Fernando Zobel de Ayala: The second son also rises

Don Jaime and his wife Doña Bea’s second son Fernando, 47, is Ayala Corp. president and COO and Ayala Land chairman.

He steers Ayala Land as it navigates the 21st century with a track record that is hard to beat.

History will credit the Ayala family for spearheading the real estate boom in Makati, which was just vast cogon land when the rich and famous were living in the Malate district. First, it was Forbes Park in the ’50s (In 1955, a square meter in Forbes sold at P8 per, and in 1957, it went for P16 per.), then Ayala Alabang in the ’70s.

Fernando says Makati was the launchpad for Ayala Land’s growth.

“Makati is where we learned how to develop land because that was the first time that the family and the company went into real estate. They were the real visionaries there. So I give a lot of credit to that generation, to Joseph McMicking, my grandfather. They really pioneered many things. Makati, fortunately, became very successful over time. And that allowed us the opportunity to develop other communities. Alabang was done during a different generation. And Nuvali is being done in our generation right now.”

Today, Fernando and his generation of  community planners are heading south to the Laguna area where Abrio, the next Forbes Park, is rising. Abrio is the first Ayala Land Premier residential enclave in Nuvali, the metropolitan development project of Ayala and the Yulo family.

Abrio’s 70 hectares of prime land are divided into only 380 lots measuring an average of 925 square meters each. Developers of Abrio vow that the community will “protect and honor the timeless blueprint of nature.”

Fernando finds fulfillment in being a builder.

“I think this is part of the fulfillment, being in real estate. The positive thing about it is that you will really have an enormous impact on the country and on people’s lives. And also, the opportunity to really create something that’s very, very special for people. The flip side is if you make a mistake, then you’re going to regret it many years after that. So we spend an enormous amount of time on planning and making sure that we get it right,” Fernando told me during the launching of Abrio.

Excerpts from our one-on-one:

What’s the most important thing you learned from your father?

I feel that the most important legacy my father has left us is the importance of preserving the trust of Ayala, as an institution, among its many different stakeholders. This has led us, on many occasions, to move beyond our traditional responsibilities to customers and stockholders and to also focus on doing what is right for some of our neighboring communities.

The other would be the importance of aligning our business objectives with the national development needs of our country.

Are you conscious that you’re changing the landscape for even the generation after you?

I think people really want something different now. We’re dealing with different communities right now. There are the people who want to live in Manila, they want the convenience. They are willing to live in an apartment that’s very close to work. And there are people who just want to get away and just want to move out. And they want cleaner air, they want a different type or quality of life. So the other thing that we’d like to promote is moving the workplace outside Manila.

Decongesting?

Decongesting. I think that’s very important. Otherwise, you’re just going to put more and more strain on the roads coming in to Manila.

What kind of community do you envision in Nuvali?

Well, less density, far more greenery, far more open space. The ability to travel within without having to get into your car, with our very generous cycling lanes and the ability to walk to places.

You mentioned in your speech that you hope to do in Canlubang what was done in Forbes in the ’50s and Alabang in the ’70s.

Basically when we take a piece of land, we want to make sure that we create something very, very special. I think we were able to do that, that was before my time, in Makati. Subsequently, in Alabang. We’d now like to do it in Nuvali. And I think we’ve learned from many of our experiences in the past. The idea of sustainability, clean air, issues that are very, very important to people right now, quality of life, the way they travel, the way they move from home to work and all these things are very, very important to people. Like where the kids go to school and so I hope we would be able to introduce a lot of the learning centers that we’ve had in these different communities. The other thing that I’d like to mention is we’ve traditionally been known for the higher end of the spectrum. And Abrio is about...

As high as it can get?

It’s more expensive than some of our products and there’s a market for that. But we would like to make sure that in Nuvali and its totality, that we can cater to lots of different levels of affordability.

Are you focusing south of Manila?

Traditionally, Ayala has gone south. And we continue to go south. But we’re also going north now. We’re moving into both, eh. And beyond. We’re going into Angeles, we’re going into many developments now that we’re looking at in the north. With a lot of infrastructure going on in those areas, real estate developers will go where infrastructure is in place.

Eventually, history books will remember Fernando...

Not Fernando, (but) the company, the incredible team that we have in the company. They will uplift lives, communities that people will want to go home to at the end of the day. A more relaxed and healthier environment, more sustainable, these are all the elements I think that our generation wants to see in our community.

How does it feel to belong to the richest family in the Philippines, according to Forbes magazine?

I’ve never been asked that question before.  (Being first on the list) is really not an issue that I or other members of the family think about. What I consider far more important is the happiness and fulfillment that I get from so many other parts of my life — my wonderful family, friends and the fulfillment that comes from being able to work with a great team in the company and the ability to contribute in some way to the progress of the country.

I enjoy working hard, I enjoy working with great managers in Ayala and that’s what gives me true fulfillment at the end of the day. The rest of the things actually are not an issue.

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