Banking on her experience, 50-year old multinational CEO Rebecca Bustamente-Mills proved that for businessmen from Mindanao nothing is impossible with hardwork.
“If I was able to do it, then you can too,” Bustamante told entrepreneurs during the Asia CEO Forum at the Marco Polo Davao last Tuesday.
Bustamante said constant learning kept her abreast of vital developments in business.
To become successful, she said, businessmen should never stop “gaining knowledge”.
“Become an expert in something,” she urged local entrepreneurs who also shared their own setbacks in their respective companies.
While learning and gaining the top place are important, strengthening relationships and keeping a positive attitude are likewise secret to success, Bustamante said.
As the founder and president of Chalré Associates, a multinational recruitment firm for senior management positions, Bustamante has rags to riches story.
She was poor. The seventh of 11 siblings, Bustamante grew as the breadwinner of the family especially after her mother died when she was still 18.
The circumtance led her to fly to Bataan to work as a factory worker to raise her family. At the age of 19, she went to Singapore to work as a domestic worker for two years.
With only one-day day-off every month, she spent her days off to continue her college studies.
Two years and a half after, she was able to go to Canada where she also worked as a nanny. Not wanting to be a domestic help forever, she dreamt of starting her own business.
Her goals and dream kept her focus.
She wanted her story to inspire other OFWs.
Bustamante came back to the Philippines to inspire and teach others to become successful entrepreneurs.
“We have to promote the Philippines. We have to prove to the world that we are the best, “she told businessmen and reporters.
Consequently, she and her Canadian husband Richard, the chairman of their company, has been at the forefront of organizing monthly forums around the country for six years now for the non-profit organization Asia CEO Forum, the corporate social responsibililty program of Chalrè.
The forum is designed to business people to share the experiences of the couple. This resulted in the creation of Asia CEO Awards which aims to recognize business leaders and top executives from Asia.
“Business leaders from Mindanao have huge potentials. With their growing contribution to the island’s economy, it is high time to give them recognition,”she said.
Deadline for the entry of online nominations is on August 31, while awarding is slated on October 18 at the Marriott Hotel in Manila. Cheneen R. Capon
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