“No structure is too grand, or task too difficult. No dream is out of reach.”
The words may sound big for small minds, but not for Alice Eduardo, president and chief executive of Sta. Elena Construction and Development Corp. who uttered them without any intention of pontificating—just telling the truth.
For her unyielding determination to get things done the right way—meaning high standards and beating deadlines—peers, friends and subordinates call her “woman of steel” who is arguably a cut above the rest.
Of course, she is no Supergirl, but she gained the moniker for excelling in the predominantly male-dominated construction industry where she outperforms the competition from the opposite gender.
As a young girl, Alice dreamed of being a civil engineer, wearing hard hat while looking over an infrastructure project gradually taking shape by the hours. But her mother had a different vision and wanted Alice to be a nurse or a doctor after college.
As a middle-ground compromise, Alice took business management instead, and helped run the family businesses, particularly rice milling, trading and garments export.
Somehow, her routine took a sudden twist when a customer asked if she could deliver steel. It was a tongue-in-check question, but it struck Alice like a ton of bricks.
To cut a long story short, Alice put up in 1995 Sta. Elena Construction which evolved into a P300-million company qualified to borrow as much as P1 billion. It was a dream come true for the mother of three.
“When I am happy, I go to the construction site. When I need to be recharged, I go to the construction site. When I am sad, I also go to the construction site, and then I feel good again,” she confesses.
Her first big projects were the Bacnotan Steel Plant in Batangas and the Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo power plants, also in Batangas.
As in any business, it wasn’t all milk and sunshine for Sta. Elena which also went into a tailspin during the global financial crunch in late 1990s. How to pay for new heavy equipment it procured gave Alice sleepless nights, and selling them at a loss was not an option.
Like any storm, the crisis blew over, and Sta. Elena was back on its feet.
The turning point was when mall tycoon Henry Sy decided to build the Mall of Asia and other malls across the country despite the crisis. Alice was among a few tasked to put the foundation of MOA and the SM malls in Pampanga, Bacolod, Seaside City in Cebu, Cabanatuan, Olongapo and Tarlac, along with some residential condominiums. Sta. Alena was among the very few who had the equipment to undertake the construction of their foundation.
These projects definitely put Sta. Elena in the Big League.
“They probably believed I could deliver. I had a track record of completing my projects ahead of schedule, without compromising quality,” Alice says.
Expectedly, more contracts followed suit. Sta. Elena was commissioned for the pile-driving works and pre-casting of Solaire Manila, Belle Grande Casino and Resort and the Manila Bay Resort Holtel in Parañaque City, to name a few.
Alice also outbid global competitors in the First Gen-Siemens San Gabriel Power Plant in Batangas.
For all her achievements, Alice says: “It is hard work and passion for what I am doing, and being honorable.”