Danny Yu: Strength in numbers
Communication may be his weak spot, or so he claims, but when it comes to numbers, he is on top of his game.
That is how Philex Mining Corp. chief financial officer Danny Yu best described himself.
“Communication is really not my strength. But if you ask me to compute, I can do it anytime, even without preparation. Since I was a child, I have always been a numbers man,” Yu told
As much as possible, Yu opts to stay away from the limelight or be as far from being the center of attention. But because of his admirable traits and ethics as well as positive contributions to Philex, Yu gets all the attention he rightfully deserves.
In 2016, Yu was named ING Finex CFO of the Year, an award he never expected. Since winning the coveted honor, Yu turned from being someone who doesn’t get that much attention to being “the man.”
“When I finally learned of the decision (winning the award), suddenly my world stood still. I couldn’t believe what happened. I grew pensive as I came to grips with the distinction of being the CFO of the Year, especially since I am not used to the spotlight. But I thanked ING and Finex for acknowledging that one need not be an Ivy League product to be recognized. One only needs to perform his duties very well,” Yu said.
Yu admitted there were a number of perks that came along with being recognized as the best CFO in the country.
“Since there are only very few competitions or organizations that recognize CFOs, the prestigious ING-Finex search makes the CFO profession aspirational to most of us,” Yu said.
“Generally, people aspire to be recognized and appreciated for the good work they have done. With this ING-Finex search, we in the finance field are motivated to work even harder and excel in our roles, hoping that one day we will be recognized and appreciated. In a sense, it molded better CFO and helped shape the evolution of CFO’s role given the different themes for the past 10 years,” he added.
Yu’s road to success, however, did not came as easy as him solving math problems.
Born in Davao Oriental, Yu came from an enterprising and hard working family.
“One early morning, when I was around nine, a fire broke out and grazed through the entire block where our house and bakery stood. Everything was extinguished in an instant and left us with practically nothing. The tough times forced us to leave town and head for Cebu, where my father sought employment in a Chinese-owned shipping line,” Yu narrated.
“During my early high school years, as part of our fund raising activity, we sang Christmas carols to wealthy families inside the posh Beverly Hills Village in Cebu. This memory remains very vivid up to this day and I told myself to work harder to give my family the best life possible,” Yu said.
Yu took up accounting at the University of San Carlos. He passed the board exams in 1983 and was later on hired by top accounting firm SGV and Co.
He then spent the last 28 years of his career with the First Pacific Group, wherein Yu had been around in more than 10 companies, including a stint as an expat in Hong Kong for almost seven years.
It was in late 2013 when he was offered the position of a CFO at Philex Mining, an offer which he said he declined twice.
“Mining is a highly misunderstood and very under-appreciated industry despite its indispensable benefits. Imagine the world without airplanes, cars, buses, buildings, utensils, cellphones, electricity, water equipment, among others. Unless you want us to go back to the stone age, I believe mining is here to stay,” he said.
Now that almost a year has passed since winning the award, Yu is looking forward to pass on his crown to a new deserving CFO.
This year’s theme is “The Agile CFO: Enabling Change” to reflect the evolving role of a CFO in this fast-paced modern world.
Beyond the CFO’s traditional roles in strategic management, capital allocation, controllership, treasury, and tax planning, among others, Yu said the CFO should be agile enough to undertake different roles and wear different hats to adopt to the ever changing times and business environment.
For Yu, being a CFO is now more than just the numbers.
“To be an effective CFO, our roles must evolve with the needs of the times. I guess for me, the next step in my ever evolving role will be how to help the company comply with the economic, environmental, social, and corporate governance reporting initiatives currently being pursued by global organizations. I see this as the next big thing for corporations moving forward,” Yu said.