Testimonial

Fujitsu Scholar on the 2009 Spring Course:
Maximillian G. Ventura
Executive Director
Philam Foundation, Inc.

Maximillian G. Ventura was born in Manila, the Philippines. After studying business administration at the University of the Philippines, he took a job with a Japanese-affiliated trading firm. In 2000, he accepted a position at Philam Foundation, Inc. as their Deputy Director. In 2006, he obtained a master’s degree at the internationally recognized Asian Institute of Management, after which he was promoted to Executive Director at Philam Foundation, Inc., a post he has held to this day.

I am currently working to implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs at an organization called Philam Foundation, Inc., an AIG Group company. My job is to contribute to social development by, for example, helping with regional development and education in the Philippines, my native country, and other Asian countries.

My motto is “Do well, do good”; that is, I seek to contribute to the development of countries and improve society through business. To that end, I studied at another graduate school before enrolling on the JAIMS program. The graduate program focused only on Asia, however, and I hoped to have an opportunity to learn from a global perspective some time in the future. Some time later I heard about JAIMS, an institute that helps businesspeople from the East and the West to interact with each other and learn from a global perspective, and was lucky enough to obtain a Fujitsu scholarship and enroll on JAIMS' EWKLP.

In short, what makes the EWKLP so attractive is that it truly is a world-class program. Under the tutelage of world-class lecturers, you learn advanced ways of thinking and skills that enable you to display your abilities in the global economy and society.

One thing I learned from Dr. Ikujiro Nonaka, President of JAIMS, was the importance of “having a dream and vision for the future at all times and demonstrating innovation in business and society.” Saburo Kobayashi, a former Chief Engineer at Honda R&D Co., Ltd., taught me how to manage innovations. I also learned how interesting finance can be and its potential from Professor Sherman S. Abe, who said that finance is actually “fun-ance.” His lessons made me realize that helping more people in the Philippines to develop a feel for finance and increasing their financial literacy would certainly lead to a rise in the country’s savings rate and greater societal affluence.

The Spring 2009 Course that I took attracted 33 outstanding businesspeople from nine countries, including Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, as well as European countries such as France. With businesspeople from both the East and the West discussing and thinking about issues in great depth, we were able to explore matters from a wide range of perspectives. This provided a wonderful experience in which the participants were able to help each other improve by sharing in great detail the expertise they had acquired throughout their careers.

We mainly studied in groups, but the members of each group varied from one task to the next. The classes provided an environment in which students were able to learn from a truly global perspective by working hard with people from various other countries. I had never studied with Japanese people before, and I was deeply impressed by their enthusiastic attitude toward studying and their approach to tackling problems by always addressing them from an analytical point of view.

I also have pleasant, unforgettable memories of International Night, an event organized to help deepen the bonds of friendship that had been formed among classmates. The event allowed us to share our culture and values with one another by performing dances, demonstrating martial arts native to our own countries, preparing our national dishes for others, and trying the national dishes of others.

Through the EWKLP, I was able to meet people in my class who may one day become valued business partners, and I am deeply grateful for the opportunities these encounters have presented.

Through the three-month EWKLP program, I was able to gain experience that will prove indispensable as I strive to live up to my motto of “Do well, do good.” I am particularly keen to apply the Food Rescue Project, which was the theme of the capstone project I put together with two Thai classmates, in the Philippines as soon as possible. This project involves managing as a business the social activity of procuring leftover foods from restaurants and other organizations and distributing them to orphanages and the homeless.

During the EWKLP, I learned the importance of being innovative. We are constantly faced with a variety of different types of problems, and solving them requires innovation. The capstone project was a specific plan that called for innovation. I plan to take full advantage of my personal connections, resources, and knowledge, and apply them in my workplace.

If you are in two minds about whether to invest three months in JAIMS’ business program, I wholeheartedly recommend that you take the plunge. Raising yourself to an even higher level by taking the EWKLP will enable you to find a new you: someone that is able to play an even more active role in business and make an even greater contribution to society. For my part, I will continue to devote myself to realizing my dreams.