Susan Peña Joven: Forever Young
She lives up to her name, “Joven,” which is Spanish for “young.”
PR guru Susan Peña Joven recently turned 75, and she flaunts her years like she would a diamond.
“I’m grateful, period. Whether it be for the people I love, experiences that made me who I am, or even challenges I faced. I’m grateful to them all,” says Susan, founder, chairman and muse of Visions & Expressions, one of the leading PR agencies in the country.
Looking back, Susan, a mother of two and grandmother of three, says she started in the business “the hard way and from the bottom.”
“After I graduated from UST, my professor Jullie Yap-Daza recommended me to Rustan’s matriarch Gliceria “Glecy” Tantoco (GRT). Rustan’s was my real-life training ground. Being mentored by GRT is like getting a PhD in luxury retail advertising, publicity and promo. She was very tough and demanding. Good was never enough. She expected excellence,” recalls Susan.
Tutored by a mentor like Glecy, who is revered still in the Philippine retail industry even decades after she passed away, Susan bloomed.
“It was daunting, but I put in the energy, dedication, and, most importantly, time. It takes time to be your best self. It takes time to develop skills, taste and expertise,” she shares.
Susan observes that people are more impatient these days.
“I’m a product of the process, and I think resilience, consistency and endurance make all the difference,” says Susan of the hours she clocked to perfect “the process.” She was no “lazy Susan.”
After GRT passed on the baton to her daughter Zenaida “Nedy” Tantoco (ZRT), Susan continued to shine under ZRT’s sun.
“From her mother GRT, I learned discipline and professionalism. From Nedy, I learned grace and generosity. After I left Rustan’s, she was my first supporter. She gave me my first clients through Stores Specialists, Inc. (SSI) and Rustan Marketing Corp. (RMK) – both of which I still handle today under the leadership of her son, Anton Huang,” says Susan.
If Glecy and Nedy were the wind beneath her wings professionally, Susan’s father, the late Proculo Peña, Sr., was the turbo power that launched her trajectory.
“My father’s eyes sparkled every time he was around people. He was extremely charming, fantastic with people, and had a winning sense of humor. I guess it was in my blood to have a happy and fun disposition. Like him, I genuinely love meeting and socializing. I’m an extrovert through and through. And that proved to be my greatest strength in navigating PR, which is a business all about people,” says Susan.
When she ventured out into her own 34 years ago after leaving Rustan’s, she set up Visions & Expressions.
“I couldn’t find two better words that capture the essence of what I do. And they have to go together. What’s the point of having an idea without the ability to communicate it, and vice versa. I didn’t have to write a mission statement. It’s all in the name,” she tells us.
It was no bed of roses for this working mother to Lloyd and Ginggay, and wife to the late Roland Joven. She had visions, expressions and challenges.
“Challenges are never-ending because this industry is very dynamic,” she points out. “Change is the only constant thing in business. Same as life. I think it takes a lot of humility to admit mistakes, and takes even more courage to learn and correct them. I beat myself up for about five minutes, then I move on. Over time, I have learned to anticipate better and be able to prevent mistakes from happening,” she shares a trade secret.
Susan is generous with the secrets to Visions & Expressions’ success.
“With respect to people as the base ingredient for the recipe, you add a generous serving of professionalism, a hefty dose of creativity, a dash of foresight, a pinch of tenacity, sprinkle with conviction, and garnish with prayer.”
Still, she reveals discovering the formula is not enough. You have to sustain the recipe. This she does by being people-oriented. “I love fun, interesting, insightful people. I can never tire of encountering new characters. Never. There’s always something new to learn: a new story to hear, a new perspective to appreciate, and a new experience to relish. I think curiosity, spirit, and enthusiasm are the keys to a productive and meaningful existence, professionally and personally.”
Susan’s daughter Ginggay dela Merced, who is part of Visions & Expressions, says her mother “is very unconventional.”
“When I was a teenager, I remember coming home at 4 a.m. one school night and Mom was about to scold me. But I knew from her driver that she had just arrived 10 minutes before. So when she asked me, ‘Do you know what time it is?! Why are you home so late?’ I asked the same to her, then she just laughed.”
Ginggay says her “unconventional” mother “was always the cooler, ‘younger’ one between the two of us. She’s the more fun one. She’s very colorful and energetic. Her quirks are hilarious.”
Ginggay learned the ropes of PR by observing her mother.
“As a mentor, she doesn’t teach. You have to observe her, then you learn. She’s so masterful and charming with people. That’s really where she shines. When I see her enter an event, I really think, ‘Oh, this is really her.’ She works a crowd unlike anybody else.”
Susan’s success is the product of her vision and how she has expressed it — not just with skill and passion, but with the energy and excitement of someone who is, just like her daughter has described her, forever young.
You may e-mail me at [email protected]. Follow me on Instagram @joanneraeramirez.
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