Going Beyond Expectations

Paco Milan talks about his simple beginnings and the daunting task ahead for him at Ayala

Paco grew up with grit and resilience woven into his DNA. No stranger to hardship, Paco reveals that giving less than 100% in anything is just not possible for him.

Beyond Expectations

“All my education has been paid with scholarships, and with hardship. When I first moved to Denmark after university, I didn’t have any money in my bank account. I literally didn’t know what I would eat the next day. So I took a job as a postman. And you may think that being a postman is a normal job, but when it’s -15 degrees and it’s snowing and the postman in Denmark goes around on a bike at 5am or 4am, that was not so fun.

In the coat of arms of Spain, ‘non plus ultra’ is written on it, which in Latin means ‘there is no further’. Because in the old maps–and this is part of my passions with maps–the end of the known territories ended in Spain. But in 1492, there was a guy who convinced the Queen to go through the Atlantic Ocean to try to find a way to trade with Asia. And that guy found out that there’s a continent in the middle, and then actually, instead of removing those columns and that text from the coat of arms of Spain, they only removed ‘non’ they kept ‘plus ultra’. Which means, ‘go even further’. This history serves as a reminder that even if everybody is telling you that that’s the end of the road, there is no further, there is always further. This ‘plus ultra’—if I ever had a coat of arms, that is what I would put on it. I think that the mantra—even if things are great, you can still improve. Even if you think you have reached the top, you can always do better. And do things in a better way.”

It is this same appreciation for where he came from, and going beyond what’s expected that allows him to connect meaningfully with colleagues at Ayala, regardless of rank, department or tenure served. “Being a postman in Denmark taught me one thing or two about life. About respecting every job and respecting every effort and knowing every hardship that people go through in order to make a living. I really try to get the most out of every opportunity in life. Meeting a person, given a responsibility—if I’m given trust, if I’m given the opportunity to get an education.”