CEBU’S next generation of entrepreneurs and family business leaders will be key to keeping the local economy competitive as technology, consumer needs and businesses continue to change.
The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) is stepping up efforts to engage young entrepreneurs, founders, students and professionals through its Next Gen Cebu initiative, which aims to prepare them to become Cebu’s future business leaders and innovators.
CCCI president Regan Rex King said the initiative is intended to give young Cebuanos access to established business leaders, mentors and networks while helping them better understand the realities of entrepreneurship and succession.
“The future of Cebu will not be defined only by the companies that have been around for decades,” King said during the Next Gen Cebu event. “It will be shaped by the startups that are just beginning, the family businesses preparing for the next generation and the bold ideas that young Cebuanos are willing to pursue.”
The initiative, held as part of the chamber’s Cebu Business Month activities, brought together young founders, students, professionals, creators and innovators with established entrepreneurs, mentors and business leaders.
King said the chamber’s goal of making CCCI “the engine of Cebu’s business growth towards global competitiveness” would require sustained investment in the next generation.
“In a world where everything moves fast, your greatest advantage is not having all the answers. Your greatest advantage is having the willingness to learn, to adapt and to keep on building,” he said.
The need to prepare the next generation was underscored during a panel discussion on
family business succession, where three young leaders shared the challenges of taking established enterprises into their next stage of growth.
Innovation, technology
For them, succession is no longer simply about passing the baton. It involves earning credibility, modernizing operations and preparing both businesses and people for a market their founders may not have anticipated.
Ray Nerius Calooy, vice president for sales and marketing at RNC Marketing Philippines, said modernization should improve how a business operates without sacrificing quality, customer relationships and trust.
He said businesses need to embrace technology, artificial intelligence and digitalization to keep pace with changing customer requirements.
Ray Nerius is the son of Rey Calooy, chairman of Filipino-Cebuano Business Club Inc.
Calooy cited the company’s investment in larger and faster machinery after it struggled to keep up with customer demand. Moving from largely manual operations toward greater automation eventually doubled productivity and efficiency, he said.
But introducing new systems can also create resistance among employees accustomed to established processes.
Calooy said explaining the reason behind changes and allowing employees to test new systems can help businesses manage that resistance.
Bringing new ideas, establishing credibility
For Andrea Alessandra Aldeguer, chief brand officer of The Islands Group, the challenge was different.
Her father Jay Aldeguer, she said, was already encouraging her to bring new ideas into the business and help take it to another level.
Aldeguer initially did not see herself joining the family enterprise. She studied finance after initially considering creative writing, eventually returning to Cebu after graduation to work in the family business.
One of her biggest challenges was establishing credibility among employees who had significantly more experience.
She said next-generation leaders cannot simply rely on their family name and must instead build trust by
learning the business and working with employees.
For major initiatives, Aldeguer said she learned that she did not have to convince everyone immediately. Building a small group of people who believed in an idea could help an initiative gain traction throughout the organization.
Learning from the founders
Reimer Neil Bonghanoy, who oversees operations and brand development at Bon-Ace Fashion Tools Inc., similarly emphasized humility in succeeding the older generation.
He said next-generation leaders must first learn from their founders before attempting to introduce their own ideas.
At the same time, preserving a founder’s legacy does not mean keeping the business unchanged.
“The founders can really give to the next generation” the lessons and values they have learned, while successors should improve what they inherit, Bonghanoy said.
Reimer Neil is the son of exporter Ramir Bonghanoy.
The panelists also stressed that succession planning should begin well before a founder steps away from the business.
Preparing successors means giving them opportunities to learn the business, develop
leadership skills and understand the values behind the enterprise instead of simply handing them control when the time comes.
Aldeguer also urged businesses to look beyond investments in machinery, digital tools, products and marketing.
Investment in people and organizational culture is equally important because these are what can endure across generations, she said.
Broader challenge
The discussion highlighted a broader challenge for Cebu’s family enterprises: how to preserve the values and relationships that built a company while making enough changes to keep it relevant and competitive.
For CCCI, developing the next generation extends beyond family businesses.
King encouraged participants to use the Next Gen Cebu platform not only to learn from speakers but also to build relationships that could lead to future partnerships and business opportunities.
“The value of this event will not only come from what you hear on stage, but from the relationships you begin to build throughout the afternoon,” he said.
The chamber partnered with Sip and Scale for the initiative, bringing together founders, students, professionals, investors and mentors.
The initiative frames succession and entrepreneurship as part of a larger economic challenge: preparing Cebu’s next generation not simply to inherit businesses, but to create new ones, modernize existing enterprises and build the networks needed to compete beyond the local market.
King said, “The future of Cebu is already taking shape,” and many of those who will build it are already entering the business community. / KOC