00:00 I have to congratulate you because you recently had your chambers awarding.
00:04 You were giving recognition to some companies, both Philippine companies and Italian companies
00:12 for a number of reasons.
00:14 Could you talk about that?
00:15 What were the awards about?
00:16 This is, I think, the fifth cycle.
00:18 Is that right?
00:19 Maybe talk about some of the companies who were given awards.
00:22 It was our ICCPI Leadership Awards.
00:26 It was actually the third edition.
00:28 Third, okay.
00:29 And they were dramatically successful because, actually, I think that being awarded by an
00:37 Italian entity is, in certain sectors and for certain companies, actually a very big
00:45 compliment.
00:47 Yes, we have had, I think, ten different types of awards, among which also the Italpinoi
00:56 of the year.
00:57 Italpinoi, okay.
00:58 Italpinoi is someone who contributes to both Italy and the Philippines in their own way,
01:04 in their own sector, which where we had Italpinoi's Development Corporation winning with architect
01:13 Romulo Nati.
01:15 He actually was the one who invented the name Italpinoi.
01:19 Okay.
01:20 And I copied it into the awards.
01:26 And then we had, for example, the Sustainability Award.
01:29 Yes, I remember that.
01:31 Was won by also a nice lady who, with their solar panels, is having a great success with
01:41 local LGUs and other off-grid developments.
01:46 And overall, we had a very happy crowd cheering, even just the nominees.
01:54 They were winners, because in the end of the day, being selected...
01:58 Just being nominated.
01:59 Being nominated was already a big thing.
02:03 And I'm happy, I have to congratulate all of them.
02:06 We even had the restaurateur of the year, so we had...
02:11 And that was not about the best food, I had to specify, because otherwise, you know, the
02:16 tastes are all different.
02:17 Maybe the best pizza for me is not the best pizza for you.
02:21 Absolutely.
02:22 But it was about the entrepreneur of these restaurants.
02:26 And yeah, we had three nominees who battled until the end.
02:33 I should disclose that I was one of the judges of those awards.
02:39 Not a very easy task, Lawrence, that you gave us, because there were so many good choices
02:43 to pick from.
02:45 What struck me was, I think, the diversity of the people who were nominated.
02:51 As you said, from food to renewable energy, quite an interesting selection.
02:58 Was that by design?
02:59 Because, you know, by the time it reached us, I mean, we, of course, preselected and
03:03 screened.
03:06 Many of those were nominated and made a short list.
03:09 Were you wanting to highlight the particular, I don't know, maybe Italian expertise that
03:14 maybe that's not so well known here yet?
03:16 Or it just came out that way?
03:18 Well, sometimes, you know, we get surprised ourselves, because in the end, it's not us
03:24 who do the nomination process.
03:26 It's the public and our members.
03:31 Sometimes there are really interesting companies coming up, which are actually amazing.
03:36 And we had, for example, Arrose Noir, which is by the Swiss entrepreneur, Mr. Dubois was
03:44 his name.
03:46 And he set up a factory in Clark with thousands and thousands of employees.
03:51 I remember that.
03:52 I was surprised.
03:53 I couldn't believe that he had that many employees in Clark.
03:58 And he's doubling now the size.
03:59 I think he has 3,000, now he has 6,000.
04:02 And it's absolutely amazing, because he's doing this in the Philippines.
04:05 It should be an example for everyone.
04:07 They should showcase him all over the world.
04:12 What made him successful?
04:13 And why Clark, of all of the places?
04:15 I mean, have you had a chance to ask him?
04:18 I mean, I suppose to, you know, Clark's a fine place to do business in, but there are
04:23 many other destinations.
04:24 But have you had a chance to?
04:25 I think he started in Hong Kong.
04:29 He had a brilliant idea.
04:30 I think he understood coming from the hospitality sector from the hotels, he understood that
04:37 if he pre-prepares the pastries that are being finished in the hotels and sends it to them,
04:46 it will cut a lot of time to the pastry chefs in the hotels.
04:52 And they're selling 40 containers a month all over the world.
04:56 I can't believe the scale.
04:58 Yes.
04:59 Fantastic.
05:00 And there was also a particular category for women leaders in your award.
05:05 Why was that important to recognize?
05:07 Well, women are always very important in society and in business, especially in the Philippines.
05:14 But are they exceptionally doing well?
05:16 I mean, are they exceptionally, as well in the Philippines?
05:20 Is that part of the reason behind it?
05:23 Well, we have actually a big event on March 8th.
05:29 Every March 8th, which is the Women's Day.
05:33 We hold the Women Lead Conference.
05:38 So we invite all women to join the event.
05:41 We have various speakers.
05:44 Because women need to be encouraged.
05:48 Because they're not only businesswomen, they're mothers, they have a family.
05:52 So sometimes you see really incredible things coming from women.
05:58 I have always been an admirer of matriarchal societies.
06:02 And I think somehow Italy and also the Philippines are near to being a matriarchal society.
06:09 You see so many single moms carrying on.
06:14 There's a joke in the Philippines.
06:15 They say that the father is the head of the household, but the wife is the commander.
06:20 Well, definitely, definitely.
06:24 Your prime minister is also a woman this year.
06:26 I'm not sure what your politics is, but she's one of those exceptional leaders.
06:35 You don't see very many of them in the world.
06:37 We admire her.
06:38 Personally, I admire her because she has the courage to say things, which many think, but
06:46 they're scared to say.
06:48 Of course, she has apparently held herself back with the latest worldwide issues where,
06:56 let's say, you cannot really fully say your opinion.
07:00 But I think she's doing well at the moment.
07:04 And there is the need of more leaders like her, also here in the Philippines.
07:10 Can you talk about the rest of the three speakers?
07:12 There were a few of them who were nominated.
07:16 I'm just wondering how, from an Italian's perspective, how does our Italian cuisine
07:22 here, because there are a number of Italian restaurants that are conceptualized in the
07:28 Philippines, but they brand themselves as Italian.
07:31 I was wondering if it's very different from what an Italian would like in terms of restaurant
07:41 cuisine and which ones you think are more appealing than the others.
07:48 Do you have a favorite, for instance?
07:50 If you want to see Italians fighting, you will talk about cars, food, and football.
08:00 So I think it's very difficult to find unanimity about which one is the best food, which restaurant
08:09 makes the best pizza, and so on.
08:12 I think every restaurant has some dishes which they make better than others, but none of
08:19 them is probably the top in all.
08:25 And maybe that is the politically correct way to say it, because even with my Italian
08:32 friends, if you ask me, I will say a different place than the others.
08:39 So it really depends on the personal taste, on the capabilities of the restaurants.
08:45 I think the only thing I have to underline is that Italians don't like sweet sauce.
08:54 So that's purely Filipino when you see Italian food that's sweet.
08:59 And no pineapple on the pizza.
09:05 It's interesting that there was also a mix of what seems like a well-known Italian, Santi's
09:11 for instance, and there was also some new ones.
09:15 But Santi's has a very interesting history and story behind it as well from our discussions.
09:22 You want to share that?
09:23 Yes, actually with Santi's, with Werner, it's great because I'm able to speak my dialect.
09:29 My German dialect.
09:33 So that struck me when I was with him that we have a very good understanding.
09:41 But Santi's, we should make a monument for Santi's, because for how many years now they
09:46 have been advocating for Italian, German, Austrian and Swiss products, gourmet products,
09:56 which he has brought in and made available for foreign expats and Filipinos alike.
10:05 We really need to set up a monument for him.
10:08 And you were talking about Italpinois a while ago.
10:11 I remember that some of the nominees were actually Italian Filipinos or Filipino Italians.
10:16 And some of them were very young entrepreneurs.
10:20 Can you talk about them?
10:21 Are there many of them, young Filipino Italians that are also, should be on our radar as up
10:29 and coming entrepreneurs?
10:31 Yeah, there is actually several of them.
10:35 I think second generation Italians.
10:39 Some of them don't even speak Italian anymore.
10:42 They speak more English than Italian.
10:47 I think that is an issue because we don't have Italian schools here where children could
10:54 go.
10:55 But yes, there is a very strong will and they're really hungry for success and to prove themselves,
11:02 both in the restaurant business and in other businesses.
11:06 For example, we had also one company, Metro Mart, who has shown that they can deliver
11:14 anywhere, any product in Metro Manila and now also in other cities.
11:20 So that was a formidable result.
11:23 They have been in our leadership awards last year.
11:27 I think he won the exceptional entrepreneur award.
11:30 And yeah, so that just shows how much potential there is here.
11:35 With good ideas, we can get anywhere, but always we need to find the right partners.
11:41 Sure.
11:42 We have to wrap up pretty soon.
11:44 Are there any other chamber events that's coming up that maybe we should be on the lookout
11:49 for?
11:50 Well, we have now our Christmas dinner on December 6th.
11:55 And everyone who would like to join may just inquire from our website or Facebook.
12:02 And then next year we will start again with, I think we have over 12 big conferences and
12:09 then another eight social events, the aperitivo italiano, which is very famous.
12:15 It's an upscale aperitif with Italian gourmet foods and fine wines.
12:24 So that's absolutely not to be missed.
12:27 And yes, and then the usual, you mentioned the transport and logistics forum.
12:32 We will have a data and cybersecurity event and then we have other things that we can,
12:44 and we showcase women lead.
12:51 We have a contribution to various events in furniture where we last year, so sorry, it's
13:04 still this year.
13:05 I'm already with my mind.
13:06 You're so full.
13:07 I'm thinking, yeah, it's super full.
13:10 We are upgrading even our team now.
13:13 We had Italy by design, which is a collaboration with Poly Design from the Polytechnic University
13:21 of Milan.
13:23 And also that is an incredible opportunity for Filipino designers who would like to upgrade
13:29 their knowledge and their capacity to deliver.
13:35 Very interesting.
13:36 It looks like you have a backhound there.
13:37 You know, I should mention, I just got back from Frankfurt in the Philippines, will be
13:41 the guest of honor at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2025.
13:45 But what's interesting is Italy will be the guest of honor next year.
13:48 So we'll be looking at how you do things and maybe learn from your experience.
13:56 Lawrence, it's been a pleasure talking to you.
13:58 It's always a pleasure talking to you.
14:00 Maybe before we go, you want to leave our guests with a message from the chamber?
14:04 Yeah, definitely.
14:06 Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity.
14:08 I would recommend all companies who are interested in exporting their products to come to us
14:15 and visit us.
14:17 And we will definitely be happy to help them because Italy is the gateway to Europe.
14:21 Thank you.
14:30 Bye.
14:31 Bye.
14:31 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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