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With The Son Running The Show, Dad Can Sing- And Stay Forever Yang(Philippine Daily Inquirer Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)THE DISTINCTION becomes evident early on. Kenneth Yang, 40-year-old managing director of Golden Arches Development Corporation, the company behind McDonald's in the Philippines, arrives 10 minutes early for the interview at the spanking new branch in El Pueblo, Mandaluyong. Already the place is teeming with young call center employees having breakfast, and after a discreet greeting, Kenneth quietly weaves among them. "Let me just talk to my people," he whispers. It takes a while before anybody in the crew notices that the boss is giving the month-old branch a once-over. Kenneth is soft-spoken, eagle-eyed, and dressed in trousers and an immaculate long-sleeved shirt buttoned at the cuffs. "You said casual," he says with a straight face. A few minutes later, just a tad late, his 67-year-old father, George Yang, president and chairman of the Board, breezes in, wearing striped pants and a collarless shirt under a blazer, a la Miami Vice. "Groovy niya, no?" Kenneth says with a smile. It's an affectionate, complementary pairing of two different management styles that has helped McDonald's grow into the industry maverick that it is. Yang pere is credited with bringing the iconic American fast-food chain to the Philippines, and helping change the concept of family dining when he opened his doors in Morayta in 1981. "I was very positive about bringing it in," George says. "In the late '70s, restaurants didn't pay as much attention to quality, cleanliness and service." Yang is also proud of his role in contributing to what he calls "the dignity of labor." "Before, people who worked in restaurants were considered low-end. We became such a fun place to work, we had so many colegialas from exclusive schools applying to work with us; they would come in their Mercedes to submit their forms." As Kenneth seconds, it was indeed "hip to be on the McDonald's crew." He knows whereof he speaks, of course; even when he was still in college, taking up Management Engineering at the Ateneo de Manila, he was already a crew member at the Cubao branch beside the old New Frontier theater. Three different nine-hour shifts make it especially convenient for working students to earn some extra money, and McDonald's prides itself in helping such kids earn enough to finish their education. "I remember I brought all my friends with me to join the crew." Did everyone know he was the boss' son? "Yes, but we were all kids, so it didn't matter. We were just having fun. They did make me clean the toilets, though. And yes, I know how to flip a hamburger, although there have been a lot of technological advancements in the kitchen since I was there." In fact, Kenneth credits the work for helping him, then a bespectacled numbers cruncher, come out of his shell. "It was exciting, because it was a people business. I was quite shy as a person, and that's where I made a lot of friends. I was forced to smile and greet the customer." Among his funnier experiences, Kenneth recalls how customers in Cubao would come in and look for siopao. "That's hard when you have to think that the customer is always right!" Kenneth is the eldest of the four children of George and wife Cristina, better known as the woman behind Kristine Jewelry. Brothers Richmond and Kristopher George and sister Karen Kristine help handle the family's other businesses, which include the Super Bowl of China restaurants and Fun Characters, licensee of Walt Disney Corporation in both the Philippines and Asean countries. Although it was natural for him to get into the family business, Yang fils admits that there were expectations of the children because of his parents' extraordinary work ethics. "Both of them were not that well-to-do when they started, and they really built things up themselves. When we were kids, they were always working; our time together was when we traveled." George, Kenneth says, was the "typical Chinese-style dad-a power figure. My lolo also managed a company, but it's my dad who is really the entrepreneur." George was born and raised in Tondo, Manila, the eldest among two boys and a girl. "My father was a modern Chinese who went to the Ateneo, so the most important thing to him was a good education," George says. He finished business administration cum laude at De La Salle College, and two years later, with his father's help, went on to the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce in Pennsylvania. Kenneth would also wait two years after graduating from college in 1986, doing time as a McDonald's management trainee, before his own father sent him for an MBA at the University of Chicago. Breakneck schedule "Even in high school, I already knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur," George recounts. "And I knew I didn't want to work for anyone else." After returning from the US, he spent only two years as an employee, as a marketing man for the Bataan Cigarette Company, while simultaneously working as a consultant to Chinese companies in Binondo and teaching night school at De La Salle. When his wife put up her own business-"I think I influenced her in that," he says almost sheepishly-George would go around to collect the earnings from Kristine stores all over the city. "When you're young, you don't get tired easily," he says, recalling the breakneck schedule. Still, he found time to bond with his kids, "especially through sports. We would play a lot of tennis, and now it's golf." Who's the better player? "Of course, him," George points to Kenneth. "It used to be me, but every generation has its time." Kenneth's time, it seems, began in 2003, when he was appointed managing director, after doing the rounds of every department, from purchasing to business development, the part he liked best because "you get to go around and put up new branches." The farthest McDonald's store is in Zamboanga City; the day before this interview, Kenneth drove to Quezon for some inspection. Ironically, while his dad was never his direct boss when he was rising in the company, Kenneth now reports directly to him. "My job basically means that, aside from strategic and high-level decisions, everything else falls on my lap." Interestingly, it was not his dad who promoted him, but the expat managers who used to run the company. "I guess they thought, puede na (he's ready)!" Immediate mandate Dad's immediate mandate, Kenneth says, was "raise the sales! We have to grow. His work philosophy has always been to think big. He's very instinctive, and I'm the balancing factor, more analytical." "I take risks, even if I don't win all the time," George says. "You win some, lose some. Now, though, I'm more afraid to risk, because I'm more mature. If I were younger, I'd have the luxury of time. But I've made a lot and lost a lot." Then he brightens up visibly, as if remembering. "Well, Kenneth runs this now, and I just give my inputs. He'll be president soon. He's more detailed than me, which is good. I tend to look at the big picture all the time, and in this business, you need both." His most important piece of business advice: "You have to be focused and work hard, because everybody's good. So how do you have an edge? You work harder and you have to be persistent." Fortunately, they both claim not to talk too much business at home. "Only at the dining table," says George. "I try not to talk about business at night, or I can't sleep!" Besides, he is soon moving out of his parents' Urdaneta place into a house just down the road, Kenneth says. For sure, George will miss waking up to see his three grandchildren Kay, Kevin and Keith, children of Kenneth and wife Cindy, who helps out her mother-in-law in the jewelry business. There are four other grandkids with Richmond, and George is looking forward to more from the newlywed Karen Kristine and the soon-to-be-wed Kris. "His kids will have an easier time," George says, nodding towards Kenneth, "but the thing to watch out for is not to make it too easy. Hardships can be good for you. When I was small, I had to go to school, carry my own bags and take the jeepney. I was seven years old! Now we're afraid to let kids cross the street, and each one has a yaya." If there's one perk that comes with scaling down, George says, it's that "I don't use an alarm clock anymore. If you do, you wake up, and you're tense na!" Kenneth sighs; he's still on the clock, he says. George's drive "to be the best," as Kenneth puts it, applies to most everything-work, tennis, golf, and now, his singing, where the elder Yang has proven to be a revelation. And we're not just talking karaoke here, although that's how he started. "You could say I discovered myself," George says with a laugh. "I always knew I could carry a tune, even when I was young, but I never pursued it. For a Chinese family singing is a waste of time." Some seven years ago, forced to entertain guests at a bar, George discovered karaoke, and bought some equipment for his home. Natural tenor Soon he graduated to minus one, singing pop standards, until close friend Jose Mari Chan convinced him to cut a CD. That was "Yang At Heart," in 2002. Not much later, another friend encouraged George to try classical music because he was a natural tenor, and two other CDS followed: "Forever Yang" and the latest classical collection, "The Night is Yang," the fruit of almost a year of voice lessons with soprano Rachel Gerodias, where he takes on everything from "O Sole Mio" and "Nessun Dorma" to the theme from "Cinema Paradiso"-yes, he's that good. "It's my therapy, although I really should stop smoking," George muses. He has already guested in concerts, and plans are afoot for a 25th anniversary fundraising concert with some friends for McDonalds, at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, no less. Speaking of fundraising, McDonalds institutionalized its charity work in 1996, following the international corporate focus on children through the Ronald McDonald House Charities. Among local endeavors, the Bahay Bulilit program addresses the poor literacy of public school children, and 100 houses in the red and yellow colors of McDonalds have also been built as part of the company's early support of the Gawad Kalinga program. After 25 years, George admits he feels both "old and young-my body is old, but my mind keeps working." With 14,000 employees and a goal of doubling the number of branches, the Yangs are raring to go with their newfound freedom, now that McDonald's here is Filipino-owned. "It was very frustrating in the past. We could not do everything we wanted because of partnerships. I had to work very hard, for example, to get approval for rice in the menu. If we had 50 percent freedom before, now we have 80 percent." The Philippine market has its own peculiarities, the Yangs report. Filipinos eat more often, and, as Kenneth reveals, "they still need to be educated that you can have a good meal with bread." And what about the omnipresent competition? "We just do the best we can," George says diplomatically. "There are so many things we couldn't do that the competition could. I think we gave them that opportunity. But this year is an adjustment year, a reorganizing year for us. People are going to see a change for the better." Can we have fries with that? |