Paco reflects on his daughter’s future and what’s ahead for next gen Ayala leaders

Being a new dad, Paco appreciates how the Ayala group is building not just for today, but for the next generation. “I have a little girl, Isabelita, who just turned four months old,” he reveals.

Back to the Future

“It changes you for the better when you have a little one who is dependent on you, looks up to you. It’s probably the greatest responsibility that I have ever faced. Because what we leave behind, and what we do are the things that truly matter in life. Even many years after I’m gone, there will be a little person going around called Isabel that will be the product not only of my wife and me, but also of the values that we have given and shared with her. That is the most exciting thing that is happening in my life right now. Having worked in HR leadership for so many years, Paco had to take a wide range of difficult decisions: organizational restructurings, redundancy management, department discontinuities, company closures, and more. “Particularly because I do not see my role as disconnected from business, but instead see it at the core of it—I have been engaged in these decisions. These affected sometimes people I did not know, personal friends and even myself, but every time, I took on every decision while having the wellbeing of the employees and the sustainability (and competitiveness) of the company in mind. What does it mean? First, being honest with all employees, being respectful and showing and practicing concern for others. In these situations, employees will be able to see if you really care for them. There is no easy way to implement these changes; the only right way is to treat employees with respect, and showing genuine care,” Paco says.

Like most of us who are excited for what the new year can bring, Paco shares: “Of course I wish a year of good health for all of us, first of all. This pandemic has brought back health and well being, again, to the front of our priorities. The second, I think, is for the nation to have a new set of leaders that care for the nation more than they care for themselves and are ready to be servant leaders, and to bring the country to a better place after six years. And the third is that I really wish for new business initiatives, new ventures in the group, new businesses we will initiate, I wish that those will be great for the group and for the country.” 

And at the core of all of this, Paco has a simpler wish: “I’m looking forward to cooking for people. Cooking is something we can enjoy doing together, and something we can do with others and for others.” With the flavors of paprika, roasted peppers, jamon iberico beckoning us from the Andalusian coast, all found in Paco’s kitchen, we can’t help but look forward to taste his home cooked meals soon.

Paco’s Three Ingredients to a Full Life in Ayala

If you have these three traits and hone them, you will be able to take on the task at hand right now for the Ayala group, which is to help Ayala rapidly bounce back under this new normal, this new world in which we are going to be.

1. Passion. I think everything I do, I like to do it with passion. And this is part of my life extremism; I like to do things 120% or do not do it at all.
2. Compassion. This sounds like a play on words but I think compassion is equal to passion plus humility.
3. Intelligence. There are many kinds of intelligence, and having a good balance between emotional and intellect is key. “For our part, we are working on a toolkit,” Paco explains. “A toolkit for leaders when it comes to adapting to the new reality, hybrid, and flexible. Less firm setups, less rigid setups. And we are also working on a new leadership framework. A refreshed leadership competency framework for the Ayala group, so that we know which kind of competences we want to identify and develop in our leaders.”