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NAC and ‘the vision thing’

 AM sure it isn’t easy – being entrusted with the responsibility of charting the destiny of a company worth P80 billion (and counting), with its founder, your very own father, lurking somewhere in the shadows, surely (??) once in a while glancing over in your direction to see what you were up to.

And it sure wasn’t easy, being named Chief Executive Officer in December of 2019… not knowing that a virus was looming on the horizon, one that would cripple the global economy.

“Marunong ang Diyos,” Filipinos love to say, as if they needed to say it. But I guess here is one example when that statement is proven: when I think about it, had I been the one in the situation I am writing about, I would have opted for early retirement and moved to Phuket, Bali, or Alaminos (Laguna).

Martin Antonio Zamora, on the other hand, had no such choice. Or if he did, chose not to escape the responsibility. And so he marks the second year of his “COVID-infused” stewardship of Nickel Asia Corporation, which seems headed to a second straight year of exceptional results.

By the way, I write all these from a front row seat at NAC, where I am employed as a member of its corporate communications team. From this vantage point I have had a good view of many of the processes that its senior management team led by Dennis (the nickname used by Martin Antonio) have gone through to respond to the challenges thrown their (our) way by the virus.

The challenges continue, but so far the company has passed each test with flying colors.

What better metric than to report a profit of P6.17 billion in the first nine months of 2021, a 167% increase over the 2020 figure?

When you are atop a company and are responsible to shareholders, that’s an impressive result to report. But when you are aware that a company has a wider array of shareholders to be responsible to, for whom financial results are merely a means to a bigger (maybe higher) end, then as the man at the helm you push your team to look beyond numbers and craft, embrace and live by “the vision thing.”

Some chief executives don’t get it – not just of corporations but even of countries. “The vision thing” is how George HW Bush seemingly dismissively referred to a view of the future that his presidency would craft, to serve as an inspiration for Americans. Some chief executives may get the need for “the vision thing,” but struggle with the process. Others struggle with the need to communicate it to the rest.

Thankfully for the future of NAC, Dennis skillfully avoided these roadblocks by bringing in an outsider (Pat Mijares, take a bow!) to guide the management team through the process.

And the pandemic worked, too – rather than hauling his senior leaders to the usual corporate planning session in some resort for a five-day getaway, the strategy session ended up as a long-drawn out process, meeting one full day a week for a number of weeks either as a big group or as work teams, with a far more substantial result than one that could have been generated by executives with one eye on the beach and the other on the white board.

(Of course, I suspect that Gina, Angel, Al, Ishi, Rommel, Romeo, Rolly, Rocky, Jun and Ryan wouldn’t have objected to five days in Panglao, El Nido or Siargao!)

I think everyone at NAC can be most proud of its new vision statement, crafted by the management team with word-smithing help from our company chairman Gerard Brimo:

“We strive to contribute to sustainable national development by adopting our ESG roadmap in order to achieve the highest standards in the responsible utilization of our country’s natural resources.”

This may be the very first vision statement of any company in the Philippines that is engaged mainly in the metals and mining/natural resources industry that boldly embraces the global focus on ESG – and at a time when all focus is on Glasgow and COP26 and an even more urgent need to focus on the planet.

All these stemmed from Dennis’ belief that the future of NAC remains bright, that natural resource utilization encompasses renewable energy as well, and that being ranked among the top choices in the country for anyone in search of an ideal ESG investment is an achievement worth attaining – in the next five years!

So now… even if the founder of the company were to throw glances his way once in a while, I think Dennis could just shrug them off and carry on!

(Me? I’d still rather be in Bali!)

Personal: Happy birthday Jopat Martinez, SK Federation President Lindzey Endozo of Calaca, Batangas, Jonniva Bulandos, Kurt Clyde Delima Esperas, Punong Barangay Joaquin Cantimbuhan, Jr. of Barangay Malagasang 2-D, Imus, Cavite; Punong Barangay Justino Lontoc of Barangay Biga, Lobo, Batangas; Ramon Ong husband of Carolina Ong; Lakay  Edwin Bautista Artatez; Rowena Agilada of Tempo

https://malayaph.com/news_opinion/nac-and-the-vision-thing/