From Humble Roots to Big-Shot Business Tycoon
It’s alarming to see how much people like Manuel V. Pangilinan have achieved in their lives. It makes us lesser beings –– okay, it makes me feel like a lazy slob with absolutely no direction in life. I just hope that by the time I’m over 60, I’ll have accomplished even just a quarter of what he had.
Manny Pangilinan (b. July 14, 1946, Manila, Philippines) was clearly born an achiever. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Ateneo de Manila University, where he graduated cum laude, and in 1968, earned his MBA degree from the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce at the University of Pennsylvania (an Ivy League school, and one of the most prestigious universities in the world). After graduating, he worked for the Philippine Investment Management Consultation Inc. in Manila and then shipped himself to Hong Kong, where he was employed in companies such as Bancom International Limited and American Express Bank.
In 1981, he founded First Pacific Company Limited, where he would assume the roles of Managing Director until 1999 and Executive Chairman until 2003. In June 2003, he was appointed as CEO and Managing Director. You think that’s impressive? Well, MVP’s other credits in his impressive resume left me slack-jawed and just plain awed. Aside from acting as CEO of First Pacific Company Ltd, he serves as: Chairman of the Board of PLDT; Chairman of the Governance and Nomination and Technology Strategy Committees of the Board of Directors of PLDT; Chairman of companies such as Smart Communications, SPi, Landco Pacific Corporation, Maynilad Water Services Inc., Philex Mining Corporation, and Manila North Tollways Corporation; Director and President and CEO of Meralco; Chairman of the Boart of Trustees of San Beda College, PLDT-Smart Foundation Inc. member of the Board of Trustees of Caritas Manila and Radio Veritas-Global Broadcasting Systems Inc.; President of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas; and Chairman of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines. Received various awards over the years, such as , the President Pamana ng Pilipino Award (1996), Best CEO in the Philippines by Institutional Investor, CE0 of the Year by Biz News Asia in 2004, and, most recently the Global Filipino Exeutive of the Year at the Asia CEO Awards in 2010. Pangilinan has also received Honorary Doctorates in Humanities from the San Beda College in 2002 and from the Xavier University in 2007 and was named as one of the 2009 Heroes of Philanthropy by Forbes magazine.
His good name was tainted in 2010, when he admitted that he had plagiarized –– or, in his words, “had some help” with –– his commencement speech for ADMU’s graduating class. Numerous bloggers and journalists noted the similarities of MVP’s commencement speech to that of media mogul Oprah Winfrey, author J.K. Rowling, Conan O’Brien, and even United States president Barack Obama.
Some of his plagiarized passages include:
MVP
So today, I wish you nothing better than similar friendships. And tomorrow, I hope that even if you remember not a single word of mine, you will recall those of Seneca, one of the old Romans I met in search of ancient wisdom – as is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, that matters.
JK Rowling
So today, I wish you nothing more than similar friendships. And tomorrow, I hope that even if you remember not a single word of mine, you remember those of Seneca, another of those old Romans I met when I fled down the Classics corridor, in retreat from career ladders, in search of ancient wisdom: As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.
MVP
44 years ago I sat where you sit now, and I thought exactly what you are now thinking, ‘What is going to happen to me? Where can I find a job? Am I really graduating a virgin?’
Conan O’Brien
15 years ago, I sat where you sit now. And I thought exactly what you are now thinking, ‘What’s going to happen to me? Will I find myself in the world? Am I really graduating a virgin?’
The issue of plagiarism generated much buzz, as with his decision to resurrect Willi Revillame’s controversial show –– which would later be accused of child abuse following an incident where a six-year-old boy was persuaded to dance like a male stripper. In spite of the negative buzz, Pangilinan continued to do his job, even contemplating to be a part of a group of investors that will financially support NBA’s Sacramento Kings. Evidently, his top priority is to profit.
References:
· Bong Godinez, PEP.ph. (2010). Plagiarism accusations against Manny Pangilinan pile up | PEP.ph: The Number One Site for Philippine Showbiz. Available: http://www.pep.ph/news/25320/Plagiarism-accusations-against-Manny-Pangilinan-pile-up. Last accessed June 9 2011.
· WikiPilipinas: The Hip ‘n Free Philippine Encyclopedia. (2011). Manuel V. Pangilinan. Available: http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Manuel_V._Pangilinan. Last accessed June 7 2011.
· Mikhaela De Leon, Philippine Online Chronicles. (2010). MVP says sorry for ‘borrowed’ speech, quits ADMU post. Available: http://thepoc.net/breaking-news/breaking-stories/5683-mvp-says-sorry-for-borrowed-speech-quits-admu-post.html. Last accessed June 7 2011.
· Forbes.com. (2010). Manuel V. Pangilinan Profile. Available: http://people.forbes.com/profile/manuel-v-pangilinan/63628. Last accessed 7th June 2011.
· John L. Silva. (2011). JOHN’S THOUGHTS AND DEEDS: A Letter to Manny Pangilinan. Available: http://johnsilva.blogspot.com/2011/03/letter-to-manny-pangilinan.html. Last accessed 7th June 2011.
· Millionaires in the Philippines. 2009. Millionaires in the Philippines: Manny Pangilinan. [ONLINE] Available at: http://millionaireinthephilippines.blogspot.com/2009/02/manny-pangilinan.html. [Accessed 07 June 11].
· Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2011. Manuel V. Pangilinan – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_V._Pangilinan. [Accessed 07 June 11].
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment