Q1: When you took over the role of CEO for Sun Life Philippines in 2009, total premiums was declining from P13.1 billion in 2007 to P8.5 billion in 2008. By 2014, Sun Life has become the leading life insurance provider in the Philippines. What did you do to turnaround the business? A: It wasn’t just Sun Life whose premiums declined […]
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Q1: Question to PRA President & Duty Free COO Lorenzo Formoso: What regulatory changes are affecting retailing in the Philippines? “The Retail Trade Liberalization Act has been the most pertinent government regulation affecting the Philippine retail industry especially now that there are a lot of foreign brands coming in to the country. This Act protects Filipino retailers and at the […]
Q1: Before becoming an entrepreneur, you were the Marketing Director of Unilever Philippines and President/CEO of Unilever-Bestfoods, tell us what your most memorable launches are, both successes and failures, in your corporate life and why? A1: As Marketing Director of Unilever Philippines, I must say it was the launch of Surf detergent bar which was then followed by the launch […]
Q1: Congratulations on being part of the first batch of recipients of the Mansmith Market Masters Awards, the first and only recognition for senior executives based on outstanding mentoring of young marketers as brand builders. What is your people development philosophy? A: From my perspective, succeeding in developing people requires 3 elements – a compelling sense of purpose, an aligned […]
Q1: What have you observed as trends in the size and format of new retail stores and why do you think this is happening? A: The trend towards bigger stores has reversed the past 10 years. We now see the big organized chains building smaller formats, while small and medium size entrepreneurs continuing to open groceries and sari sari stores. […]
One of the questions often asked in my marketing seminars is about defending against attacks from competition and even substitutes. When brands become successful, they are bound to attract the attention of others who may want to share a piece of the pie. My advice to clients is to understand the pattern of competitive attacks and to never underestimate competition. Be sensitive to the obvious signs of a potential attacker – new […]
Q1: You are an industrial engineer and you started as a methods officer in the finance function in 1977 for Unilever (then PRC). How did this influence your thinking process in your long career in Customer Development? A: Industrial engineering, in my view, is the application of science in business. The professional advance of Customer Development (previously called Sales) from […]
Q1: Cisco is number one in 14 out of 17 product categories and a close second in the remaining 3 worldwide in the IT industry. What directions or factors have you identified to attain this remarkable performance? Cisco is the only company with market share leadership across all industry segments that we are engaged in. That is the result of […]
Last July 2012, I was blessed to be invited to speak at both the Asiannovation Conference of the Philippine Marketing Association (PMA), and the Franchise Asia Convention of the Philippine Franchise Association (PFA). I talked about marketing innovation in PMA while I talked about premium branding in PFA. In both talks, though I presented several marketing case studies, there was […]
Q1: As someone who rose from the ranks, what are some of your most unforgettable experiences while starting out as a rookie? A: Fresh from college, I joined Gillette as a sales trainee where all new recruits were required to survive the grueling 6-month long boot camp training. Each month, at least one trainee would be sent home for not […]