THURSDAY |
A RETROSPECT
construction and engineering, energy exploration, and education and information technology.
“My father is a visionary,” said his daughter Yvonne S. Yuchengco, now vice chairperson of YGC’s Malayan Insurance. In point of fact, Yuchengco was the first to start doing business with the Japanese. Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Ltd. celebrated its 50 years of partnership with Malayan Insurance in 2014.
In 1958, Yuchengco introduced the Diner’s Club. the first credit card in the Philippines. The following year, he organized the first investment house in the country—the House of Investments, Inc.
The YGC can be regarded as the first Philippine global company. As early as the 1950s, the Malayan Insurance was already partnering with foreign companies to establish joint ventures in Asia, Europe, and even Oceania. In the 1960s and 1970s, the House of Investments formed joint ventures with foreign firms, such as Castle & Cooke and Arbor Aces (USA), Gammon Group (Hong Kong), and Citra Spie Batignolles (France). Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., YGC’s banking arm established in 1960, partnered with Continental International Finance Corporation (USA) and Sanwa Bank (Japan) in 1974 for capital expansion and technical know-how.
By the time Yuchengco passed away at 94, his conglomerate has grown to more than 50 business, which also include EEI Corp., Mapua University, Sun Life Grepa Frinancial Inc., and PetroEnergy Resources Corp.
His various businesses were not without difficulties, Yuchengco used to constantly remind the executives and staff to watch out for opportunities and be well-prepared. “Whenever there is a crisis, there is an opportunity as well as danger. Avoid the danger, grasp the opportunity, “he said. “Wherever you go into a fight, you must prepare yourself as if you are going to war. Never go into a legal battle half-heartedly or half-prepared. Once you go into a legal battle, you must be prepared to fight to the end and fight to win.”
Ambassador Yuchengco was one of the Philippine taipans who broke the glass ceiling for women leaders to take the helm beginning with the appointment of his eldest daughter, Helen Y. Dee as his successor in 2003. Mrs. Dee, who started working at Malayan Insurance “the day after graduation (from college)”, was already involved in all the YGC companies by that time. “She knows my business the most,” her father said in a past interview. “She is the most capable.”
One of the most important lessons Mrs. Dee got from her father is the value of reputation. Ambassador Yuchengco was quick to point out that reputation and integrity should be protected and at the topmost priority of any business. He lived by his philosophy, “A million, a hundred million, even a billion can be lost in a day. But a good name is forever. And so, for me, a good name is much more important.”
April 15, 2021
At a time when apathy and moral ambiguities are pervading, a look back at the well-lived life of Ambassador Alfonso T. Yuchengco is worth the time and energy.