With one day apart in early October, the Philippine business community lost two outstanding  CEOs who spent all their professional lives building strong institutions in the private sector which today, more than ever, should take the lead in constructing a just and progressive society.  Without giving up hope on achieving  the governance reforms needed in the public sector, there is a greater probability that it will be outstanding leaders in the private sector—business, academe, and civil society—who will be at the forefront of achieving First World status for the Philippines in the next ten to fifteen years.  After all, the Government accounts only for 10 percent of GDP.  Private consumptions and private investment account for the rest 90 percent.  Consumption alone already is 75 percent of GDP. We should not despair if it is taking us a long time to clean up our dysfunctional government.

I would just like to describe the accomplishments of  the two CEOs, Mr. Xavier Loinaz and Mr. Oscar Reyes, who passed away during the first week of October 2025.  I had the fortune of working closely with the two of them when I sat in the boards of director of the corporations they led:  Bank of the Philippines Islands in the case of Mr. Loinaz and Shell Philippines in the case of Mr. Reyes.  Common to them were the qualities of an effective leader.  They, however, had very different personalities.  Javier was a no-nonsense, hard-driving executive who always called a spade a spade.  Oscar was a soft-spoken, consensus-seeking manager who led by example.

Before I describe the two of them as role models  of Outstanding CEOs, let me quote from an article I received from Mr Ray Canilao, Founder and CEO of an executive recruiting firm called Global Executive Solutions Group.  In article celebrating the 20^th year of GESG, Mr. Canilao stressed the fact that great corporate leadership does not only guide a company—it also contributes to a nation’s economic development, as well as cultural and social progress.  A great corporate leader has a vision for the future that drives not just a single organization, but also sustainable growth and stability for the country.

The impact of leadership can be seen across three levels:  1) Organization:  where leaders ensure self-sufficiency, resilience and long-term growth;  2)  Industry :  where strong leadership raises standards, spurs innovations and encourages healthy competition;  3) Economy:  where leadership decisions create jobs, attract global investments, and drive sector expansion.  As the Philippine economy makes the transition from a low-middle income to an upper-middle income economy and eventually to a high-income economy in the next 10 to 15 years, its competitive advantage in the global economy will rest in the quality of its leaders.  As Mr. Canilao stressed, “Leaders should always be strong, but with compassion, empathy, and integrity.  Integrity is a core value and foundation of our work in executive search.”

I joined the board of BPI in 1981 at the invitation of the late Enrique Zobel.  Xavier was appointed President and CEO in 1982 and shortly after BPI became a universal bank.  I saw him launch innovative ways of making financial services more accessible to Filipinos, introducing the ATM in the 1980s and internet banking in 1999, ahead of most banks.  During the political upheavals that led to the EDSA revolution in 1986 and the East Asian financial crisis a decade later, he and his team managed to keep BPI growing steadily.  During the volatile period of the  1980s, he led the bank’s landmark acquisitions and helped usher in the era of bancassurance in the Philippines at the turn of the millennium.

Let me quote here words from a published testimonial from his employer, the Ayala Corporation:  “As a leader, he put the customer first.  He believed that banking is not a business ‘that you can build walls and barriers around.’  He said banks should serve customers ‘anytime, anywhere, on a 24-hour basis.”  He made sure that after his retirement in 2004, he would spend time mentoring the executives of the next generation of BPI bankers in his capacity as a member of the board of directors.  He richly deserved the praises heaped on him by his colleagues at BPI after his passing: “XP, you are a timeless exa will live on in the many lives you touched.”  And may I add, “Including my own life.”

The other role model for CEOs I would like to cite in this article is Oscar S. Reyes who passed away last October 3, 2025 at the age of 79.  He served as Country Chairman of Shell companies in the Philippines, and President of Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation from 1997 to 2001.  I worked closely with him in the board of trustees of Pilipinas Foundation.  In all these positions, he left a lasting positive impact through his visionary leadership, manifesting the outstanding qualities of a CEO that at the beginning of this article we enumerated.  Over and above his business leadership, he was also a steadfast advocate of Shell Club 15 and is remembered for his generosity and the legacy of service, kindness and compassion he shared with Shell retirees.

Although I did not coincide with him in my earlier engagement with Meralco in the last century (1972 to 1992), he was also well remembered by his colleagues at this power company where he served as President and CEO from 2012 to 2019.  Let me quote from an In Memoriam written by Lisbet Esmael  in the Inquirer:  “The local energy sector is grieving the loss of Reyes, whose decades-long service helped shape the market.  The country’s biggest power distributor, Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) highlights Reyes’ steadfast and humble leadership in driving efforts to expand electricity access to every home, even beyond the group’s franchise area.

            “With strategic foresight and prudence, he guided Meralco, laid the groundwork for modernization while ensuring regulatory compliance, operational integrity and execution excellence…True to his philosophy of sweating the assets, he maximized value for customers and stakeholders alike.”

Reflecting on the outstanding examples of these two giants in the Philippine business world, especially examples in integrity and concern for the common good of society, we can avoid being pessimistic and depressed about the future of the Philippine economy which may result from the ongoing scandals of corrupt practices in some branches of Government in collusion with some dishonest private contractors.  Parallel to ongoing efforts to send to jail the guilty legislators, executives of the Department of Public Works and the corrupt contractors, we should also highlight the fact that in the private business sector there are personalities like Xavier P. Loinaz and Oscar S. Reyes who are role models in integrity, competence, and concern for the common good.  As a result of the laudable efforts of these two business luminaries to mentor the new generation of Filipino executives, we can rest assured that their tribe will increase.  For comments, my email address  is bernardo.villegas@uap.asia.