Landco CEO steward of land, gatekeeper of father’s legacy

XEREZ-BURGOS believes that land is a God-given gift and it is our duty to pass this on to the next generation in a sustainable state.

ALFRED “ALBY” Xerez-Burgos III could have had it easy. After all, his father, Alfred Burgos Jr., was the founder of property firm Landco Pacific Corp.—considered as one among the pioneers in upscale leisure developments, having built one of the first farm and resort communities in the country.

And yet, the young Xerez-Burgos worked hard—even way back when he was still in his teens, even during summers, and even if he was not paid for it.

“I remember getting exposed to a particular aspect of (the real estate business) early in my teens. My father was then president of Ayala Alabang Village Association, and he asked me during summertime to help out with the architectural and infrastructure departments by encoding violations in the deed restrictions and inspecting the facilities,” Xerez-Burgos says in an exclusive interview with Inquirer Property.

Childhood dreams

“Of course, the association didn’t pay me anything, but my father gave me an allowance for my work,” he adds. He admits that his own childhood dreams, which he claimed as “quite simple and nothing unusual for a little boy” did not have anything to do at all with the property sector—not even close to it.

According to Xerez-Burgos, he just wanted to “go to Disneyland and visit Mickey; own a sports car; and be a Jedi master.” “Of course, as I grew up I knew I had to be more realistic and decided to pursue just two out of the three dreams. Who needs a sports car anyway?,” he says.

While the dream of becoming a Jedi master as in the epic saga “Star Wars” seemed utterly impossible, Xerez-Burgos would later become a master of his own craft, which would be of developing upscale, leisure communities as Landco continues to be known for.

His first taste of work came prior to finishing his formal schooling, as he was already onboard Landco before he graduated from the De La Salle University.

Still, his first dive into the property industry was of humble beginnings as the current president and chief executive officer of Landco Pacific started as a clerk developing a manual on how to operate a shopping center.

“After being exposed to many other industries, I knew that this was the career for me. I knew nothing else could give me the same sense of fulfillment when I create something from a piece of raw land and change the way people live for the better,” he explains.

“I believe that land is a God-given gift, and it is our job as stewards of this land to pass this on to the next generation in a sustainable state,” he further says.

Xerez-Burgos credits his affinity for the real estate industry to his father, whose vision had always turned into reality, project by project.

“It was my father who started the business after being with a large property development firm for 17 years. He had so many ideas at that time and felt constrained working for a large firm. So he established a company where people were empowered to share their ideas and be given the chance to execute those ideas,” Xerez-Burgos recounts.

“He hired young people who, for their lack in experience, made up for it with sheer energy, talent and willingness to learn. My father was always there to share his experience,” he tells the Inquirer.

Just like any typical hardworking employee, Xerez-Burgos climbed the ranks through the help of the several influences in his life.

Biggest influence

“Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior is my biggest influence. That’s because when all of this is done, and my life comes to an end, I have to face Him for some reckoning. So I always look at things from that perspective,” he says.

“I (also) considered my bosses in Landco as good mentors, who in turn, considered my father as theirs. I never really got to report directly to my father, but he always led by example. You see, my father never believed that he had a monopoly of all the good ideas so he encouraged everyone to think and share. He believed that if the ideas came from below, then there’s a better chance of these ideas being implemented.

As CEO, I’ve kept the same philosophy,” Xerez-Burgos explains. Emulating his father, Xerez-Burgos—who also admits to enjoying food, wine and travel with his family—says he similarly encourages greater participation from his employees and fosters the sharing of ideas.

Like any other property firm, Landco Pacific also felt the hard brunt of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, when the banks turned cold and interest rates skyrocketed, while industry sales plummeted to record lows. The challenges that came Landco’s way tested not only his father’s, but his own strengths as well.

“Overcoming the crisis wasn’t easy. We had to stick to our guns and focus on key businesses and projects that yielded the best cash flows. We drastically reduced our costs and decreased our reliance on debt,” he says.

Quite fortunate

According to Xerez-Burgos, Landco was quite fortunate that its products were conceptualized with such creativity that some of them performed their best during the crisis. As he had put it: “When blood was on the streets, there was a flight to quality.”

This was why, at the height of the crisis, the Punta Fuego project generated P1 billion in sales in one year.

“Toward the end of the crisis, people had money in their pockets but were reluctant to buy. So we introduced a project that had a different slant and carried a lot of value for location. We introduced Leisure Farms in 2001. That project alone wiped out all of Landco’s debts,” he explains.

To date, Landco continues to be the “purveyor of resort living experiences” as the company has consistently pioneered innovative and outstanding lifestyle products that revolutionize the way people live.

Xerez-Burgos points out that Peninsula de Punta Fuego and Terrazas de Punta Fuego have set the benchmark for high-end seaside living in the Philippines.

Leisure Farms and Ponderosa Leisure Farms are the first hobby farming and flower garden communities in the country, while Hacienda Escudero, as a plantation resort town, is the first exclusive community built around a cultural heritage destination.

Playa Calatagan, Playa Laiya and Playa Azalea (in Samal Island) are the firsts of their kind to incorporate exclusive seaside residences around tourist destinations. Tribeca’s concept of incorporating wide sprawling active spaces has redefined condominium living in Metro Manila.

“All these projects and more found in key cities around the country have, in some way, whether from us or copied from us, have redefined the way the Filipino lives. Our country is blessed with abundant natural surroundings. And we believe that our greatest contribution to our country is by enhancing our beautiful countryside for others to take pride in,” he concludes.