, gave an overview and history of AmCham Philippines. Mr. Robert Sears, AmCham Director, explained to the delegates what they should expect and do during the program.

Mr. Demetrio ‘Jun’ Salipsip, Director of AmCham Foundation, immediately engaged the delegates on how to go about the case study presentation which is one of the highlights of the program. The Splash Corporation case given to the students was from Nanyang Technological University of Singapore. Mr. Christopher Stolk, SEA Change Philippines’ Senior Director of Engineering, then facilitated the groupings of the delegates for the case study. The students had one hour to read the case and do a preliminary discussion before they checked in at AIM Conference Center, the official residence for this year’s delegates.

Shortly before 600pm, the delegates boarded the bus en route to South Forbes Park for the cocktail reception hosted by Ms. Leslie Bassett, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of the United States of America, at her residence in South Forbes Park, Makati City.

All the delegates, BOP alumni, AmCham members, BOP sponsors and partners, US Embassy officials and guests enjoyed the gastronomic showcase.

AmCham President Austen Chamberlain and Mr. Woodruff each gave their message to the students and sponsors. Meanwhile, Mr. Paul Richards, Mead Johnson Nutrition’s President and CEO, spoke on behalf of the sponsors of the program. He expressed his excitement towards meeting the delegates again during the visit and plant tour at Mead Johnson Nutrition’s headquarters in Makati City.

The 32 students were asked to go in front to introduce themselves to the crowd. Mr. Woodruff then gave the BOP delegates 10 minutes to interact with the AmCham members and sponsors. Immediately, the students dispersed and approached every sponsor and member around. On the other hand, the BOP alumni gathered around recalling their own experiences.

The cocktail reception ended with the traditional picture-taking session. The delegates thanked Ms. Bassett from graciously hosting them at her residence.

As early as the Day One, the delegates already showed their commitment and diligence in doing their case study. Upon arrival at the AIM Hotel, the five groups immediately convened to further discuss their strategies before they go for a more intensive case study and mentoring session on Sunday.

Thirty students join AmCham’s summer leadership program

Photo shows members of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, over 30 students of the 2011 AmCham Business Orientation Program (BOP), some BOP alumni, and several AmCham BOP sponsors.

Thirty students gear up for AmCham’s summer leadership program

Business Orientation Program set on April 2-9, 2011

(Manila, Philippines) – Thirty student leaders from various universities nationwide were selected to join this year’s Business Orientation Program (BOP) of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) on April 2-9. In the course of this week, the students will be exposed to the “real world” of business and have the opportunity to discuss business and economic topics with the country’s top CEOs.

The 30 successful AmCham BOP participants were among the 145 applicants for the program this year. The applicants underwent qualification tests and personal interviews by AmCham’s BOP committee members.

Among the schools represented by the participating students are UP Diliman, De La Salle University, Ateneo de Manila, Enderun Colleges, Far Eastern University, University of Asia and the Pacific, San Beda College, University of the East, Centro Escolar University, St. Paul University - Quezon City, Polythecnic University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Naga University, Holy Angel University, UP Cebu, University of Baguio, University of Cordilleras, University of San Jose Recoletos-Cebu, Silliman University, Mindanao University, Ateneo de Zamboanga University, Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan de Oro, and Ateneo de Davao University.

Now on its ninth year, AmCham continues to provide business college students skills enhancement and career opportunities. The program, which consists of a week-long schedule of activities, gives qualified college students opportunities to understand key international business and economic issues through site tours in multinational companies, in-depth discussions with management professionals, and project analysis and presentation.

Activities of the program include site tours in American multinational companies, seminars from AmCham member firms, business projects, and opportunity to interact with BOP alumni, US Embassy officers, AmCham Board of Directors and other AmCham members during a pre-program cocktail reception and the closing awards dinner at the end of the week.

Aside from exposing future corporate leaders to the “real world” of business and commerce, AmCham BOP, due to the participation of students from different backgrounds, also helps to enhance mutual understanding, cooperation, and communication skills – all valuable tools for their future in the business world.

“The American Chamber is really proud to have initiated this program for the benefit of tomorrow’s leaders, and is committed to continue providing this educational experience to support and contribute to the Philippine business community,” AmCham BOP Chair Leslie Murray said.