The 1980 MBM CHARGERS of Professor Horacio “Junbo” Borromeo Ph.D

The Thirty-Year AIM Jubilarians: The 1980 MBM CHARGERS of Professor Horacio “Junbo” Borromeo Ph.D. Compiled and written by Gel Tamayo Edited by Gen. Vic Batac MBM 1980 1 “A fool sees an enemy. A wise man sees a lesson to be learned.” -Mahatma Gandhi 2 The Thirty-Year AIM Jubilarians We are presenting this collective article anchored on several parameters, among which are: our privilege to reminisce on our two-year sojourn; our Alumni ideas about AIM; and our “pass-in-review” as MBM 1980 Cohort. Lest we be misunderstood, allow us to clarify at the onset that, in this write-up, like in a “talk-show magazine”, we do not intend to demonstrate ersatz bravado or brazen braggadocio. We simply want to reminisce those days in AIM as young, carefree people of that era, then release little bragging rights in a good light, and tell the truth as we saw and experienced it. We also wish to put in proper perspective that, given a sampling of people, a number, in the course of human existence, would tend to have a bit more in life. Expectedly, some would become Chairmen, CEOs, COOs, CFOs, CMOs or CIOs of reputable business conglomerates, while others would turn to be “successful” entrepreneurs. Some would have less in ranks, titles and net assets. C’est le vie. What is important to us, MBM Cohort of 1980, is one’s inner growth as a person, and that one is always willing to get back on track and move forward in life. We have no desire to irresponsibly compare each other, or insinuate about another’s plight. This is merely our way of celebrating thirty-two years of our lives. As we have been evolving as AIM alumni and as business practitioners for the past thirty plus two years, we believe we have earned the right to provide inputs as well as constructive remarks and expect that appropriate people in the AIM hierarchy will take heed. The last portion is our way of updating each other. To those who would care to read on, it provides tidbits on where we have been and where we are now, thirty years after graduation. MBM 1980 3 Our MBM Cohort’s Coordinator Before, we lose ourselves in reminiscing, we want to focus the spotlight on a key person in our two-year sojourn in AIM. Our Cohort’s Coordinator at that time was a young professor named “Junbo” Borromeo, one of the “stars” in the MM Program. His college orientation was in Behavioral Science at the Ateneo De Manila. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that he is again the MBA Program Coordinator (i.e. the “Father Rooster”) for the MBA Class of 2010. This is historic in the sense that in so doing, Prof. Junbo is uniquely bridging, perhaps for the first time, two classes that are more than a generation apart. How was Prof. Junbo in our time? As MBM Coordinator, Prof. Junbo was strict and deliberate in communicating policies and reminders. But he was well balanced in dealing with us. He was not wont to compromise the high standards of the MBM Program at that time. He was like a stern and acerbic boot camp drillmaster, but with a marshmallow heart. Somehow, Prof. Junbo was omniscient on what was happening at the dorm, day in and day out. (We did suspect that he had people going over our garbage or taping our phone conversations, then.) He knew who were really studying and spending time with their can groups and those who were just playing backgammon or ping pong. He knew about the night escapades and those who sneaked back to the dorm early the next morning. He joined us in our periodic beer pubs. In many occasions, “You are supposed he found time to sit down with us during to be graduate mealtimes at the cafeteria. He could detect in-campus problems and he knew students, not kids. how to push the right button or give the Don’t get caught, right motivation to an underachieving, downhearted, or frustrated student. if you want to do Occasionally, he strummed his classical guitar in a corner somewhere, while little something funny or huddles of us tolerated or actually listened dysfunctional.” 4 The Thirty-Year AIM Jubilarians to his renditions that were not that bad, really. But we knew how to “keep the distance”. After an exhaustive survey among classmates, we found out that in those two years, many of us remember Prof. Junbo most for the following: 1. His booming, eloquent, deliberate voice, especially in convocations and in the case room discussions; 2. His trademark high-pitched “whistle” which he often resorted to when we were on the edge of “verbal chaos” during case discussions and convocations, after which we would all be silent and one could actually hear a pin drop; and, 3. His favorite line: “You are supposed to be graduate students, not kids. Don’t get caught, if you want to do something funny or dysfunctional.” Today, we once again proudly salute and raise a toast to Doc Junbo for his passion and patience, tolerance and talent to guide and hone graduate business students for more than thirty two years, during which he even found time to earn his Ph.D. Indubitably, he is one of the few, ever loyal, senior faculty members of AIM who is much revered and respected by students and alumni alike. He still joins us on a regular basis during our Cohort’s get-togethers at the Malacca Restaurant which specializes in Malaysian cuisine. It is located along Jupiter Street in Makati City and is owned by a classmate Philip KC Ng. It is undeniably our favorite watering hole. We wish Doc Junbo all the happiness and the best of health… in the same spirit that we convey the same wish to all our MBM Mentors. So Here We Are Again, After 30 Years Thirty years after graduation in May 1980, here we are once again, happy to look back, carrying a plurality of mind-sets, work experiences, and bringing layers of varying emotions, opinions, and visions. For Starters, Highlighting Our Cohort’s Contributions At this point, within the context of history and the MBM’s raison d’êtres, we highlight a number of meaningful, (nay outstanding, or remarkable at the very least) achievements and contributions by certain members of our Cohort MBM 1980 5 to their respective communities, to society and to the world of business, hopefully, to encourage and inspire young AIM MBA aspirants and the more recent MBA graduates, and to let them see AIM MBM 80 in the context of becoming Managers and Business Leaders,. After all, we came to AIM for the MBM degree, and people would like to know what many of us had or have done. We opted to omit the names of the achievers in the enumeration below, so that readers can focus on the achievements. Can you guess who they are? 1) The ever passionate Filipino CEO of a premiere NGO established for the protection of the environment and endangered species, about global warming and reduction of carbon emissions, and related concerns. He takes pride in taking the lead on related or relevant educational initiatives; 2) The Filipino investment banker in that major financial team, who in the early 90s succeeded in co-packaging and strategically assisted in the launching of the now burgeoning and very progressive Bonifacio Global City, beside the Makati Central Business District; 3) The Indian (now American) investment banker who quietly but significantly helped in co-packaging the hefty funding for the first modern, toll Skyway project in the south of Manila; 4) The young corporate banker in the early 80s who was the author of the initial study for the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of the Philippines, that became the basis for attracting and harnessing dollar remittances of the Overseas Filipino Workers into the Philippines; 5) The Filipino global CMO for furniture exportation that carved in the world map the now world-renowned Filipino furniture / interior designer and the furniture brand which is now among Asia’s best and the most reputable for “progressive Asian design fusion”; 6) The erstwhile Undersecretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Head of the Board of Investments, who after over a decade as a prized Senior Officer in one of New York’s top banks, came back to Manila and pioneered the investment-promotion work that led to the boom of the Business Process Outsourcing Industry in the Philippines; 7) the Filipino COO who pioneered in wholesale funding of SMEs and middle class businessmen in terms of legitimate and respectable mode of middle-class financing and micro-financing in the country; 8) the Malaysian who at a relatively young age became the CEO of the 6 The Thirty-Year AIM Jubilarians world-renowned and no. 1 ASEAN conglomerate that is a leader in the rubber industry and is also into consumer and industrial goods, agriculture, motoring, and energy, among others; 9) the unassuming Filipino classmate who has been the South Asian Region’s President of one of the world’s largest and most profitable pharmaceutical conglomerates; 10) the key member of the original core group of young, reform-minded, military officers in the mid-80s that sparked the 1986 EDSA People Power revolution which resulted to the toppling of the Marcos dictatorship; 11) the smart Filipino duo that is undertaking the establishment of a chain of reputable, modernized and streamlined hospitals in the Philippines; 12) the Malaysian CEO who, among his other entrepreneurial ventures, successfully and sustainably introduced to the Philippine market the ergonomically designed executive and office chairs and a complete line of quality office furniture and furnishings; 13) the Singaporean CEO-entrepreneur-engineer that succeeded in having his company listed in NASDAQ in the early 1990s.

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