The Ayala Experience

I had the rare opportunity to travel to Makati, Philippines for the final stage of the application process of the 11^th Ayala Young Leaders Congress – the dreaded interview with Ayala’s top executives. This Ayala experience was both nerve racking and insightful. It was nerve racking in the sense that you have to astound the executives of who you really are and insightful because it gave me a one day teaser of what it is like to live in the hustle and bustle capital of Corporate Philippines. Aside from these personal observations, I also felt that sense of profound gratitude and subtle pride about making this far. Even though this is the interview level, this is a great accomplishment in itself because I had the privilege to interact with top Ayala executives and know my peers who I know holds great promise in the future.

I like to start my narrative in the moment when we, wearing executive attires walked from our hotel to the Ayala Tower for the orientation and interview. This sequence of steps I took on the sidewalk of Makati’s Business Center is quite surreal. It seems like I was in New York City being one with self-driven career men eying for success. It was also in that span of time that I felt the rush of things, having little time to pause and appreciate the majestic structures standing side by side. After these reflections in mobile, we entered the Ayala corporate headquarters (which is I don’t know how many floors). I was just awed by the magnificent Christmas tree which greeted us in the lobby. We were then guided to the 24^th floor for the orientation. It’s good to note that going up and down in a high-speed elevator could significantly disturb your hearing due to the rapid change in air pressure. We were then gathered in a room where the formal orientation began. During the orientation, I just can’t help but to look outside the building and observe the Makati skyline, the tiny people, the snail traffic, and the smog hovering above. It was a perfect picture of development. Now to fast track the narrative, I was interviewed by 3 top executives on the 30+ something floor. The interview was not at all intimidating. What I love about it was its casual conversation atmosphere. I don’ wish to divulge their questions, methods and styles so to preserve the sense of mystery surrounding this sought after event. I just came up smiling and relieved of the interview but still never expecting for the best – just hoping. The tips I have for the future interviewees is be and know your self - Plain and simple. After that “self articulation and evaluating” experience, I spent the rest of the evening exploring the urban jungle of Makati. The picture shows much what I and my acquaintances did in the evening.

Now looking back on what happened, I was simply astonished by the variety of commerce in the area and the rush of the people. The buildings also captured my imagination. The malls like Greenbelt transmitted to me the buying fever since Ayala generously gave a “refund”. It is an area where capital (in financial terms) is written in all caps and I think it is where most of the Philippines’ value is being governed. It was an extraordinary place to be in especially for a small city boy like me. It showed me in a day the complexities of corporate Philippines and the lifestyle in entails. On the other hand, it also showed me the elegantly unsophisticated idea of a leadership community and the sense of mission it brings. Stripping away the illusory corporate experience, I think this is the essence of this congress. It is that sense of being one in a network of leaders having that connectivity to multiply and magnify our little acts of making a difference in our own areas at home. If collated and coordinated together brings significant impact to our world. Even though I’m still in the interview stage still not knowing if I will be accepted in the congress, this wonderful experience of being in Makati, talking to great peers and executives have a tremendous human value for me.