Different types of executives

EXAMPLES like Johnson’s of married men, who had been working in their respective professions, and who eventually went into retirement, can be counted in the hundreds. They are examples because they were very clear about the mission of their life: to take care of their family, to try and succeed at work, to reach out to friends, and to stay very close to Jesus Christ all the time. Within this life-long mission, they entertained different “visions” at various stages of their life. But towards the end of their life, in retirement, they shared a few common strands in the manner they formulated their final “vision.”

But before coming to those common strands, we should note the different backgrounds they had as executives:

• Nanding Garcia was an engineering executive, who worked for one of the leading engineering companies of our country. Quiet and thorough, he loved staying in the background, where he managed to give very effective support to his friends and those in the forefront of undertakings. His children adored him.

• Fidel Abeleda was a financial executive: a man of few words, he doted on his wife and children. He had a ready smile for everyone; and despite going through many trials in life, he kept his composure and personal dignity. He was always an oasis of calm, peace, and serenity.

• Ric Paloma was a marketing executive for one of our local airlines. With the rank of regional VP, he would take very good care of the people working under him in the various stations all over the country. He had a special affection for his home city, Iloilo, where he pushed for the regular holding of classes of Christian formation for professional men.

• Tony Gonzalez was a mining executive who worked for one of the copper mining companies of the country. He knew how to make friends; and by his honesty and dedication, he earned the trust of many individuals, who would later bequeath to him and his projects a portion of their estate. He retired to Spain, where he continued to be the “perfect family man.”

These very broad-brush references to four—out of many more—good professionals, who took their professional work seriously as a consequence of their taking their friendship with Jesus Christ also seriously, would fail to give enough justice to each and to all of them. But they do have a few things in common when it comes to the “vision” they pursued towards the end of their life: to prove true love for their wife by spending a wonderful time with her, while making time for the children and grandchildren, and all this because it is part of the very deep commitment they made to Jesus Christ: to be ordinary men in the middle of the world, trying to live life extraordinarily well, up to the very end.

In each case, they realized their vision; we have the moral certainty that they are all enjoying the fruits of their dedication and love, up there.