DREAMS are meant to be big. After all, dreams are among the very few things that remain free to this day. But when Ramoncito S. Fernandez was only 25, his only goal in life was to help his parents lessen their financial burdens and be a successful professional in his chosen field.
He never dreamed of sitting comfortably on a large leather chair on the 10th floor of the Metro Pacific Head Offices at the MGO Building in Legazpi Village, Makati City, having coffee at noon, while reviewing project proposals, financial models, addressing strategic organizational issues, dealing with government regulators and private partner-companies and pushing innovation projects concerning expressways.
Fernandez only wanted to help his mother and father with the schooling of his siblings, and eventually settle down with his own family. Being the second child, he was determined to give his parents the needed breather that they deserved for their hard work.
“My only dream at that time was to be able to help my parents, let my other siblings finish their schooling, and, eventually, hopefully, build my own family—that was my modest ambition,” recalled Fernandez, who is now 59.
More than two decades later, he became the president of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., the largest toll road operator in the Philippines.
“I have to admit, I have very modest ambitions. I never thought I would be a head of a company, because I just wanted to follow the footsteps of my parents and work hard. Leading a company was not on my mind; and so when I did, I accepted it with a lot of humility,” Fernandez said.
But before he reached the top of the corporate ladder, he also had to endure hardships, make wise and hard decisions, and be more persistent in working for his growing family.
‘Very much single’ in Cebu
Right after graduating from the De La Salle University with a degree in Industrial Management Engineering, Fernandez immediately worked as a cadet engineer for battery manufacturer Union Carbide, the company behind the Eveready batteries.
He stayed with the company for two years, until he decided, with the help of his aunt, to go back to school and take up a master’s in Business Management.
“I was about to graduate from my master’s degree from the Asian Institute of Management when I was 25. I was very much single, excited to go back to the corporate world after spending two years of full-time master studies. I was excited to pay my parents and my dear aunt, who financed my master studies, back,” Fernandez said.
Even before graduating from college, his former employer had already welcomed him back to the company, asking him to be deployed in Cebu, the Visayan city where his mother grew up.
“Before graduation, Eveready asked me to go to Cebu. Realizing that it was a good opportunity to go back to my mother’s roots, I went to Cebu and took up residency with the cousins of my mom,” Fernandez said.
Despite being away from his paternal home in Metro Manila, the young Fernandez was determined to do an excellent job in his workplace, although he never forgot to enjoy leisurely breaks, every once in a while.
“As a bachelor in Cebu, I found it a good opportunity to have a good life. At that time, my house was just 10 to 15 minutes away from the beach,” he reminisced. “So, I had a lot of good time, because I was a bachelor. I do spend time in work, but in the weekends, I am with my friends.”
Holding a master’s in Business Management, Fernandez looked up to three different kinds of people: management gurus like Peter Druker; political idealists like Ramon Magsaysay and Jovito Salonga; and the hardworking down-to-earth successful Filipino-Chinese businessmen.
“I look up to Ramon Magsaysay, because of his honest love for the ordinary Filipino. I also admire Peter Drucker for his management concept of getting a balance between short-term needs and a long-term sustainability, profitability and other obligations,” he said.
But those who really inspired him to become the person he is today are his parents.
To make both ends meet, his mother had to work two jobs, being employed in the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) at day and teaching at the Philippine College of Criminology (PCC) at night. His father, on the other hand, had to sacrifice precious time to help raise a family of nine.
“My mom had to do two jobs at that time, she was with the NBI at day, and she was teaching at night at the PCC. My father had to accept assignments out of Manila, because it was his way to move up the ladder of government. He had to sacrifice his time,” he said.
“Considering that they were both government employees, they were to me a living example of how government employees—with a lot of hard work and love for their family—can bring up their family, even with limited resources.”
Balancing act
After his brief stint in Cebu, he met Cecil, whom he married in 1984; and a year after, he was taken in by Akerlund & Rausing, a multinational packaging company.
Two more years later, Fernandez was offered by the company to go to Sweden to pursue the firm’s management-development program.
It was the start of what he called a dilemma. His focus was divided between his family and his career, but, luckily, he was able to balance the two and even got favors in the process.
“When you are just newly married, you have to prove to your workplace that you deserve the work and promotion and the right breaks. To have the right breaks and be recognized, you have to be passionate and work extra hours, and exceed the expectations of your boss. You have to invest a lot of time,” he said. “And that was the time that your family needs you. That was, indeed, my dilemma: dividing my time among God, family and work.”
Fernandez, a very pious man, explained that he wouldn’t have done such a feat without the grace of God.
“I had to do a lot of seeking divine intervention. I was bent to pursue continuous improvement, and unnerved stopped learning—in a lot of ways. I didn’t stop going back to school. I didn’t stop consulting. I didn’t stop my coaching sessions—I always made sure I consulted with the Lord, with my wife, my family and my mentors,” he said.
Thanks to these, he was able to convince his bosses to bring his then-pregnant wife and his less-than-a-year-old baby with him to Sweden.
“When I was asked to go to Sweden, I had to insist on bringing my pregnant wife and a less-than-a-year-old child. My bosses were kind of skeptical at that time, but I had to convince them. They accepted it, and the rest was history,” Fernandez said. “I was sure at that time, if it was not meant for me, I will forgo the opportunity—a very good opportunity for a 28-year-old.”
He later put on the vice-presidential hat for marketing and logistics at Akerlund & Rausing.
From one industry to another
Metro Pacific Corp. then came into picture when it bought in 1994 the flexible packaging company which Fernandez worked for as part of its diversification efforts. He continued to sit as the vice president of the firm when Metro Pacific resolved to sell the said asset after three or four years.
He decided to leave the company, until Napoleon “Poly” L. Nazareno was taken in by Manuel V. Pangilinan (MVP) to lead Metro Pacific.
“After one or two years, I quit the packaging company and I was taken in by Poly to head Smart Communications’s administration and materials management division, which included procurement, inventory management, property and facilities management, and security,” Fernandez recalled.
Four years later, the company saw the need to integrate its operations with Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), and Fernandez was appointed to head the same division at the telecommunications giant.
“Then, after that, I was given the task to head the international carrier business of PLDT and Smart. It’s the group that negotiates with foreign carriers on the commercial agreements involving termination rates for long-distance calls, roaming and international SMS. I handled that for over a year, and then in between I was also given the task to head the pay-phone business of PLDT and Smart,” he said.
One of his very first assignments in Smart was the integration of Pilipino Telephone Corp. (Piltel), which is part of what MVP acquired when he invested in PLDT. Fernandez was involved in rationalization of services and facilities, including cell sites and customer-service centers.
“After the carrier business, that’s when MVP was expanding into the infrastructure field—Meralco [Manila Electric Co.], Maynilad [Maynilad Water Services Inc.], then Nlex [North Luzon Expressway]. Then I was asked to move from telco to tollways,” he said.
It was in 2009 when the “big man” decided to appoint him the president of the tollways group of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which has, on its belt, four local expressways.
Humility, fairness, service
The transition from the telecommunications superhighway to a physical one proved to be quite a bit of a challenge to Fernandez.
“The transition was a bit hard, because telco was a fast-paced, high-expansion, high-energy business. Our story there was a race against Globe Telecom, fighting for subscribers, share of mind, share of revenue, air space and time. Basically, it was fast-paced, requiring quick and smart decision-making, and a lot of risk-taking,” he said.
After that, he moved to the tollways infrastructure industry in 2009. Fernandez described the said “sector as requiring a lot of patience and diligence,” as projects require long gestation periods.
“So far, it has been a good enriching six-year ride. I am very happy to be given a chance to improve the lives of our countrymen, our motorists and, of course, our employees. The bumps along the road, including the uncertainties that faced some of our projects, as well as the tariff developments, are all part of the experience,” he said.
But, despite the slightly painful transition, Fernandez said he is still thankful that he was able to attain what he never really dreamed of: to become the chief executive of a company.
“At the end of the day, it is well worth it. We have grown the business dramatically despite the challenges. We have implemented various innovations and efficiency improvements. We were able to execute our expansion projects here and abroad, including the acquisition of Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway [Cavitex]; our investments in Don Muang of Thailand and CII B&R in Vietnam, as well as our recent win of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway,” he said.
With all these blessings he now enjoys, Fernandez said his secret can only come from hard work and the grace from God.
“I was raised by my parents with the principles of hard work and faithfulness to the Lord. They also taught me to be fair with all people,” he said. “Poly, on the other hand, showed to me that the position of presidency requires a lot of humility. He taught me to stay grounded, stay humble and be of service to the people you are heading—don’t ever think that, because you are there as the head, you are already an ivory tower compared to others.”
MVP, on the other hand, is “responsible for instilling and refining the necessary values of professionalism, hard work and transparency” to Fernandez.
“I stuck to those principles wherever I go, and continue to have a positive view in life.”
Too early to retire
After almost four decades of dedicating his life to work, Fernandez said he is still not ready to retire, yet.
“Honestly, I am not thinking of retirement, yet. I’m turning 60 next year, and people ask me if I have plans to retire. It’s good to think about retiring, but if you think deeper into it, you will ask yourself, ‘What would I do when I retire?’” he said.
Fernandez dreads the thought of doing nothing at home, since his upbringing was really geared toward hard work.
“As long as I am useful, I will continue working,” he said.