“You have to be innovative in the business. That’s how you survive.” – Cecilio Pedro
It all started with a young boy’s passion and willpower to create change in the community. Cecilio Kwok Pedro, the founder and president of Lamoiyan Corp., did not build his empire overnight. He endured failures and disappointments along the way that made him the person he is today.
Blossoming entrepreneurial mindset
When he was still studying, he used to sell ball pens to his classmates. Surprisingly, the pens ran out fast, but most if not all were purchased in credit. At this stage of his life, we can already see an entrepreneurial mindset waiting to blossom. The journey continued right after college; he opened a hardware store in Alonzo, Manila. The area is known as the hub for hardware stores and a new entrant will have difficulty in penetrating the market arena. The competition was so stiff that he ended up closing his business.
In the mid 1970s, he once again ventured in a new investment. This time he opened Aluminum Container Inc. The company was one the suppliers of the aluminum toothpaste packaging to large fast moving consumer goods companies such as Procter and Gamble, Unilever and Colgate-Palmolive. During that time, aluminum was the most trusted raw material for that item. The performance of the business was driving smoothly until his clients opted to change the material they used from aluminum to plastic. It was an end of an era that forced suppliers to eventually close their company. This hiccup did not allow Cecilio Pedro to lose hope; in fact, he once again took the risk. This decision led to the birth of one of the largest Filipino-owned fast moving consumer goods companies, known as Lamoiyan Corp., maker of Hapee toothpase.
Leading by example
True to its tagline of “Making the difference for the glory of God,” Cecilio Pedro is a strong believer of social responsibility. He is not only focused on generating profit, but his push is also to contribute to the environment and community. I think they are the first corporation who employs people with hearing disability. With this gesture, hope was restored to these hearing-impaired employees.
The reality is people with disability are given unequal opportunities in the society, which in effect, destroy their moral and self-importance. As much as possible, he really wants to help by leading by example. His main intention is to encourage other businessmen to also be socially active in helping the community.
Making the dream a reality
The entry and involvement of deaf people in the daily operations was not easy for the company. A lot of adjustments were made in order to achieve a peaceful and productive working environment. The management and its employees were also taught sign languages in order to communicate with them.
I admire how he integrated Corporate Social Responsibility to the company’s thrusts. If you come to think of it, hiring someone with an impairment may be a big challenge. But he followed his heart and made his dream of making a difference a reality. As future Lasallian business leaders, this is something that we can emulate from Lamoiyan’s founder so we can be that change in our own communities.
The author is an MBA student at the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business. This essay is part of a journal he kept in fulfillment of the requirements of the course, Lasallian Business Leadership with Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics. Visit his blog at https://thegreenchatterbox.wordpress.com/.
The views expressed here are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.