‘It was past 6 p.m.  and the young man was engrossed in heaps of papers on the table at Max’s Restaurant at SM-Iloilo City. Once in a while, he would pause, perhaps, to analyze the figures. Once more, he was going over more and more papers.  A couple of persons arrived, apparently his assistants, and they started looking at the papers together. They were joined in a while by a couple. “His parents,” the waiter whispered.

The same scene takes place daily at the end of the day at Max’s. The young man is Emmanuel Aguillon, the youngest of the two children of Eduardo and Filamie Aguillon, after whom the F&E Group of companies is named.

Emman, at 23, two years after earning his Accountancy degree from U.P. Visayas, is either the chief financial officer, internal operations head or human resources executive of almost 20 establishments under the Group, including 11 branches of its automotive division the distributing company of San Miguel Beer and Coca Cola for Antique, and the corporation handling the three franchises of Max’s Restaurant in Bacolod and Iloilo cities. His older sister, Maria Eugenia, is in charge of marketing and promotions.

To provide a welcome break from his hectic daily routine, Emman finds time to collect action figures and miniature cars. “I really adore sculptures and assembled cars that these things crowd my shelves,” he says, adding that he also loves to watch movies – especially the horror, sci-fi and romantic comedies kind. “They lighten up my mood,” he says.

He admits he can’t picture himself being married at his age now. “I’m still having fun, confesses the young executive who has an apparent preference for smart casual business wear -- striped or checkered shirts and signature denim jeans.

The Aguillons were in Bacolod City last week to celebrate the second anniversary of Max’s Restaurant at SM City in Bacolod. StarLife managed to arrange an e-mail interview with the young executive.

StarLife: When was the Bacolod Max’s started as part of your family business initiatives?

Emman: Aguillon Ventures, Inc., the company holding the franchise of Max’s Restaurant for Iloilo and Bacolod, started its first operation back in October of 2003. The first branch is in SM City Iloilo, located at the Upper Ground Floor. Aguillon Ventures, Inc. assumed ownership and management of Max’s in Bacolod City only when it was transferred to SM Bacolod on Oct. 5, 2007. Max’s Robinsons Place Bacolod was operated by a different franchisee and closed down before it was transferred.

StarLife: How many Max’s stores do you manage?

Emman: ‘Manage’ is a such a bold word for me. In truth and in fact, I am only responsible for Internal Operations of all corporations under the F&E Group. In my line of work, I cover all three outlets of Aguillon Ventures, Inc., which are Max’s Restaurant SM City Iloilo, Delgado and Bacolod, among others.

StarLife: In Bacolod what are the Aguillon Ventures Inc. firms? When did you start business in Bacolod?

Emman: Max’s Restaurant in SM is the only one under Aguillon Ventures, Inc. But we have other businesses in Bacolod which are also under the F&E Group. These are F&E (Bacolod), Inc., a service center located in Singcang, and Tireshop, Inc., a sales outlet located in Corner Hilado St. Both companies specialize in selling quality tires under the Goodyear name, Exxon Mobil lubricants (which we exclusively import and distribute in Panay and Negros) and Motolite batteries. F&E (Bacolod), Inc. was our first business in Negros, which opened in 1985.

StarLife: How does the Bacolod business fare, compared with your ventures in Iloilo?

Emman: It is difficult to make comparisons between the business conditions of Bacolod and Iloilo because in our line of business, the kind of customers that we cater to in Bacolod differs significantly with those in Iloilo. In the tire business for example, in Bacolod, our customer base are mostly big fleet accounts while in Iloilo, we serve mainly small transport businessmen, but a lot more numerous. In the restaurant business however, I would say insofar as Max’s Restaurant is concerned, our customer base is practically identical.

StarLife: Please tell us more about F&E Corporation.

Emman: The F&E Group is a family corporation. Four of us in the family and one of my aunts are the members of the Board of Directors. All major business decisions are made unanimously through a meeting. Despite the fact, all our companies are run by professionals that were hired and selected carefully through a process.

StarLife: What were the activities here during the Max’s anniversary?

Emman: We had the Lucky Tilaok, a signature Max’s Restaurant promotional activity  wherein members of our crew go out and dance the “Just Got Lucky” song and waiters give out specialty items such as caramel bars, cups of ice cream and Pepsi products after the chicken crow sound. This is only for our second-year anniversary in Bacolod, which ran from Oct.  1-5 and played anytime during the day.

Last year, we had a mask-making contest for students in line with the Masskara Festival. We also gave away prizes to the top three most unique and striking masks among the entries.

StarLife: How about during this year’s MassKara Festival?

Emman:  Aligned with Max’s Franchising Inc., for the Masskara Festival this 2009, Max’s SM Bacolod will be giving away buko pandan for a minimum purchase of P500, sizzling tofu for a minimum purchase of P1,000 and our newest dessert sampler for a minimum purchase of P1,500.

StarLife: On a personal note, can you tell us of your interests? Let’s say, sports.

Emman: I’m not the type of person who’s really into sports, although, I swim a lot, about three to four times a week. Swimming is more of my exercise than a sport. I also do basketball and football back in college, but I never had an inclination to become a star player.

StarLife: You recently went to Singapore and appeared to have some sporting fun at the Formula 1 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix. What was the trip about?

Emman: The 2009 Formula 1 Singapore Singtel Grand Prix trip was never in my plan. It just happened that our company was entitled to an all-expenses paid trip to Singapore from Sept. 25-28,  which included a Front Row ticket to the F1, thanks to Philippine Allied Enterprises Corporation, national distributor of the known tire brand Bridgestone, and one of our principals. Since my parents and sister did not like to go, I took the opportunity to enjoy the privilege.

I went with other dealers of Bridgestone which were also privileged to join the trip and some employees of Philippine Allied Enterprises Corporation. There were around 15 of us all in all.

StarLife: What was your impression of the competition?

Emman: For me, the competition was really intense, since everything was fast paced, with the racers passing by in front of spectators in just a few seconds. It got boring midway, though, since what was taking place was similar to what we’ve seen several times already. Lewis Hamilton, driver of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, was really good. He was really my idol ever since. I watch F1 from time to time, and I also collect miniature racecars as part of my hobby.

StarLife: What other places of interest did you visit in your September trip?

Emman: My trip to Singapore was really short, I was there for four days and three nights only. A city tour was part of the package. We visited Chinatown, Faber Mountain, the Botanical Gardens and Little India. We were also made to visit the office of Bridgestone Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., so that we will be able to appreciate more the organization of the corporation carrying the No. 1 tire brand in the world. All of these were really interesting places.

StarLife: Can you please tell us of your academic background? We heard you graduated with honors and received other citations.

Emman: I am a member of the UP Visayas Class 2007.  Yes, I graduated with honors. I got my Bachelor of Science in Accountancy, Magna Cum Laude. I also received the Sycip Gorres Velayo (Member Company of Ernst & Young Global) Excellence Award and a UP Presidential Scholarship Award, having maintained this prestigious scholarship until graduation since it was granted to me.

I graduated Second Honorable Mention from Ateneo de Iloilo (Santa Maria Catholic School) and also received special awards — the Mercury Drug Medal for Excellence in Mathematics and the St. Francis Xavier Service Award.

StarLife: Did you go on special training/short term or degree program after graduation from UPV?

Emman: Yes, I enrolled at the Asian Institute of Management — a special course on Family Corporations. Other than that, I also attended a special course on Human Resource Management and Basics on Labor Standards conducted by a sister company of AIM.

StarLife: Did you have other jobs prior to your multifarious involvement in the family corporation?

Emman: No, I immediately jumped up the board with our family corporation since my father ‘bribed’ me in joining our business. During my college years, though,  I worked as an on-the-job trainee at Sycip Gorres Velayo & Co. in Makati.

StarLife: With your hectic schedule, what’s your typical day like?

Emman: I usually wake up at 8a.m, eat my breakfast and do the rest of my personal stuff until 9 a.m., then I leave for work at that time. I have lunch at the office at noon and go back to work at around 12:30. Around 5, I leave the office along with my assistant administrative manager, accounting manager, human resource manager and other staff, so I can again visit Max’s Restaurant Iloilo for internal concerns and issues.

Around 7 p. m., I do swimming at a hotel pool nearby, and around 8, Igo directly to Joey Pepperoni for other concerns. I eat dinner at Joey Pepperoni and stay there until it closes at 10. Then I go home to watch TV until I fall asleep. Kind of workaholic, yes, that’s me alright, but I can be a little flexible at times, especially if my friends would contact me or I go on a date.

StarLife: What’s difficult about your jobs?

Emman: What I find difficult with my job is really keeping up with my schedule. I always go beyond that since my plans can go unrealistic and one task can be so demanding that it takes time. I think I have to manage my time more. I also find counseling employees quite hard since some people that I counsel can be much older than me, and sometimes it would appear to them that I am wiser even though I am young. Personalities of people may also vary and this can be hard. Sometimes our minds just don’t meet.

StarLife: What’s challenging about them?

Emman: The figures I deal with in our financial statements and internal reports can be challenging. I know earning the title Certified Public Accountant got me used to it, but at times, I have to differentiate theory from reality. I have to know which things are important enough that they should be given more attention, and disregard those that are nitty-gritty. Managing 310 people in our corporation can be challenging, too. Although I have been with our business for almost two years already, I can’t afford to memorize all their names. I have to call them by Chep, Part, Pre, Migs, Manang and Manong, even though they have been working with us for several years.

StarLife: And what’s rewarding?

Emman:  Well, the rewarding thing in business is really seeing it grow. Although I have been with the company for just two years, many things have changed, people were promoted, new people were hired, new businesses were opened, offices were renovated and repaired and a lot more. It just feels wonderful witnessing all these changes. Also, CSR, or corporate social responsibility, activities can be rewarding. Company-sponsored feeding programs and gift-giving events really excite me every time. During Christmas parties, it’s also rewarding to see my people so happy with what they bring home that I feel really proud that I have contributed something in their lives. You see, I am a humane person, and I delight in the joys of others.

StarLife: What else does Emman have to reach?

Emman: Taking up Master’s Degree in Business Administration is in my short-term plans. I just don’t know when to start. I have always dreamt of becoming a Mechanical Engineer as well, maybe taking it up and passing the board is an option too.

StarLife: Would you then call yourself “a young man in a hurry” with the way you handle too many firms? Why?

 

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