Lady of good fortune
We’re very lucky because women in this country are of equal footing to men. What men can do, women can also do, if not better.
While the inclusion of Olivia Limpe-Aw in the Forbes Asia list of Power Businesswomen for 2020 has been received by her countrymen with great joy, her associates in the Philippine business sector, tycoons and business leaders like her, were not surprised.
This is one charming, lovely lady who has not only successfully steered the centuries-old family business of liquors and spirits with a combination of grace and business savvy, but also proven herself adept at navigating the critical waters of commerce and industry at this most difficult time of the pandemic.
If my dad was more like ‘you watch, observe and learn,’ I myself would really teach because I am a mother.
As cited by the Forbes Magazine, she was one of 25 business leaders who “have risen to that challenge (global pandemic) and are demonstrating their mettle in these difficult times.”
As the nation celebrated the beginning of the Year of the Metal Ox, the Daily Tribune invited Olive to guest on Spotlight, the lifestyle show streamed on YouTube channel TribneNOW and Facebook page @tribunephl. Hosts Dinah Sabal Ventura, deputy managing editor, and Jojo G. Silvestre, Social Set editor, interviewed Olive who spiritedly shared her success story as the lady chairperson and CEO of the
Destileria Limtuaco.
Work with what you have Daily Tribune (DT): How have you been doing during the pandemic?
Olivia Limpe-Aw (OLA): We continued working. We didn’t really stop. But in between, during the weekend, I unwound and practiced my cooking. I went back to cooking because we could not dine out. So it was important to create meals and I had to think of what we missed from the pre-pandemic days. I also went back to baking and tried my apple pie and cheesecake again. So that kept me busy. Also, because health is so important now, I think the best way to stay healthy is to exercise, get sunlight and sleep.
DT: How did you cope with the challenges that your business faced during the first year of the pandemic?
OL: Before the ECQ (enhanced community quarantine), we were already thinking of what would happen if this pandemic should progress. We wanted to create sanitizer alcohol even before ECQ was announced. So we were already working for the requirements of that product and we were pushing for its execution with the help of DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) and BoI (Board of Investments). We were able to facilitate the shift into sanitizer alcohol and, by the end of March, we were able to release our product, Consumer Protect. It was very quick for us because we planned it even before ECQ was announced by the government.
We were thinking that should something happen, such as a shortage, we would be prepared for it. You have to have a little bit of foresight because when the ECQ is there, it would be difficult to do it because offices are closed. If you want to adapt, you must work with what you have. The first thing we did was to use our liquor bottles because that’s what we have. We used our whiskey bottles and caps. We finished the labels in one day and we prepared a supplier for our labels that can deliver in two weeks time. We were able to supply this to Mercury Drug. If you want to be able to adapt, you should have raw materials, manpower and people in compliance.
And then after we did the sanitizer alcohols, and then the soaps, but that took a little longer because by the time that we had manufactured the soap, the Bayanihan I law was completed already. We had to wait until the Bayanihan 2 would resume with the soap product.
But, in between, we thought of what we could still do so we heard of this Chinese medicine from Denver. MMDA chairman Benjamin Abalos and Senator Bongbong Marcos took it. In China, it is an approved medicine so we thought, why not try bring it to the Philippines? So I decided to try. I applied for the registration of this medicine sometime in late April or early May and, by August, we got the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) registration. This is a traditionally used Chinese medicine approved by the FDA in the Philippines. It has really helped a lot of Filipinos and Filipino-Chinese to recover from Covid-related symptoms. It is known to help alleviate the symptoms of Covid-19.
For my next project, I’m working with Sputnik V, the Russian vaccine. I’m working with the Russian investment fund and we are the ones helping them with the registration for the Emergency Use Authorization in the FDA.
For the future generations
DT: How does your family celebrate the Chinese New Year?
OLA: The same way we celebrate New Year. We will have dinner with the family. On my husband’s side, we follow this ritual called inviting the good spirits because my parents-in-law are Buddhists. They have this family tradition in which there is a specific place in the house where the doors are open and then we light our incense there and then we do our walk. From our garden, we will form a line and walk through to the altar. After dinner, we do that.
DT: There’s this common belief that among the Chinese, women are considered inferior to men. Apparently, that’s not the case with you family. Or does that really exist in the Chinese culture?
OLA: I think, before, that was the prevailing belief. There was a preference for male offspring. But today, especially in the Philippines, because we have adapted to the Filipino culture, we’re very lucky because women in this country are of equal footing with men. What men can do, women can also do, if not better. So it really depends on the person, it really depends on you.
DT: Which brings us to your father, who was on top of your company before but then he passed it on to you. And he’s also a painter. So, tell us about the famous Julius Limpe.
OLA: Well my dad, Julius, is a Renaissance Man. He was a businessman, an artist, an inventor. He was scientificminded. I was lucky to have a father like him. He was my mentor. He taught me everything about the distillery at the time and he was very supportive. He never really doubted that his daughters could do what they put their mind to and accomplish what they wanted in life. So he was very proactive, progressive and supportive.
Today, especially in the Philippines, because we have adapted to the Filipino culture, we’re very lucky because women in this country are of equal footing with men. What men can do, women can also do, if not better. So it really depends on the person, it really depends on you.
As a mentor, he didn’t really baby me. His style was always ‘You learn by observation.’ So I would tag along with him, even as a young child up to my college years. Summers I would spend in the office, I was always with him when he had meetings. I was always there listening.
I’m the fifth in the family. He really trained all of us. There were like four of us in the business but the three decided to not continue. And I was the fifth already, so I was telling myself, if I don’t continue, who would help my father?
So, I was thinking, what would happen to our family business? I really saw the need to take it seriously. My mom passed away in 2018. She was a lawyer and a very good businesswoman also. She really supported my father in the building of this business. She would always tell me, other three generations ahead of my dad devoted their lives to this business. It was like she was telling us, ‘How can you not continue with (it) just because your father has no sons?’
And then, I also realized that this was not just for me but for the future generations. Because whatever it was that I enjoyed in life and what our family has accomplished so far, I feel that I should also try to pass on the same to the future generations. After all, we’re all just passing through in our lifetime.
Learn as much as you can
DT: What do you try to teach them?
OLA: I’m also employing some of my father’s methods and some of my mother’s methods, but I think I’ll be different. If my dad was more like ‘you watch, observe and learn, I myself would really teach because I am a mother. A mother always teaches.
On the other hand, I don’t spoon feed, I also let them learn and sometimes let them make mistakes because, actually, mistakes are your biggest teachers in life. One can’t be too strict, either. Neither too lenient. It should be a balanced approach.
DT: What would you like to say to your sons now as a message for the Year of the Metal Ox?
OLA: Well, my sermon and constant reminder is always for them to ‘Work hard,’ ‘Learn as much as you can,’ and, as I always tell them what my father always told me, ‘The best thing you can leave your children is a good name.’ After all, you can lose your money and still earn it back, but if you destroy your name, you cannot repair it.
And, of course, I tell them to always have passion for what they do. One should not consider what one is doing as a mere job but as one’s life’s mission, so the motivation has to come from within.
Don’t expect others to motivate you. In the end, no one can really force you to move or act. If you want to do something, you will do it. You need to prop yourself up, you have to convince yourself that you need to do it and that you want to do it.
RESEARCH AND TRANSCRIPTION BY LOUISE LIZAN AND CARE BALLERAS