Must-read books for executives
Contrary to the perception that people do not read books any more, a recent study conducted by international business magazine, Inc. showed that most CEOs and executives read four to five books per month. According to angel investor and blockchain evangelist Brian Evans, “if they’re reading that much, then clearly there is still some value in picking up a book.”
A couple of coffee-table books on two organizations that originated in Spain and have been successful in the Philippines would be recommended reading for Filipino business leaders and game-changers. Spoiler alert!
ON THE MARCH
Subtitled The Jesuits in the Philippines Since the Restoration, this 276-page collector’s item published by Media Wise Communications was written by Fr. Jose Arcilla, SJ and edited by Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist John Nery.
Founded by Basque missionaries-turnedsaints Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier in 1534, the Society of Jesus (SJ) was originally called La Compania de Jesus and its members came to be known as Jesuits.
Divided into three chapters, On the March takes the reader on a historical journey as the Jesuits establish the Ateneo de Manila in 1859 and spread their educational mission to Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro, Naga, Davao, San Pablo, Tuguegarao, Cebu, Iloilo, and Palawan.
Executive publisher Ramoncito Cruz said the book “seeks to give the reader an overview of how these intrepid missionaries lived their lives, travelling from place to place bringing the good news.”
Copies of the book are available at the Philippine Jesuit Aid Association headed by Fr. Herbert Schneider, SJ. For individual and corporate orders, please contact Bernadette Filart or Rhia Ramirez via e-mail pjaa@phjesuits.org or trunkline (+632) 426-6101. LINEAGE, VISION, EMPIRE
That’s the title of the book on the life of Don Francisco ”Paquito” Ortigas, Jr. published by his son Fernando and authored by The Philippine Star columnist Alfred Yuson.
A third-generation scion of the Ortigas clan in the Philippines, Paquito was a visionary like his father Francisco Emilio Ortigas, otherwise known as Don Paco. The latter was the youngest son of Ignacio Ortigas, a 32-year-old Spanish Army commander who was assigned in Manila starting 1861, the year our national hero Jose Rizal was born.
Ignacio married Asuncion Barcinas of Pampanga and sired three boys before passing away in 1877. The young widow moved to Manila and enrolled her sons at Colegio de San Juan de Letran. The eldest, also named Ignacio, became a doctor while the second son, Miguel, died of food poisoning as a teenager.
Paco, the third son, went on to become an accomplished lawyer and industrialist. In 1920, he acquired the 4,000-hectare Hacienda de Mandaloyon from the Augustinian friars. He then formed a partnership called Ortigas & Co. in 1931 with Vicente Madrigal and Manuel Luis Quezon, who would later become the first President of the Philippine Commonwealth.
His marriage to Julia Vargas bore seven children. After his untimely death in 1935 aboard a trans-Pacific cruise ship, the management of Ortigas & Co. was left with his second son Paquito, who took up pre-law studies at De La Salle College and obtained his law degree from the University of the Philippines. Subsequently the Mandaloyon Estate was subdivided into the municipalities of Mandaluyong, Pasig, and San Juan, while some portions became part of Quezon City.
The 180-page book traces the genealogy of the Ortigas family dating back to the year 1400
in Spain, where their forebears served as advisers to kings. Learn how Paquito expanded Ortigas & Co. from the post-World War II era to the turn of the millennium when he lived to the ripe old age of 96. As a quintessential lawyer-businessman and philanthropist, he provided counsel to seven Philippine presidents from Elpidio Quirino to Fidel Ramos.
During his watch, the real estate empire encompassed Greenhills, Valle Verde, Greenmeadows, and Capitolio subdivisions as well as mixed-use developments such as the Greenhills Shopping Center, Tiendesitas at Frontera Verde, and Circulo Verde.
Recently, Emerald Avenue at Ortigas Center in Pasig City was fittingly renamed after Paquito. It is perpendicular to Ortigas and Julia Vargas avenues that were named in honor of his father and mother.
One of his sons said: “Our company position has been to get into partnerships with such entities as Ayala and SM. While we used to be regarded as the kings of Pasig, we are advisers to the Sys and the Ayalas now. They have taken over the company in more ways than one.”
Similar to the role they played in medieval Spain and colonial Philippines, the present generation of Ortigases is pursuing the legacy of their illustrious ancestors exemplified by Don Paco and Don Paquito.