Awesome women power

It makes me proud as a Filipino that one amazing Filipina businesswoman has made it to the top 50 Most Powerful Women in the World. Teresita Sy-Coson, at 55 years of age, has made it to the list, an awesome elite group of feisty women ruling their business empires with an iron fist. The latest and most ambitious project of SM Investments – Mall of Asia – rules in the mall industry in this part of the world, being one of the largest malls in the world today. The holding company, of which Ms. Sy-Coson is vice chair, has reported revenues of about $1 billion last year.

Women power has never been more evident than now. Even in China which has traditionally been male-dominated, women have been taking over the reins. There are Mary Ma of, which acquired IBM’s PC unit two years ago, Yang Mianmian who, at 65, is still instrumental in making the Chinese brand of appliances under the Haier Group a globally-accepted home-appliances manufacturer, and Sun Yafang of Huawei Technologies who helped steer the company to conquer newer markets in Europe and Latin America.

China reports an annual growth rate of 10 percent, which is awesome any way you look at it. In fact, they have reached a point where they are already starting to curb foreign investments in their country. For instance, they have enforced a ban on the acquisition of Chinese brokerages. Citigroup’s bid for Guandong Development Bank was unsuccessful, and so with Carlyle Group’s bid for Xugong Construction Machinery (a heavy equipment manufacturer). Both Guandong Development Bank and Xugong Construction Machinery are state-owned, and in fact, Guandong Bank has declared itself insolvent. Still, the Chinese government has not allowed these two giants to take over, refusing their massive capital infusion which would have resulted to 85 percent ownership of the companies.

China can afford to take on such a stance. They have a trade surplus of $202 billion with the US. Their foreign reserves are reported to be the largest in the world. It is expected to go beyond the $1 trillion mark.

From January to August this year, they had $37.2 billion in direct foreign investments. They seem to be slowing down this year, however. Their self-confidence allows them now to rebuff additional foreign infringement on their soil. This is the country that has produced at least four of the reigning most powerful businesswomen in the world today.

What is also most intriguing is the fact that many of these women who have made it to the list of the most powerful women in the world, business-wise, are between the ages of 40 to 50. Linda Cook, aged 48, is executive director for Gas and Power at Royal Dutch Shell, putting her in the forefront among the top lady executive of that corporation. Marina Berlusconi, at 40, sits as chair of media conglomerate Fininvest of Italy. In Spain, they have 46 year old Ana Patricia Botin, Spain’s most powerful businesswoman, who has made a name for herself in banking. In this field, several young women have surged ahead of their male compatriots – Annika Falkengree, 44, is the first CEO of SEB, Sweden’s third largest bank. Never in the history of this 150-year old bank have they had a female CEO. Barbara Symiest, at 50, is COO of Royal Bank of Canada; Chandra Kochnai, at 37, the CICI Bank’s deputy managing director; Naina Lal Kidwai, at 49, CEO of HSBC India, and Amelia Fawcett, at 50, vice chair of the revered Morgan Stanley International, one of the biggest names in the London banking circle.

Among the world’s richest women, Maria Aramburuzabala de Gorza’s name stands out. At 43 years of age, she is Mexico’s richest woman. Her family owns Corona Beer which has the biggest foothold in the Mexican market, cornering 60 percent. This feisty woman is set to conquer more frontiers for her family-owned brewery, setting her sights on the big US market.

Ana Patricia Botin is Spain’s most powerful businesswoman. At age 40, she has made quite a name for herself in the banking scene.

Even Stanley Ho’s daughter, Pansy Ho, has made the list. Stanley Ho, as everyone knows, is one of the biggest names in Macau’s gambling scene. He has been entrenched as one of the most enduring gambling bosses, having kept his foothold for decades in this booming island gambling resort. His daughter Pansy seems to be his heir apparent, and at 44, is a name to reckon with in the industry.

Israel’s Ofra Strauss, at 46, is chair of the Strauss-Elite Group, a $930-million company that ranks seventh among the top coffee sellers of the world. She is ambitious, hard-working.

And in the Arab world, Lubna Olayan of Saudi Arabia sits as chief executive officer of the Olayan Financial Group which is family-owned.

Topping the list of the world’s most powerful women is Patricia Russo, chairman and CEO of Alcatel Lucent. This French company is one of the biggest manufacturers of telecom equipment, and Russo, at 54, is steering the merger of Alcatel and Lucent to unprecedented heights. Another French company executive. Anne Lauvergeon, aged 47, is no. 2 in the list. Her field of specialization? Nuclear energy. The company has been busy building nuclear plants and reactors all over the globe, from China and Japan to Finland. Rounding up the top three is another French lady, Anne-Marie Idrac, president of SNCF in France. SNCF is handling the country’s railways and high-speed trains and is a state-owned company. She is 54 years old.

I don’t quite know if there is significance to the fact that the top three most powerful women in business are all running French companies. Two of them are in fact French – Lauvergeon and Idrac. Russo is a native of New Jersey.

I would certainly love to see more Filipinas join this elite group in the very near future.

ARESCOM on the GO

Former G2 head of the ARESCOM, Col. Joseph Galam, whose promotion was just recently confirmed by the CA in the Senate together with 50 senior officers, is now the 1501 BDE CDR covering the KAMANAVA area. Assigned Deputy BDE CDR is Col. Roberto M. Gamboa Jr. with Major Lee Licup as the BDE S2.

These were part of the series of announcements made by Brig. Gen. Emmanuel S. Cayton, Commanding General of the Army Reserve Command (ARESCOM) last September 24, a Sunday, when more than a thousand reservists from the different areas of the National Capital Region at the Fort Bonifacio parade grounds.

Another announcement made by the well-loved General was that any reservist in the ready reserve is entitled to be buried in the Libingan ng Mga Bayani in addition to some financial assistance to the family to include Military honors.

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

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