In businesses and industries traditionally dominated by men, accomplishments of great women are formidable on its own. The numbers of women in position are still a handful and that is why it is so exciting and refreshing to see female business leaders succeed in their fields. Our group was tasked to introduce one of the smartest and compassionate entrepreneurs in our country today. She is Ms. Maret Follosco-Bautista, the president of CL Follosco Group of Companies.
The alumna of the University of the Philippines’ School of Economics had her MBA degree in Fordham University in New York. Ms. Maret is a financial and investment consultant, and a business coach/mentor. She has attended some of the most important international conferences like the recently held Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility in Myanmar. She also regularly facilitates seminars and lectures which aim to give additional industry-related knowledge and empower our fellow countrymen.
Building on the values and vision of the founder
Ms. Maret started by telling the story of how their business grew. From agricultural machinery and engineering, it expanded to manufacturing, consultancy, finance and lending and warehouse and logistics. They even ventured into investment and business process outsourcing. The extension to several different industries is a result of connecting the gaps and creating linkages, ultimately in the attempt to support their core business.
She highlighted that all the things they have now wouldn’t be possible without the vision and hardship of his father, Dr. Ceferino Follosco. Ms. Maret noted that discipline, hard work and delayed gratification are the key values that she got from her dad. She also shared that their family only live a simple life which is rooted in her father’s frugality.
It is inspiring to know that the legacy left by Dr. Follosco was not just the actual business, but more importantly the honorable value-system that the family is applying in their own lives. Another quintessential trait that I observed, aside from being family-oriented, is that they are forward-looking. They are prepared on whatever will happen in the future as they have established their very own medical, educational and retirement fund up to their second generation. She added that the desire to give a better future for their loved ones also serves as an intrinsic motivation to ensure that their family business will continue to become profitable.
Seeing the world as it should be
To be honest, I have never seen a “grown-up” to be as idealistic as her. Usually, this type of behavior can only be seen from those who just graduated – from the young ones. They have this relentless desire to improve the world. Idealists are very considerate towards others to the extent that they would support them and stand up for them. They are very generous and cooperative. Moreover, these type of people are optimistic and see the world as how it “should” be.
I have seen all these traits from Ms. Maret and I admired her for that. Long time ago, even before CSR becomes a buzzword in business, the Follosco family has been very active in helping the farmers upgrade their way of life. They finance and even guide those people who are in the agricultural sector every step of the way to ensure that they would be successful in their line of work.
Picturing a more perfect world
Ms. Maret said that they are genuinely happy and proud of those whom they were able to assist and it doesn’t bother her if later on, they become one of the players in the industry. It is very selfless of her to think that way and it made me realize that you can be prosperous while doing something to promote other people’s welfare. She aims for sustainable growth and socio-economic development.
Not only is the president of CL Follosco Group of Companies beautiful and elegant, but she is also calm, gracious, kind and sincere. These qualities among others are something that differentiate her from other businessmen and women.
What’s funny is I think her idealism is so contagious that I picture a more perfect world with more people like her in it. I would like to see men and women in power as selfless and compassionate as her. And I think it is possible by starting it in ourselves. After all, it is not hard to say, we may be the next CEOs of SMEs and big companies in our country.
The author is an MBA student at the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business. This essay is part of a journal he keeps in fulfillment of the requirements of the course, Trends and issues in Business and Management: CEO Series. Visit his blog at http://lifeinthesaurus.weebly.com/.
The views expressed here are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.