Grace Vera Cruz: Steering Grab to new heights

MANILA, Philippines — Grace Vera Cruz used to hold a nine-to-five job crisscrossing cities and small towns in Baguio, La Union and Pangasinan.  Fresh out of college, she started her career journey managing gas stations in northern Luzon for Shell Philippines – a humble beginning for a woman who will someday lead a male-dominated, tech-driven company.

An astute business leader, it’s no coincidence that Grace was given the tough job of leading the Philippine operations of Grab at the height of COVID pandemic in 2020. The Singapore-based company, Southeast Asia’s largest ride-hailing service and leading superapp, must have seen in Grace the mark of a formidable and effective leader: passionate and dedicated. Someone who could steer Grab out of the pandemic-induced challenges and propel the company to greater heights, post-pandemic and beyond.

Grace obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Economics from the  University of the Philippines in Diliman. As a student of economics, Grace had to prove her mettle under the tutelage of the country’s brightest economists.  She says learning economics under the likes of Raul Fabella, Cayetano Paderanga Jr., Benjamin Diokno and Solita Monsod was an achievement in itself. Among them, however, her favorite was Paderanga.

Her admiration for the former socioeconomic planning chief stems from his dedication to serving the government even in difficult times. Paderanga served the first Aquino presidency between 1990 and 1992, at a time when the economy was getting up from the Martial Law shambles. After that, Paderanga returned to public service from 2010 to 2012 under the second Aquino administration in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis.

After stepping out of UP, Grace joined Shell Philippines as a retail territory manager, landing north of Luzon as her first field assignment.  For two years, she fully embraced her role as a retail territory manager, waking up before dawn and going home at sundown, ensuring the consistent delivery of the Shell customer commitment. The exposure honed Grace’s ability to navigate business and operational challenges, giving her the flexibility and ability to think outside the box.

Driven and hungry for more challenges, Grace moved to CLSA Exchange Capital as an investment banker. She later attended a business school in London to hone her  skills further. Before joining Grab Philippines in 2020, she was the managing director of Philippine-based investment firm Seawood Resources Inc.

When Grace joined Grab in 2020, the technology company entrusted Grace with the task of growing its portfolio in the Philippines. The year 2020 was a difficult period for the Philippine economy thanks to the pandemic. Tough containment measures hobbled the economy, putting most productive activity to a grounding halt. However, it was also the time when most Filipinos started to rely heavily on technology and digital platforms to complete their daily transactions, putting Grab Philippines in a make-or-break situation of either maximizing an opportunity or missing out on the chance to make big waves in the ride-hailing sector.

Nearly four years at the helm of Grab, Grace cemented the company’s position in the lives of more Filipinos as well as strengthened its contributions to the country’s economic development by providing employment and creating business opportunities.

Under her leadership, the superapp grew its presence in over 100 cities nationwide. This growth was instrumental in promoting a more balanced regional development, primarily through the introduction of GrabCar and GrabFood in more areas in Visayas and Mindanao – with offerings that are tailor-fitted to the needs of the local communities.

As Grab Philippines continues to expand its presence, its economic contributions have grown substantially. A recent study by the University of Asia and the Pacific’s Center for Research and Communications  (UA&P-CRC) found that every peso spent on Grab generates an additional P3.42 for the economy, highlighting the platform’s notable economic multiplier effect.  Activities on the Grab app also translated to an estimated gross domestic product contribution of P37 billion to P165.6 billion from 2019 to 2021.

Guided by Grace’s north star of creating a positive and meaningful impact in the lives of more Filipinos, Grab Philippines continues to focus on creating affordable product solutions like GrabCar Saver and GrabFood Saver Delivery and the generation of viable livelihood opportunities.

The UA&P-CRC study also found that the Grab platform has reduced the country’s unemployment by 1.1 percent to 1.6 percent between 2019 and 2021,  aligning with Grace’s focus on driving Grab’s role as a key engine of the country’s economic growth.

Recently, Grab Philippines entered the two-wheel market by buying Move It, one of the players allowed by the government to provide motorcycle-taxi services. Likewise, Grab is testing the viability of a new feature wherein customers can hire a driver for their vehicles for up to 12 hours. Apart from this, Grab is piloting another solution enabling passengers to book in advance.

Public service

Grace believes that working for a transport provider like Grab means working for public service, especially in the Philippines.

According to a study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, traffic congestion in Metro Manila costs the economy at least P3.5 billion daily or P1.27 trillion annually. Losses could increase to P9 billion daily by 2030 if the traffic situation remains the same.

What keeps Grace up at night? The country’s traffic woes and the lack of an efficient public transportation system, she says. Grace believes that the least a commuter should think about when going home or going to work is the availability of transport units, saying that “no one should ever wait an hour to ride a bus, jeepney or train.’’

This is why when reports of long lines of weary train or jeepney commuters reach Grace, she knows that demand for Grab cars will surge and commuters will fight for a limited car supply. The first person Grace calls in this situation is the company’s head of mobility to know the scale. “Whenever I land at the airport, the first person I talk to is the head of our mobility. I ask (our head of mobility) if we can give service to the people who need us,” she says.

As Grace looks back to her first job, reflecting on how far she had come since her early days in northern Luzon, she acknowledges that listening to feedback and insights with an open mind has helped her develop the kind of management style that has become essential in propelling Grab Philippines to what it is now--a partner for economic progress.

As a testament to this, Grace was recently named Business Leader of the Year at Campaign Magazine’s Women Leading Change Awards Asia-Pacific. The award-giving body recognized Grace’s pivotal role in achieving and maintaining the strong growth momentum of the leading superapp in the Philippines post-pandemic.

When the going gets tough, Grace draws inspiration from her mentors, who chose public service in some of the hardest times. Grace understands why Grab is here and why she is here.