At the helm of the country’s largest business group
Some people are fortunate to know what they want to be early on in life.
George Barcelon had his first taste of business through his family’s rubber manufacturing company, Paramount Vinyl Products Corp. His early interest in the industry prompted him to take up a chemical engineering degree at De La Salle University.
Early disappointment
Barcelon actively took part in their family business, which produced athletic shoes for export to Europe, Australia and North America in the mid-’80s to early ’90s.
However, various challenges such as power shortages and stiff competition from neighboring countries put a damper on their operations, forcing the company to downsize.
Paramount Vinyl and its sister company Interpolymer Corp. continue to manufacture plastic and rubber shoes like sandals, pretransparent film/ sheeting, and rubber sheets under Bantex brand.
Entrepreneurial spirit
However, Barcelon’s strong entrepreneurial spirit pushed him to do more, and he eventually founded several companies, which include ventures specifically for the local IT sector. “The IT business is growing because private and public corporations and also the entry of BPO companies. IT technology has permeated all aspects of corporate and private activities,” said Barcelon, referring to Integrated Computer Systems Inc., an IT reseller company which he founded.
In addition, Barcelon is president of ICS ICT Support and Services Corp., Key West Realty Corp. and Interwood Inc.
Qualities of a good leader
Despite overseeing the operations of numerous companies, Barcelon maintains his management style is more of delegation and mentoring.
“I like to mentor people to the point that I see them become more mature while also developing their character. It is important that individuals learn to drive themselves to be better.”
Putting his “mentoring approach” to better use, Barcelon is elated to serve as this year’s head of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce Industry, the country’s largest business organization which serves as the voice of Filipino enterprises and businessmen.
Having enlisted his company as a member for the past 30 years, Barcelon has been steadily involved in the organization’s different committees in the past several years, gaining him better insight on what needs to be improved as well as what else needs to be done to better serve their members.
Vision into action
Taking the lead, Barcelon wants to focus on boosting small and medium-sized enterprises, given that majority of PCCI’s constituents are MSMEs, which comprise the majority of business establishments in the country.
Gathering insight from the APEC Summit Leaders’ Meeting last November, Barcelon noted that the problem needs to be addressed simply because the country’s economic growth should benefit everyone, not just the larger firms. “I can empathize with MSMEs. The national and local government should help out these enterprises and ease the [complicated] regulatory licensing and compliance bureaucracy,” he said. The growth of the MSMEs translate to more job creation which the country badly needs.
Coinciding with the term of the country’s new leader, Barcelon’s first year as PCCI president involves collating issues that need to be addressed.
“We are currently holding consultations with our members and gathering their recommendations to be presented to the new government. We have to hit the ground running and get a headstart,” Barcelon said.
With the ASEAN economic integration also under way, Barcelon pointed out the need to zero in on our strengths if we are to compete with other Southeast Asian countries.
“The country being agrarian in nature, we want to focus on the growth of the agricultural sector. Manufacturing and tourism [are also our niches] but we need to focus on improvement of infrastructure such as roads, airports and communication,” Barcelon said.
He added the economy would grow if abundant job opportunities are provided to the rising number of skilled graduates in the Philippines every year.
While the implementation of the K to 12 program will produce more young professionals qualified to respond to industry needs, Barcelon warned that the country still needs to intensely prioritize education.
“[Education-wise], we also need to be very competitive. It all boils down to human resources and how Filipino students compare to other countries in subjects such as Math and Science,” he said.
The PCCI has also initiated a dual-track program for students who cannot afford to go to college. “We’re initiating programs to train and match certain skill sets to what the industries require,” Barcelon stated. “We have a partner with Germany Chamber where they provide their expert to advise and finance this technical vocational (tech-voc) advocacy.”
According to Barcelon, our economy is still a consumer economy that heavily relies on the remittances of overseas Filipinos. “An economy being sustained by remittances isn’t very healthy because if hiring stops abroad, our workers would have no choice but to return home, thus having a negative impact to our economy,” Barcelon said.
We hope through the continuing growth with the manufacturing, infrastructure, ICT, agriculture and service sector.
The MSMEs as part of the value add and supply chain will benefit.
Despite his privileged background, Barcelon considers himself a regular businessman.
But what sets him apart is his tenacious spirit borne from his clear vision for what he wants to achieve early on life, giving him focus, and fueling his passion for his many entrepreneurial pursuits.