Lending a lifeline
S]uccess [is] being able to enjoy your achievements, being contented with what you have and being able to make others happy by sharing your success with them.”
He was planning to pursue a medical career, but the business arena proved too enticing. So he ended up combining both worlds and went into health care supplies, where he is now a force to be reckoned with. Along the way, he changed his perspective on true fulfillment.
GREAT things come from simple beginnings. This couldn’t be truer than in the case of Rex A. Tiri, chief executive officer and founder of Lifeline Diagnostics Supplies Inc.
With family ties rooted in the municipality of Magsingal, Ilocos Sur province, Rex reveals that his parents, Laurente and Carlina, did not finish high school and married before they even turned 20. “Our house was three kilometers from the highway on a dirt road,” he recalls. “That was where I was born and where I grew up until high school.”
Despite their hardships, the Tiri couple was able to provide their brood of six with an education. “I have always been amazed [by this],” he says. Eventually, his parents were able to establish a small trading business that allowed them to overcome their financial hurdles.
Supply salesman
Rex, a graduate of medical technology of Manila Central University and a registered medical technologist, was, at first, poised to pursue a medical career, but chose the business field instead. “I forgot all about becoming a doctor when I was given a chance to become an entrepreneur at 28,” he says. “I grabbed the opportunity and never doubted myself. This is what I wanted to do.”
After college, Rex had a short stint at the College of Public Health of the University of the Philippines Manila as a research assistant. He then tried being a medical representative at multinational diagnostic supplies giant Abbott Laboratories. It was here that he discovered the in-vitro diagnostics (IVD) industry, which he describes is a branch of the medical supplies business that specializes in clinical laboratories.
“It was related to my profession as a medical technologist, except that, instead of doing the actual lab work, I would be the one selling the supplies,” he explains. “With being a future entrepreneur in mind, I tried to learn what I could as a young professional, including the ropes of the trade of the IVD industry. I thought that maybe this industry could be something I could learn from and work in later on.”
Rex’s perseverance paid off. His superiors noted his potential and moved him through the ranks to become district manager. It was at pharmaceutical manufacturing company Organon Teknika that he landed the national sales manager post.
“After six years [in these corporate settings], I felt then that I was ready to build my own [enterprise],” he says. “I believed that it was very important that one had enough knowledge about what he was getting into.”
For Rex, the decision to kickstart his own company was a sweeping one. “That was a paradigm shift [for me]; I took the plunge, a point of no return,” he says.
Blessed with youth, a promising future and no immediate family to feed yet, the aspiring executive went through a major lifestyle change. “I had to give up so many perks,” Rex says. “But I knew even then that it was important not to think only of the ‘now.’ Sacrifices had to be made to achieve goals.”
“Besides, success is sweeter if more challenges are encountered,” he adds.
Lifeline Diagnostics was launched in June 2000 with a mere five employees working in a 20-square-meter office space and handling only a few Metro Manila accounts. “Our first big break was when we were offered exclusive distributorship of Bio-Rad Laboratories nationwide,” Rex remembers with pride. “They approached us, likely due to my track record in the IVD industry.”
One of the largest IVD companies in the world, Bio-Rad Laboratories offers clinical diagnostics and life science research products. Thanks to this opportunity, Lifeline needed to expand. Currently, they are partners with several multinational corporations, including Illumina, Diasorin, Abbott Molecular and Siemens Healthineers.
Values intact
Growing Lifeline was not without obstacles: limited financial resources, people management, regulatory issues, customer complaints and product quality, to name a few. “You name it, I encountered them,” Rex says. “Many times I wanted to quit. The hardest challenge I faced, though, was how to keep my values intact. To act with integrity is something I learned from my father, and it is something that extends to the people I work with.
“I am proud of myself for not resorting to illegal or immoral means to advance my business. I think my father must be smiling at me from heaven. I hope I make him proud.”
Engraved on Lifeline’s office walls are four letters that Rex lives by: B-N-W-S — Believe, Never Quit, Work Hard, Share.
Belief in one’s own dreams alone won’t do it, according to Rex. “Believe in your God. There is a higher being that controls everything,” he says. This entrepreneur’s spirit never gives up (“Quitters never win!”) and keeps going, no matter how rocky the path: “It won’t happen overnight. There will be times you are too lazy to get up, but that’s normal. Find your motivation.”
Finally, he believes in sharing success, his driving force. He says: “When I was younger, my goal was to be an affluent businessman. To me, that was the ultimate definition of success. As I was on the verge of achieving my dreams, success took on an entirely different meaning. Now, I define success as being able to enjoy your achievements, being content with what you have and being able to make others happy by sharing your success.
“Whether material things, time or knowledge, take time to share. It will certainly give you that feeling of ultimate joy! Do it also not just because you want to feel fulfilled, but because it’s the right thing to do.”
Lifeline, Rex adds, has been instrumental in the fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). “We’re in the business of health care, so we’re fortunate that there is not so much negative impact in terms of business. Some of the products we have are Covid-19 testing kits, PCR machines and other consumables needed for testing.” He also says that, although his people are working from home during this time, the workload is just as heavy, especially since they are at the forefront of supplies provision.
“Our engineers and specialists are also on the frontlines, as we need to continue our support [for] the hospitals and testing laboratories,” Rex says. “More than ever, it is now that we have realized the company’s mission to provide quality diagnostic and research products that will ultimately benefit Filipino patients.”
When Rex isn’t busy with leading Lifeline, he devotes time to HIIT (high-intensity interval training) exercises three to four times a week to keep himself in shape and defuse his sedentary lifestyle. He also owns Limbaga 77 Café and Restaurant on Limbaga Street, near Tomas Morato Street in Quezon City, where, in the pre-Covid 19 era, he would have been entertaining friends. “I spent most of my free time there. I love talking to people over food and drinks,” he says. Another favorite spot of his is his rest house in Pangasinan province. Overseas travel was likewise a frequent pastime of Rex’s when he was younger, but that has been put aside for some time now.
As if those weren’t enough, Rex also produces movies. “[It’s] something I like doing on the side,” he says. “My being a film buff made me think of making this a business, as well.” He has been behind such projects as “Ang Buhay ni Hermano Puli,” “Patay na si Hesus,” “Deadma Walking” and “Open.” Each one starred a prominent actor: Aljur Abrenica in “Hermano Puli,” Jaclyn Jose in “Hesus” and Arci Muñoz in “Open.”
It appears that whatever Rex touches turns to gold. With integrity and a boundless drive to achieve, the field of local medical technology is definitely in good hands.