Melanie T. Oteyza: A Nurturing Mom at Home and in the Office
An endearing mother not just to her children but also to her employees, Meralco Senior Vice President and Chief Audit Executive Melanie T. Oteyza values the company as her second home where she nurtures not just her professional career but also those of her staff.
As one of Meralco’s leaders, Mel—as she is fondly called— has cultivated a culture of inclusivity and diligence within her team. At the heart of the 53-year-old executive’s leadership philosophy, lies a simple yet profound principle: love and family, proving that she’s not just a mother of three but a mother to her 38 employees as well.
“I consider Meralco as a family and it’s like an extension of my home, I stay here more in terms of hours and I work with a lot of people here, so I don’t consider them as just mere colleagues, but as members of our family,” she said.
By affectionately referring to her team members as “anak”, Mel extends a maternal embrace that instills a sense of belongingness to the group.
“Whenever we’re here in the office, it’s like a sense of home. In the Internal Audit office, I call them kids, because I act like a mother to them, and they are my kids. So, I really call this office my home” she emphasized.
Beyond the confines of the corporate corridors, Mel’s nurturing spirit lights
the way for her own family, especially her children—Louis, Mary and Miguel— ensuring that they remain her top priority.
“I would sacrifice everything for my children and for my family,” she said.
As a corporate leader, Mel highlighted how Meralco provides a conducive environment for working mothers to grow professionally without sacrificing their roles at home with various programs such as the Meralco’s Yes You Can! (YYC) Program—a coaching and mentoring initiative led by the distribution utility’s female executives.
The YYC program is geared towards helping women managers and supervisors gain more confidence and self-awareness so they can unlock their full potential as leaders and achieve their career development objectives.
“In the YYC program of Meralco, we
nurture the female and working mom employees in terms of their career development by providing mental and physical programs for them,” Mel said.
As someone who has clearly succeeded in balancing career and family, Mel offers this advice to her fellow working moms: “Sometimes, mothers want to take on everything with their own hands. It’s nice to remember that you can ask support from your parents, your mom, your husband, your family, and even in the office,” she said. “Moms may seem like superheroes but they’re human beings too like everyone else.”