FIRST FRUITS. The Asian Institute of Management’s pioneer
Master of Business graduating batch, MBM Class of 1971, turn over a copy of First
Fruits, a collection of memoirs commemorating the golden anniversary of
their graduation, to their alma mater. WAC Professor Santi
Dumlao (3rd from left) poses behind the book together with ’71 batchmates (from
l-r:) Freddie Burgos, Tony Samson, Butch Bautista, Bernie Jiao, and Rene
Valencia.
Rigorous as it is
to gain entry into the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), it doesn’t hurt to
have enormous intellect and cojones to let alone to survive once you get in.
AIM is explicit in
its qualifications:
“We
look for candidates who possess the resilience and capacity to graduate from
the Institution’s programs. Admissions test scores are one way to measure
quantitative, verbal, and reasoning skills necessary for successfully
completing studies at the graduate level.
“But
the test measures only potential – although it wouldn’t hurt to have a lot of
it. We also look at how applicants fared while taking earlier courses. Academic
distinctions are noted favorably, as these indicate the student’s likelihood to
excel at AIM.”
Plainly, you have
to be way above average to be even considered – something that Master of
Business Management (MBM) Class of 1971 had in copious
reserve.
MBM ’71 is in
itself a special bunch. Remarkable savants to begin with, the Class are actually
pioneers since they hold the distinction of being AIM’s first graduating batch.
[For transparency’s
sake, there was a class ahead. But Batch ’70 was a hybrid Ateneo MBM class,
which makes MBM ’71 the first true full batch of AIM.]
As 2021 approached,
MBM Class ’71 made plans on how best to commemorate their Golden Anniversary.
They weighed options, and on suggestion of WAC (Written Analysis of Cases)
professor, Santi Dumlao, the class with the big cojones did as they are wont to do:
They cooked up a ‘Soup
Number Five,’ metaphorically speaking.
Or, more specifically,
a ‘Soup Number Five-Oh’ for the golden jubilee.
Thus was the
genesis of First Fruits.
“Not a traditional yearbook with class biographies, but rather, a
collage of life stories narrated by the class or their (surviving) families,” describes
batch member Rene Valencia, Chairman of Omnipay, Inc., Lead Independent
Director of GT Capital, and EEI Corp.
The opus is a poignant narration of memoirs; of short
and easy reads, with some pieces sent in honor of departed batchmates; such as that
of Carlo Katigbak in behalf of his father Nick; Rufo Colayco for his brother
Boy; Mariter and Alex, wife and son, respectively, for class president Art
Macapagal; and Mariel, who penned a “moving Valentine piece for husband Chito,”
wrote batch member Tony Samson, Chairman and CEO of TOUCH xda, and Director at
PhilEquity Fund, in his Business World column.
It was indeed a labor of
love; a collaborative work led by its Editorial Board of Dumlao, Samson, and
Emmy Lagniton
Hayward; Advisory Board of Dumlao, Anthony P. Golamco, and Francisco H.
Bautista; Executive Committee of Renato C. Valencia, Tomas V. Apacible and
Manuel G. La O’; Creative Team of Marily Orosa, BG Hernandez, and Ermil
Carranza; Publisher Studio 5 Designs, Inc.; and Managing Director Lagniton
Hayward.
Ever the professor, Dumlao
proudly drew parallels from the Book of Deuteronomy, relating MBM
’71 to the Israelites who, at last reaching the Promised Land, paid back the “good
things which the Lord your God has given.”
AIM President Jikyeong Kang similarly gave
praise to the school’s very own crop of ‘first fruits,’ saying, “I am
absolutely amazed… 50 years later, you demonstrate that you are (still) in the
forefront of innovation. Your commitment, passion, zeal for life… it’s all
coming from this wonderful book.”
But then again,
such are the expectations of any AIM product.
Long has the institute
been an assembly line for alpha executives destined to scale the high echelons of the corporate
and civil service world, or leave it with an indelible mark.
As this calls to mind a Danish proverb that
says, “Too many captains will sink the ship,” it is curious that with so many successful and strong willed
individuals, things still manage to get done.
“(At
AIM) we’re not just here to learn, pick up skills and
values, but we’re here to make friendship that last a lifetime,” Kang said.
With First
Fruits, the accomplished members of batch MBM ’71 have proven themselves ego-less
and capable of working in concert. But more importantly, of remaining the best
of friends.
All while
each of them helming the country’s many great ships and becoming captains of its
industries in the years that followed.
First Fruits launched last
October 26, 2022 at the AIM facility, where the journey for MBM ’71 began, with
batch members and/or their survivors attending in-person or online.
And if the reader shall
forgive this shameless plug, a copy is available for a goodwill price
of just P2,000 at the AIM Bookstore.
