50 cheers for Bede Gomez:‘A friend like him is hard to find’
At 50, Bede Lovell Gomez has reached the point of being contented. In fact, at his golden birthday celebration at Benjarong in Dusit Thani Manila last Wednesday, Bede was a picture of contentment as he waited to share the intimate and joyful occasion with his friends — both old and new.
“I feel fulfilled,” he said, a gentle, generous smile crisscrossing his face. He is the CEO of Verzontal Builders, a construction and engineering firm. For six years, he was with First Metro Investment Corp. as head of investment advisory.
“The past years were not made of a straight line but I think reaching 50 is very fulfilling for me. I’m married for 21 years. No children but happily married to my wife Sheila. I think I have pretty much reached the point of being contented.”
In Sheila, Bede found not just a wife but an ally. “She taught me patience. I have her full support. I’m grateful.”
“Bede is my pillar, my strength, my everything,” Sheila, a banker, said. “We both love indulging our parents. We are content loving our parents.”
Bede Gomez blows the candles on his birthday cake.
Contentment is a state of mind that can be gleaned from the generosity of one’s heart. Bede, an only child, loves to help the marginalized, especially the children, but he will not dwell on discussing it. Humility is something he learned from his mother Delia Surrida Gomez, 77.
His late father Bonifacio Gomez, a senior officer in an international humanitarian organization in Thailand assisting developing countries in Southeast Asia, taught Bede not to be fixated with the things beyond his control. “He also taught me that we only define ourselves by what we do. If you decide to rob a bank tomorrow, then you’re a robber. If you decide to be a businessman tomorrow, then you’re a businessman.”
Early on, at 12 years old, Bede decided to be an investment banker. Because, on his way to school when he was studying in a British school for secondary education in Thailand, where his dad was based then, he passed by the Bangkok Stock Exchange and saw men in pinstripe suits with cuff links. He was fascinated. He asked his dad what those men were doing for a living. His father explained it to his son very well and next thing Bede knew, he was in a bookstore buying himself a book on stocks — at 12 years old.
Bent on pursuing his dreams, he finished a degree in Economics at the Loyola University of Chicago. He also took his postgraduate studies at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Bede always loves looking back at his formative years in Albay, Legazpi, his hometown where he spent his primary schooling. To this day, he shuttles between Albay and Manila to do his businesses.
He fulfilled his dreams and reached for more. Despite his accomplishments, Bede, named after Venerable Bede, an English Benedictine monk, has remained sincere and faithful to the simplicity of his heart.
(From left) ACCRA Law partner Jake Corporal, STAR chairman Ray Espinosa, SB Capital’s Alo Gelano, CP Holdings vice chairman Charles Palanca and FAMI director Gus Cosio.
“I love to celebrate with my family and friends. Because they matter to me,” he said.
To prove about the kindness of Bede’s character, lawyer Ray Espinosa, chairman of The Philippine STAR and co-partner of Bede in a tony restaurant called Atelier Vivanda in BGC that will open again soon after its renovation, said: “Bede is one of a kind. A friend like him is hard to find.”
At Benjarong that night, in between bites of sumptuous Thai dishes, in between banter and laughter, Bede’s close friends, some of whom are big shot bankers who flew in from abroad, feted him with 50 cheers.
Happy birthday, Bede!
* * *
(E-mail me at bumbaki@yahoo.com. I’m also on Twitter @bum_tenorio and Instagram @bumtenorio. Have a blessed Sunday!)
