Page 6 - SEPTEMBER 2017 B ISSUE

6 www.hello-philippines.com
DDB GROUP CHAIRMAN CHUA, ON LEGACIES
AND LEADERSHIP IN PH ADVERTISING
MANILA – Some of the largest
companies in the world have emerged
from circumstances most people don’t
know about or would even expect.
Many CEOs have built their business
through what turned out to be some
inspiring motivation.
DDB Group Philippines is one such
corporate organization. Operating
out of five cities and represented in
seven other locations nationwide, it
has close to 3,000 project-based and
250 regular employees, with reach
across 10 million students, providing
integrated creative business solutions
for clients and their customers.
Its visionary leader, DDB Group
Chairman and CEO, Gil Chua, recently
shared his insights at the MSAP’s 2017
Media Congress in Baguio. Chua, who
marks his 60th birthday this weekend,
has chalked up a 40-year experience
in the industry.
Below are some of such interesting
insights, culled from years of
experience in a remarkable career:
Why is it important to look back
to one’s life? Or is it still necessary
to look back at one’s life? “One time
per week, I try to reflect on what
I’ve accomplished, the status of my
businesses, my relationships with my
partners and clients, and whether I
feel I’m providing value. I assess my
goals to make sure they fit within the
plan I have put together.
I have deep faith in God and I owe
my success to Him and His blessings. I
take time to pray and be grateful for all my dreams come true which are:
He has given me. I enjoy the moment,
and do all the things necessary to get
what I want and need to do. I always
try to make meaningful and lasting
connections.
But I don’t look back too long. I
learned that when I stop too long
to reflect and start praising myself, I
fall into complacency. Complacency
stunts growth both intellectually and
spiritually and wars against what I
aim to accomplish. Complacency is
the state of mind that can destroy
ambition and knock us down.
One of my favorites quotes is
from Pastor and Bible teacher Gillis
Triplett who said: “Of all the possible
avenues of life there are to live for,
complacency should be viewed as the
switch that killed the will to build.”
What was your dream when you
were six years old? A child at 13? When
you were 18? When you were 25? At
30? At 40? How would you compare
your dreams through the years to your
present reality?
“When I was six, my dream was to
be the Lone Ranger. When I was 13, I
wanted to be Namor, the sub-mariner,
Prince of the ocean. At 18, I wanted
BUSINESS & FINANCE
DDB Groups’s Gil Chua: At 60,
he has come full circle to “Lone
Ranger.” Handout photo, DDB
to finish college, and help out my
mother. At 25, I had three kids, and
I wanted to secure their future, so I
worked extremely hard, to learn the
ropes of media.
When I was 30, I was already a
managing partner for Advertising
Marketing Associates, Inc., we called it
vice-president then, leading accounts
handling Nestle and I wanted to be
president. At 40, I became president
and CEO remained so for 10 years,
until 2008 when my family and senior
partners took over majority ownership
of the business.
When I turned 51, from an
employee to a major stake holder
became the tipping point. That’s when
I knew, I had to work fast to make
• To future-proof my company
by diversifying key services
• Grow the business to be the first
integrated business solutions provider.
• Continue to be the agency of
choice of our clients, by having
a trusted relationship, providing
valued business solutions. powered by my managing directors,
• Build lasting friendship
with my partners.
• Secure a solid future for my
grandkids.
I’ve gone full circle–I am now,
the Lone Ranger. To be a leader, you
need many people to believe in you
to achieve your dreams. But to make
a decision to lead, that you have to do
on your own. Thank goodness for my
Tonto.”
What are you most proud of as a
man of 60? “Having my children. They
are and forever will be, the better
version of myself. They are not me, so
I know I cannot control their lives in
any way, but they are with me, as my
partners in business, my confidants,
my inspiration, my source of fun,
and my legacy. I am always grateful
to God for blessing me with them, to
share my life.”
You may be too young for this
question but what would you like to
leave as a legacy that will make your
children and grandchildren proud?
“The one thing I love about this
organization is that we help people
experience the gift of work. We help
talented Filipinos live meaningful
lives, part of which involves having
a job–a place to go each day where
they get to contribute, feel a sense
of purpose and provide value to the
nation, and the community around
them.
So my wish is for them to embrace
the gift of work, to grow the business,
provide more job opportunities to
Filipinos.”
As you mark your 40th year in
the industry, what stands out in your
memory as:
A. The most challenging. “CEOs and
leaders face many challenges and it
is our job to provide solutions, right?
People are not born with qualities like
effective leadership and innovation.
These can only be learned and earned
through hard work and diligence.
Sometimes, critical failures and
overwhelming odds can easily break
anyone and make them lose sight of
our aspirations. But CEOs do not have
this luxury. We have to be the role
models and consistently demonstrate
the conduct that will make a company
productive and profitable.
My biggest challenge has been
succession. Why? Because the
moment we get them trained to the
caliber we want, they get poached.
And then there’s no room for growth
for my leaders, because they can’t go
anywhere without a successor. But
we’re working on it.”
How did you handle it? “This is
why we started The Bernbach School.
It’s a people development program
to provide our future leaders and
managers with the skill sets, training
and tools they need to be the leaders
they aspire to become one day.
The Bernbach School leadership
and management programs, are
intensive live-in onsite, mini-MBA.
The participants go through four days
of mastery level Harvard Business
School and Omnicom University case
studies. The session is led by our Chief
Development Officer, Craig Lonnee,
and aided by our talent management
team. The program runs once a
year, with supplementary leadership
dialogues and mentoring of our
leaders all year long.”
How has it changed you? “It
made me understand that I have a
responsibility for the future of my
people, whether they stay or go. I see
them as my people and want them
to be better versions of themselves,
because it is important for me to help
others rise. Our culture of ‘People First’ and best citizen. Cumulatively,
made it our company goal to make
September 2017 / Fortnightly – No. 18 • UK & Europe Edition
the people around me and all whom I
work with better, and impacting their
lives through learning and sharing
knowledge.”
B. Most inspiring. How did it inspire 5. That all business leaders must
you? “I am a proud homegrown CEO.
Yes, I have been lucky to have amazing
mentors in clients and peers from all
over the world but what makes me get
out in the morning daily is knowing I
have—through the work that we do—
the power to influence and change
society for the better.
A few years back, I was talking
to a couple who I worked with. The
husband was overseas, to get better
pay, leaving his kids and family
behind. I thought, “another latchkey
child growing up with daddy issues…”
but this is a perpetual problem in our
country.
So I promised myself to be part
of the solution. One day, when I am
in the position to help, I will provide
job opportunities to Filipinos so they
don’t have to leave their families
behind. It is important for any child
to have a parent with them growing
up. Society will improve because the
values get passed on.
We started Field Outsource Asia in
2011 with 10 key champions. Today, it
is 3,000 strong and with a nationwide
reach. We hire and provide jobs from
their respective provinces, so they
always have their families nearby
and they don’t have to travel far. My
challenge for myself before I retire, is of engagement, that makes me happy.
to provide 50,000 jobs for Filipinos.”
C. Lowest moment. What it did to
you? “There is nothing quite like too
much success to create failure. Many
already know this, so I won’t dwell on
the past but more of what I learned.
uEarlier in my career, [I realized]
transparency is integral to any
business. I learned to take control
of all aspects crucial to our survival
and growth, people, product, profit
vWhen complacency, questionable
business practices set in. Turning
around an organization means
more than improving the numbers.
This happened to DDB, and
then I took the helm in 2008
and became chairman and CEO.
wThe only way to restore what was
now “broken” to become the “best”
was with values-based leadership.
I define values-based leadership in
terms of DDBEST5: best self, best
team, best partner, best investment,
these five bests encompass the
focus, discipline, integrity, humility
and consistency required to
generate credibility, engagement,
trust, and achieve a turnaround.
xI learned the importance of
constant communicating, I lost a lot
of people when I was at my lowest
due to lack of this. But I’m happy that
I know who my real friends are who
stuck with me during those low times.
always practice integrity. Trust opens
doors for you. Trust will make your
business not just survive but thrive.
D. Proudest moment. “There have
been so many firsts that we’ve done
for our country. We won for the
Philippines its first, and five at that,
grand prix awards from multiple
international awarding bodies for
SMART TXTBK in one year. I can
also mention the time when we won
our country’s first GOLD AMES for
#PACQUIAOPOSITIVE; when we
won the country’s first Campaign
Brief Asia Agency Of The Year for
Talent Management team; and, a
Gold Stevies for our client, Meralco.
The design for Lotus Awards
created by the young DDB PHL
art director was chosen among
hundreds of entries. We won the J&J
James Burke Marketing awards for
uncommon courage. It was us who
represented our country in the South
Korea AD Star New Star Competition,
by our very own ladies from Tribal
and they placed Crystal. All these
gave me immense joy.
When the work of a team gets
praised publicly by our clients, that
makes me proud and happy. When my
people are happy and have high levels
When we develop more leaders and
when I see my people working hard
together to achieve a common goal to
better the life of each other. When I
look back to where we were when we
started from 27 people to today… all
these moments make me proud.”
E. The secret to your success.
“Making time for myself. Self-
reflection. Prayer gives me self-
knowledge and self-awareness to align
my values, goals, what I stand for, and
what matters most to me. For a leader,
this is crucial: If I don’t know myself, I
cannot lead myself, and if I can’t lead
myself, I cannot possibly lead others. I
also practice consistency. If you cannot
replicate success then you fail making
more leaders and reaching our goals
to provide job opportunities.
Leadership is about having a
compelling long-term vision, a
comprehensive plan with a relentless
desire for storytelling, and generals
that know how to implement and
make talented people work together
to achieve the goal. It is about taking
time to make our people understand,
that we too, want>>toColnivteinumeetaonpinaggefu8l
lives.