THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE
UP INSTITUTE FOR SMALL-SCALE INDUSTRIES ISSUE NO. 19
Former Metro Manila Development (MMDA) chair and former Markina City mayor Bayani Fernando, who was also a graduate of Batch 1 of UP ISSI’s Managers Course (MC) in 1970 to 71, led the distinguished guest speakers at the Competitive Entrepreneurial Leadership Conference held last Saturday, August 25, at the Institute.
Former MMDA chair leads speakers at entrep conference “Everything I learned in execution and management, I must have learned from here,” he said.
F
ernando, who is also a construction magnate, spoke about leadership execution and governance, mainly sharing his experiences in running a small business and in administering the city of Marikina as three-term mayor. Peripherally, he referred to his stint as MMDA chair. In 1970, Fernando attended the first run of the MC. According to him, he never took a formal management degree nor a postgraduate program after finishing Bachelor of Science in Engineering at the Mapua Institute of Technology.
Thus, he said, “If I turned out to be a good manager, it is because of ISSI.” Now out of public service and back to business management, Fernando says he is happy as a practicing industrial designer, having designed what he calls a revolutionary schoolhouse. The design is modular, made mostly of stainless steel, and could be installed in three days. He is about to begin to construct more than 2,000 school buildings using this design, having won a bid as a private construction company.
15 more guest speakers
T
he conference, organized to mark the anniversary of the founding of UP ISSI 43 years ago, featured 15 other speakers from the private business and industry sector, government, and academe who talked on various aspects of entrepreneurial leadership as well as entrepreneurship methods and tools. Department of Science and Technology Usec. Fortunato T. dela Peña, who is also a former ISSI director, spoke on innovation leadership management,
Former UP ISSI director and current Department of Science and Technology Usec. Fortunato T. dela Peña talks about innovation leadership management.
stressing that an innovation or an invention must be commercialized and bring financial returns in order to be considered successful. Myrna Bituin, owner and founder of Pampanga-based furniture manufacturing firm Betis Crafts, Inc., talked about entrepreneurial values and work ethics. This was not the first time she was invited to speak at ISSI. A few months ago, she spoke at the First Distinguished Entrepreneurship Leadership Forum together with former Las Piñas City congresswoman Cynthia Villar. Another MC alum, Tita Datu Puangco (6th MC, 1973), president and chief executive officer of Arcilla Enterprise Development Consulting Company, spoke about leadership communications.