Just 2 kids from the province at the Asia CEO Awards

Backstage at the Asia CEO Awards 2024 in the Mariott Manila Grand Ballroom sat two young men: one from Iloilo, the other from Samar. In the sea of multinational companies and giants from varied industries networking and exchanging cards, these two young men talked about their provincial lives and the very different businesses they led.

They were both Young Leader of the Year Circle of Excellence Awardees, waiting for the announcement of the Grand Winner.

One of them was yours truly, leader of Prometheus – the only award-winning full service marketing agency and public relations firm in Western Visayas. 

The other – the eventual Grand Winner – was Lenard Jabolin, President of Casapa Livestock Raisers Association (CLiRA), Inc.

And it’s easy to see why Mr. Jabolin won.

CLiRA, Inc. began in 2018 as the “Casapa Teens Group”, an organization focused on youth engagement and enjoyment. A few years later, the group was reorganized into the Casapa Youth Organization, now focused on youth empowerment through sports development programs. Eventually, in 2022, the organization was renamed into the Casapa Livestock Raisers Association, Inc. to reflect its transformation into a livelihood-based organization.

What began as a small group of teens became a livelihood association for its members. What an inspiring story indeed.

As we talked about the traffic in Manila, and our experiences in building our companies from the province, I learned that despite the differences in business models, backgrounds, and skills, our journeys had a lot of things in common.

We focused on our team more than ourselves. He made it his mission to help the members of his team by providing them opportunities with their skills. Success was not something that was actively sought, but a consequence of working with the responsibility to others in mind.

And the product of that focus was providing value for our clients/consumers. At its very core, that’s what business is after all: the exchange of value for money. There can be an argument over who may be the best in an industry, but the fundamental question is: are you providing value? In the province, where there is a little more quiet, the value you provide with your business is even more important.

Finally, we clearly aren’t used to the socializing aspect of owning a business. Where probably 95% of the awardees were from Metro Manila, Mr. Jabolin and I found ourselves seated in a small corner watching what looked like a club where everyone knew everyone.

Among the “Iba na this year ang Asia CEO ah” and the “Fourth year na namin dito sa Asia CEO”, these two first-timers from the province were just happy to just even be in the room and considered. 

And one of them walked away the Grand Winner.