Bonding with James

Taking on the challenge of resurrecting an old company whose name still carries a strong recall

“At work, there are things you need to personally attend to and prioritize, and those you need to delegate to your leaders. Balancing those tasks is key.”

“WHEN everything is running well at home and the family, work-related goals become easier to pursue and succeed at.”

That is what James Velasquez, PT&T (Philippine Telegraph and Telephone) director, president and chief executive officer (CEO), strongly bears in mind, admirably prioritizes and tries to constantly do.

“My wife is my bedrock and biggest supporter,” Velasquez told The Manila Times.

“My dad passed away and was an early casualty of Covid. My mom lives in the United States with most of my siblings.

“I try to visit family in the US once in a while, and we have our regular reunions and video calls. I also have a younger brother in the Philippines. Their support and encouragement keep me going, as well.”

Velasquez has been married to Eloisa, his spouse for more than three decades now. “We met at IBM, and when my two boys were growing up, she sacrificed her own career to take care of all of us.

“For that I am always grateful. Without her support and inspiration, it would have been hard for me to carry on the pressures of the job. I have children — two sons and a daughter — James Jr., 33; Teddy, 31; and Elaine, 22.”

Being the director, president and CEO of PT&T Corp. has given Velasquez a “very unique opportunity” once he assumed his corporate positions. Professionally, PT&T has done a great deal for Velasquez.

“I saw it as a way to give back and put to good use my management/leadership skills, my resolve/patience and more importantly, be able to help all the stakeholders who have been affected by the company going under corporate rehabilitation,” he said.

Under his helm, PT&T has improved its operations and financial viability. For the past five years, revenues grew and with the revival of PT&T underway, Velasquez expects to continue this company growth in the coming years.

“The past five years has not just been a growth agenda for PT&T, although it was a critical part of what we intended to do,” Velasquez said.

“We had a lot of housekeeping measures to ensure we addressed the requirements of a publicly listed telecommunications company.

“However, for PT&T to continue to grow, means having the right talent in the company, the right processes to be able to compete and the right focus on what we need to do in the future.

“We have embarked on being a digital services company and established appropriate partnerships in IT (information technology), telecommunications and even in new areas like, low Earth orbit, artificial intelligence and other innovation. This holistic approach positions us to continue our trajectory of improved operations and financial viability in the years ahead.”

After only five years since the revival of PT&T, the company has gained recognition under the technology awards category, and Velasquez cannot be any prouder. Those distinctions are important and valuable for him and the company.

“External recognition is always a welcome development,” the company boss maintained. “We have also been recognized by the Philippine Society for Talent Development, as well as in Statista's growth champions list for two consecutive years.

“Those recognition helps with our growth agenda, our long-term objective as a company within the Menlo group. Those recognitions are only worthwhile if we stay the course and achieve what we set out to do.”

In steering PT&T totally out of corporate rehabilitation, Velasquez wants to see the company in steady state in the coming years.

“That is going to happen very soon and even before the court mandated exit date of April 2025, as we have completed most of the requirements,” he disclosed.

“We have big ambitions for PT&T, and I want to carry out the next phase of our growth agenda which brings us to more locations in the country, both with our wired and wireless broadband approach as we aim to have a substantial share of the broadband market.

“Our foray into IT and digital services has also allowed us to be more relevant to our clients as we offer critical connectivity and solutions around hardening of cybersecurity, improving business continuity, delivering IT infrastructure and productivity solutions that most businesses need.”

Little room for failure

Admittedly, resurrecting an old company whose name still carries a strong recall with people is very challenging for Velasquez.

“The job is rewarding, as well. It helped that I have been previously exposed to various challenges working at a global company here and overseas. Yes, there is recall for PT&T as a company, but not necessarily positive recall.

“Presently, we strategically use our short name PT&T as opposed to spelling out our long name, 'Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corporation,' to distance ourselves from past perceptions, emphasizing our role as a Telecommunications and Technology company.

“Being under rehabilitation gives us very little room for failure; thus, our operations need to be tight and more importantly, we need to manage our resources like it is our only resource.

“Most of what we make from our business we pour back into improving our network, our offerings and our talent. Our branding and offerings continually evolve to align with current market demographics and our future aspirations, ensuring adaptability with our target market.”

Velasquez started as an engineer at IBM and rose from the ranks to eventually take the helm of IBM Philippines.

“As president of IBM then, I led the team to grow both our domestic business and global delivery footprint,” beamed Velasquez.

“I worked with our global delivery center leaders to expand our presence from a mere employee base of 3,000 to above 15,000 by the time my term ended. We were considered one of IBM's Global Resource Centers at that time.

“During my stint at IBM, I also had the opportunity to do unconventional roles like setting up our services operations in Vietnam and Indochina. Working on a joint venture company that eventually became one of our major delivery centers in the Philippines and also doing regional leadership roles handling our IT Infrastructure Services Business and Technical Support Services in Asia-Pacific.

“As for joining PT&T in 2018, as luck or fate would have it, I happened to bump into the principal shareholder of PT&T while on a flight back to Manila and he asked if I would consider the challenge of reviving and running PT&T.”

Velasquez's top skills are operations management, business strategy and business management. Through the years, he arrived at those expertise that gave him an edge in his job and position.

“I had good foundational skills being a graduate of Electronics and Communications Engineering at University of Santo Tomas,” Velasquez said.

“However, much of what I have learned were both from the experiences I gathered by taking on new and challenging roles. I also made sure I took advantage of learning opportunities to prepare me for the role/s I was going to take on.”

Velasquez initially wanted to become a commercial pilot. “I almost had the chance, and I had to decide whether I would join Philippine Airlines' two-year cadetship program or IBM,” he said.

“I pursued Engineering, so in a way, being in the tech and telecoms industry is aligned to my aspiration.”

Velasquez was in Sydney, Australia, a few weeks before the pandemic struck.

“I was with my wife and daughter, who was studying at the University of Sydney,” he shared. “In a way, you can already sense something was not right as the government started to step in with border restrictions.

“More recently, we just stayed put, spent time with family and friends, and also attended to work commitments.”

Yet, Velasquez manages to keep a balance between work and home.

“Having a keen understanding on important matters related to family or home and with work is essential. You need to be present for the important milestones, of course — birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, graduation, etc. — and spending time with loved ones. I try to always have breakfast with my wife and family, and also have dinner most of the time at home.

“At work, there are things you need to personally attend to and prioritize, and those you need to delegate to your leaders. Balancing those tasks is key. Other things that take up my time are playing golf, occasionally playing the piano, riding my motorcycle with friends and relaxing at home with family.”

Traveling is Velasquez's important bonding moments with his family and spending quality time with his loved ones.

“Traveling has been a staple in our family,” he said.

“Not just for recreation but because we have moved to different places due to several foreign assignments and the overseas education of my son and daughter.

“I used to watch movies with my family every now and then, but that has been curtailed by the pandemic. Lately, we still occasionally go to the cinema. We regularly go out to eat, we love eating out and also traveling north or south of Manila whether for a short trip or longer.”

On weekdays, my day usually starts with breakfast at home with my wife. Usually, meetings in the office or with clients or partners. Lunch would often be in the office with key executives of PT&T, Menlo group and our principal shareholder/s. It allows us to update each other on developments in the different parts of the group.

“As much as possible, if there is no business dinner, event or appointment, I try to make it home to dine with my wife and daughter. Weekends are a mix of activities, mostly with my family and at home.

“Sometimes, I also get to ride my motorcycle with my friends. Riding actually clears my head and keeps me focused. A friend also told me it helps him with his mental well-being. I used to play basketball and still love the game. I play golf with good friends and continue to enjoy riding my motorcycle. I love listening to music and playing the piano or guitar.”

There is no particular role model that Velasquez looks up to.

“There is not one in particular that I gravitate to,” he said.

“I look up to both my parents, my father's entrepreneurship, wit and gamesmanship are some of the things I am amazed at. My mom, likewise, is a person I admired for her calmness and patience.

“My many mentors at work (both at IBM and PT&T) and even my seniors in our basketball group and my friends all had a hand in providing me with good advice along the way which I treasure to this day. It's important to learn, listen and listen, well.”

**

Quick questions

What is your biggest fear?

Bad things that could happen to loved ones.

What really makes you angry?

Corruption

What motivates you to work hard?

My family and my desire to contribute something meaningful.

What makes you laugh the most?

Something really funny as long as you are with family and friends.

What would you do if you won the lotto?

Create an investment plan.

If you could share a meal with any individual living or dead, who would he/she be?

Jose Rizal. Perhaps ask him for his insights on the Filipino of today.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

In 10 years, I hope I am settled on a beach with my wife, family and friends, still riding my motorcycle and regularly fishing. But, before then, I want to see PT&T succeed.

What celebrity would you like to meet for a cup of coffee?

Alive or dead celebrity, hands down, Muhammad Ali. If alive, I would have to go with LeBron James.

What is the most daring thing you have ever done?

Chase off a group of thugs trying to hurt a young couple.

What is the one thing you will never do again?

Missing out on a very important event or milestone in the family. I missed my younger brothers' wedding in the United States due to an important business travel. I already forgot what that important business travel was, but I still regret not going to the wedding.