Robert Chien: His own man

MANILA, Philippines - Robert Chien sits on the living room couch of the cozy Alabang home he keeps with his wife, Lea Salonga. The room is warm and bathed in sunlight, with the personality of the family living in it shining through in each corner — a pile of books here, a piano there, a golf club in the other corner.

Rob is holding a shy smile, as though a little uncomfortable with all the attention suddenly directed at him. He answers questions quietly, but with the steady confidence of an intelligent man. Take him up on a subject he feels strongly about — good movies, health, parenting, that new game he downloaded for his iPad — and he kicks into fifth gear, engaging you in his conversation.

Robert first came under public radar when he started dating Lea over a decade ago. He was a businessman of Chinese and Japanese descent, based in the America; Lea was staying there for an extended period while working on her show Flower Drum Song. They were introduced by Rob’s cousin — and it has all been a steady climb in the years since.

Now 40 and settled in the Philippines, Rob has his hands full, occupied with his threefold role of fulltime businessman, husband and father to Nicole Beverly. And he performs all of it quite splendidly, seamlessly weaving into the lifestyle that originated as a quiet no-nonsense guy to a man suddenly thrust into the limelight by virtue of his marriage. A lot say that Rob, a very warm and sincere, down-to-earth guy, provides an excellent complement to his wife’s public image. And he just smiles when compliments to this effect come his way.

He is president of Ambient Media — a one-stop shop for media and entertainment, offering animation, audio and video, and even orchestra solutions to the Philippine movie industry and beyond. Most recently, Rob and Ambient undertook the ambitious project of creating RPG Metanoia, the first Filipino-made full-length 3D animated feature, which won the Third Best Picture award at the 36th Metro Manila Film Festival in 2010.

Rob gets to live his dream through his job in Ambient, which gives him room to explore his creativity and to flex his business muscles at the same time.

“For a time when I was young, I wanted to be an artist,” admits Rob, who also dabbles in some graphic animation through Ambient. “A singer, in fact.” Rob can sing quite well, as we’ve seen in a few rare instances such as his wedding and the surprise number at Lea’s Christmas concert some years back.

“But after I met my wife, I realized that I probably wasn’t a very good singer after all,” Rob laughs.

Rob’s work in Ambient involves a lot of communication — calls, file sharing, conferences, email and research—and often through different time zones. This is why high-speed Internet is one of the must-haves in his life.

Robert with wife Lea Salonga and daughter Nicole Beverly

“The internet has totally changed my life,” says Rob. “When I need to listen to a song or watch a video for work, I do it on the Internet. No need to have a CD recorded then picked up from somewhere. You can send large chunks of information real-time without having to leave the house.”

And with PLDT MyDSL’s unparalleled 5Mbps speed, all this is done in no time. Rob can sit back and download files in an instant.  He can make online conference calls without worrying about disruptive lags or expensive phone bills when calling overseas. And it is unlimited with no strings attached — no need to worry about additional payments in excess use. And all of these without slowing down the browsing speed of the rest of his family, as PLDT MyDSL was especially created for families with multiple gadgets using the Internet at the same time.

It also allows Rob room for leisure. When he’s not playing golf or cooking or eating healthy, Rob likes to watch movies on his laptop, or play games on his game console or iPad. He also doesn’t watch much television — he gets his news and information in real time, straight off the net.

It has done wonders for Rob’s family life as well. “Our family likes to bond,” says Rob. “We go to the mall, take Nicole to the playground, play games, video games. Every now and then one of us has to be away for work, and we keep in touch through the Internet.”

On the occasions that Lea is abroad to do a show and Rob stays in the Philippines for work, they’re constantly online for video calls, never missing a moment with each other even when professional commitments require some time away.

Rob is a hands-on dad and devoted husband. He hopes the future will have even brighter things in store for his family and his career — but right now, with most everything he wants and needs, he is very much content.