JAZA way he likes it

Hailing from a family that dominated Philippine businesses for almost two decades, Jaime Zobel de Ayala fulfilled more than just making himself worthy of the birthright.

JAZA, as his colleagues and employees call him, decided to take the high road of "reinventing himself."

After graduating cum laude from Harvard College with a degree in Economics and earning his MBA at the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, JAZA continued the unparalleled legacy of entrepreneurship of his family that initially posed as a great challenge for him. Through JAZA’s strong determination to deliver beyond what is expected of him, he was able to single-handedly complement, if not exceed, the achievements of his ancestors.

Although Ayala Group established itself as the "old economy" for its 170 years of history in the business circle, the 45-year-old JAZA surged ahead to become one of the first captains of big businesses to come into the "New Economy." He bravely infused the conglomerate’s brick-and-mortar roots with real technology investment.

Fulfilling his desire to transform Ayala Corp. with a renewed business mindset, JAZA set up a subsidiary, iAyala, to manage the Group’s Internet-related ventures. Ayala Internet venture partners invested in several local startups and foreign joint ventures including Edsamail, SIRF Technology, Music.com, MeetChina.com, Wireless Internet Solutions (WNet) and PinoyExchange.com. It seeded PhilWAP to build a community for WAP users and developers.

Ayala also set up MyAyala, an online retail portal covering Glorietta5, Sureseats.com, and E-Guide. The Group has also lain down the country’s second Internet data center.

But beyond spinning a host of Internet subsidiaries, JAZA directed all the companies of his group toward his Internet vision. Thus Ayala Land got into cyberparks and online retail. Meanwhile, Bank of the Philippine Islands spun off a call center and Internet banking service, BPI Direct. Globe Telecom, has marched boldly from DSL to 3G broadband and its various usages as it fully revolutionizes Philippine telecommunications.

Even the Ayala foundation is helping wire schools around the country.

For his vision in the country’s IT community, he distinctly promoted jumpstarting the New Economy by volunteering in various organizations that adhere to his goals. He once served as commissioner for the Global Information Infrastructure Commission and co-chairman of the Information Technology and E-Commerce Council.

For JAZA, wireless applications will eventually take hold and serve as the consumers’ primary access to the Web.

Transforming and recreating avenues that are at par with the information age, JAZA will be among the 10 inspiring technopreneurs who will be awarded today at the opening of Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship’s biggest technology exposition ever at the World Trade Center.