Neogin Aguilar Evangelista is a visionary leader with a compelling vision for his business. He has been able to see beyond the ambiguity and challenges of a small slice to success, to an empowering picture of tomorrow. He has successfully led his team towards this vision, earning, in turn, financial validation for the course he set the company on. Best of all, his leadership has resulted in more affordable, accessible medicine for his countrymen and women.
Words from the winner
Leading With Generics
Leading With Generics
PHILUSA Corporation delivers affordability with quality.
PHILUSA Corporation provides world-class quality and affordably priced personal, baby, home and health care products, as well as affordable, accessible, high-quality generic medicines to the citizens of the Philippines. As FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) and pharmaceutical manufacturers, PHILUSA competes in both multinational and local arenas. The 63-year old company has achieved market leadership in the categories of cotton wools and buds, wound management (MEDIPLAST), petroleum jelly, household cleaners and cooling gel (Koolfever).
It also successfully launched RHEA Generics, a brand of generic medicines developed in partnership with global leaders in the pharmaceutical industry, namely Pfizer, Sanofi, GSK, Otsuka, Merck, and Fresenius Kabi. These game-changing partnerships help Filipino patients to have access to world-class quality and affordably priced medicines. President and Chief Executive Officer, Neogin Aguilar Evangelista says, “In the five years since I joined the company, we have grown the business by almost PHP 2.1 billion in gross revenue, from PHP four billion in 2013 to PHP 6.079 billion in 2018, representing a growth of more than 50 percent. My dream when I inherited PHILUSA was to transform the company from ‘good’ to ‘great’. To accomplish this goal, we needed to change the people’s mindset from settling for current success to striving for potential growth and even more success. We inculcated a mindset of hunger and competitiveness, built competencies, improved the system and processes, promoted stronger cross-functional collaboration, and developed the business through partnerships and stronger relationships with suppliers and other business partners. As a result, in five years, the company achieved more than it had in the 57 years it had been operating before I first joined.”
The Binan, Laguna-born President believes that his employees – 245 permanent and 1,050 outsourced – view the company as more than a successful business. “As a whole, the company is driven by a deeper sense of social responsibility, knowing that we provide world-class quality and affordably priced products. This is reflected in our CSR initiatives, where we partner with Manila Water Foundation’s Lingap Program to donate hand washing and drinking facilities to schools. We also partner with Mercury Drug Foundation in various medical outreach activities, and support the Pharmaceutical HealthCare Association of the Philippines Cares Foundation with donations of medicines and other products. Our employees also voluntarily make financial donations every company anniversary to selected charitable institution,” Evangelista notes.
The chemistry graduate from the University of Santo Tomas says that although a science degree was considerably useful when joining the pharmaceutical industry, he would attribute his success as a leader to personal initiatives, formal on-the-job training, and actual working experience. “I can only speak for myself that my leadership principle of helping people succeed has always been my guide and purpose as a leader. I have always been of the opinion that the measure of an effective leader is someone who considers the success of his team just as important as his own success. It is the realization that success, at every level of the company, should always be celebrated and should not be seen as any form of threat to the potential growth of others.”
