Ric Vincent Atienza. Photos by Jilson Seckler Tiu
It was through “persistence, consistency, integrity, and, of course, God’s help” that the owner of a glass mosaic tiles distribution company survived all the challenges he faced in putting up his business—and landed himself on the roster of winners of the 2016 Asia CEO Awards.
Forty-four year-old Ric Vincent Atienza, founder of iMaverick International Corp., was among the 14 executives awarded on Oct. 18 at a ceremony held at Marriott Hotel in Resorts World Manila. Atienza received the LBC Solutions SME Company of the Year award, a first for him.
Coincidentally, the venue where he received his award is also one his clients, said Atienza.
iMaverick is the local distributor of Bisazza, an Italian glass mosaic tilemaker—which is also the company he used to work for.
“I became an accidental entrepreneur five years ago,” said Atienza, who used to be country manager for Bisazza. Despite having as clients some of the biggest names in high-end luxury properties, Atienza said the company “felt that there was still not much of a market [here in the Philippines], because it’s very niche.”
“When they tried to pull [out of the country] for strategic purposes, I asked to be the exclusive distributor here. Because of my integrity and competency, [Bisazza] lent me money so that I could purchase the local operations here,” said Atienza.
There was another important reason why he wanted to continue the business here: Atienza didn’t want his fellow Filipinos to lose jobs.
“[Bisazza] wanted me to transfer to Hong Kong as Asia Pacific controller when they were pulling out, but I said, I wanted to continue the employment of the people here,” he said.
In the beginning Atienza found that it wasn’t easy to sell his products, since many of his competitors sold theirs at a fraction of his price.
“When I tried to popularize luxury mosaic tiles here from Italy, I went to all the tile dealers. But since they are able to source from China, it’s cheaper, just 10 percent of the cost [of my products]. So it was a real struggle, developing networks with high-end, luxury brands. It was like a rollercoaster ride—but we survived,” he said.
He also had to deal with personal challenges.
During Supertyphoon “Ondoy,” Atienza said he had to climb up a tree to survive the floodwaters which submerged his three cars.
He also survived nasopharyngeal cancer, which happened around the same time his former company decided to pull out their business from the Philippines.
“So every day I had to wake up and go to the office, to make sure that like with my life, I needed to continue the existence of my company,” said Atienza, who manages around 50 regular employees.
Now, iMaverick’s current clients include Century Properties, Solaire, Marriott Hotel, and Resorts World, as well as high-end residential properties.
The company also creates modular kitchens, and is into construction and fit-out. “[We’re] constructing a four-story boutique hotel in Baler. Everything [I’m doing] is startup, but long-term, I think these all complement each other and will build a strong foundation for the company,” said Atienza.
Asked how he was able to survive all his challenges—and, finally, make it to the Asia CEO Awards—his ecstatic reply was: “I’ve always had that vision I would be able to overcome all the challenges.”
Now on its seventh year, “the Asia CEO Awards remains unwaveringly committed to celebrating the best of the best in business,” said chair Richard Mills, “As one of the fastest growing economies of the world, the Philippines has shown itself globally competitive, where the people, companies, and industries are at par with the world’s best.”
Inspirational figures. (From left) tech giant Dado Banatao, former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, Clarissa Delgado of Teach for the Philippines
Other winners of the Asia CEO Awards are: Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority for TCS Executive Leadership Team of the Year; HSBC Electronic Data Processing (Philippines), Inc., syncHRony Global Top Employer of the Year; Shell of the Philippines’ Edgar Chua, Smart Enterprise Global Filipino Executive of the Year; ADEC Innovations’ James Donovan, JLL Expatriate Executive of the Year; Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), ADP Service Excellence Company of the Year; Teach for the Philippines’ Clarissa Delgado, Capital One Young Leader of the Year; Imperial Homes Corporation, ADEC Innovations Green Company of the Year; ANZ Global Services and Operations (Manila), Inc., ASKI Global CSR Company of the Year; Magsaysay People Resources Corp/, I-Remit Heart for OFWs Company of the Year; Potato Corner’s Joe Magsaysay, Meralco Biz Partners Entrepreneur of the Year; Tata Consultancy Services, Wells Fargo Technology Company of the Year; Kalibrr Technology Ventures, Inc., Globaltronics Most Innovative Company of the Year; and Integrated Micro-Electronics, Inc., Regus Asean Company of the Year.