IRENE SINO-CRUZ
Promoting Cebu branding and changing mindset are among the goals of the present leadership of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI).
These goals can be achieved through the chamber’s Leadership Agenda, said CCCI President Jay Yuvallos. The chamber will continue with the programs it has started. However, it will exert more effort and time in promoting the Cebu brand and changing the mindset among stakeholders.
Mr. Yuvallos cited the four major components of the Leadership Agenda, symbolized by the acronym LEAD, which means the following:
L – Launch the Invest Cebu Brand (Prosper in Paradise)
E – Engage the Whole Community in a Deeper Level (Inclusive Development)
A – Active Partnerships (Everyone Celebrates in Cebu)
D – Develop an Innovative and Creativity Culture (In Trade, Industry/Manufacturing Service, IT-BPM, Sectoral)
“Before becoming (CCCI) president, I made consultations with people, past presidents, officers, and the (CCCI) team,” Mr. Yuvallos said in an interview. Through these consultations, he collated different ideas and identified the gaps that needed to be addressed.
Following the consultations, the Cebu Chamber will soon launch the Cebu Brand: Prosper in Paradise.
For Cebu to achieve economic development, Yuvallos explained the need to engage the whole community for inclusive growth and to collaborate with various business organizations, the government, and the community.
He also stressed the need to promote innovation and creativity in trade, industry/manufacturing service, and IT-BPM, among others.
The Cebu Chamber will also highlight the whole value chain and ecosystem that is innovative and creative. Efforts would include Cebu-based individuals and organizations and those in other provinces in Visayas and Mindanao.
He explained that many Cebu-based businesses source raw materials and even skills from Visayas and Mindanao so the ecosystem.
The CCCI is open to establishing partnerships with various chambers, organizations, and businesses in these areas. “We need to partner with other membership organizations. The call to action is for everyone to come together,” Mr. Yuvallos pointed out, adding that ‘the world is passing us by.’
CCCI’s goals include implementing legacy projects and setting innovation hubs and a showroom for small entrepreneurs.
Mr. Yuvallos admitted that he decided to take on the challenge of leading the chamber because he would like to introduce a ‘kind of shift’ in the mindset.
“Now, my job is to captain a steady ship and then change mindsets here, changing mindsets there,” Mr. Yuvallos said.
The chamber will continue to organize seminars. At the same time, it will also pursue a leadership agenda, engaging the whole community, he stressed. “We will look at the best people to deliver change and transformation. The Cebu Chamber also plans to convince more MSMEs that it is inclusive.
Achieving these goals is quite a challenge for the chamber. As the newly elected President of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Yuvallos is poised to continue his legacy of driving economic growth and fostering collaboration within the business community. However, Mr. Yuvallos will be drawing on his vast experience and network. He had been the President of the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation, Inc. and Chairman of Cebu X (International Furniture Exhibition).
He represented the Philippines in the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC) for six years, has been an alternate ABAC representative since 2016, and a representative in the East Asia Business Council. He is also with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Business Council.