THE essence of the famous commercial jingle “Iba na Ang May Pinagsamahan” by a popular beer brand holds true for veteran shipping executive Gerry Dumancas and Eugenio “Jun” Ynion Jr. as their friendship has been tested through good and bad times since they worked together at the Evergreen Shipping Agency Philippines.

When Ynion left Evergreen in 1993 to become an entrepreneur, the two still maintained their ties. “Gerry has been a mentor to me when I was working with Evergreen, advising me how to handle the various problems of the job,” said Ynion.

Ynion fondly recalled that Dumancas was very approachable despite being the highest-ranking Filipino executive in the company. He added Dumancas did not have ego trips and treated the employees fairly. “Gerry was a different boss in the sense he doesn’t engage in power tripping, unlike the other executives,” added Ynion.

Dumancas, who worked for 27 years in Evergreen, holds a very influential position in the company, being the highest ranked Filipino executive in the company. According to Dumancas, he evaluates all the letters of request accommodations and proposals.

During his Evergreen stint, Dumancas implemented a rigid style focused on work alone during working hours. “But this changes after office hours when my subordinates and people including Jun would approach me for their personal problems,” said Dumancas.

Dumancas and Ynion remained friends even after the latter left Evergreen after working three-and-a-half years to pursue his entrepreneurial initiatives. After eight long years, Ynion called Dumancas asking him if he was interested to join his newly formed company called Le Soleil Shipping Agencies Inc. (Le Soleil), the company that services the Philippine operations of Zim Integrated Shipping Ltd. and Gold Star Line Ltd.

It was perfect timing as Dumancas was already exploring other career options as he found his work in Evergreen has become too mundane and tiresome. “So I told the Taiwanese head of Evergreen’s Philippine operations that I was resigning,” said Dumancas.

At the helm

When he moved to Le Soleil, Dumancas has to hurdle the first challenge of adjusting in working in a smaller company from a top carrier. Second, he has now to work under his former ward Ynion, who is the chairman of Le Soleil.

Being appointed as executive vice president and chief operating officer, Dumancas was given by Ynion the green light to do whatever he thinks is the best for the company. Furthermore, Dumancas said Ynion told him that “I did not work for him, rather than I work with him.”

In return, the softspoken Dumancas said he keeps reminding his friend that  “Le Soleil is his company and his dream to be recognized in the industry.”

Dumancas was tasked by Ynion to professionalize the company to meet international standards and also the parameters set by their principal.

“My job is really to put everything in order. This is geared to provide quality service to customers that will provide satisfaction to the principal, which in our case is Zim Integrated Shipping Ltd.,” he said.

However, Dumancas said he was to tweak certain standards to fit the local culture. “And this culture of excellence has to be cascaded down to our people here,” he said.

Dumancas explained that Le Soleil encountered challenges when Europe and the United States experienced economic downturns caused by the economic slowdown. One was to tell the employees the necessity of reducing the costs. “I told them that sacrifice is the name of the game because these are hard times. Moreover, I explained to them in the easiest way that the best time to enter an industry is when it’s down because that gives you the chance to learn the ropes  and there is nowhere else to go but up,” he said.

“If you start out on top, you’re really in for trouble when the economy goes down,” said Dumancas.

During crunch time, Dumancas rallies his troops to speak and convince them that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Being the top helmsman, Dumancas said it is a challenge because they’re banking on him and he has to walk the talk.

On his part, Ynion said Le Soleil survived the crisis by keeping a close watch on the bottom line and having the right manpower.

“In shipping, you will realize that the real asset you have is the people you hire. If they don’t give a damn about the business, your business will go bust,” he said.

At the end of the day, he said the entry of Dumancas into Le Soleil was definitely a big boost. He has proven to be a leader with a good business sense and high degree of people skills.

“I am very fortunate that we have Gerry as our head. He has the capability, integrity and leadership that will make Le Soleil a major shipping company in the future,” said Ynion.