While a great amount is attributed to the efficiency of the business model and monetary investment, no business or company can truly prosper without a core team of talented and dedicated managers as supportive “teammates”.
For industry-leading enterprise Philippine Seven Corporation (PSC), it attributes 7- Eleven’s flourishing franchise business success to its strategic stewards — the high-level managers behind the store opening, expansion and franchise operations.
According to PSC Business Development Division Head Ulysses Borral, trustworthy managers are vital to running an effective and profitable franchise or enterprise. Besides overseeing operations, a manager’s professional contribution to the business and organization helps ensure that both the franchisor’s and franchisees’ business plans, operations, and growth goals are mutually aligned, implemented and achieved.
Beyond improving branding, Lee Gonzalo Perez, Franchise Marketing, Lease Management and Special Projects Section Manager, is tasked to oversee and lead the franchise expansion team in promoting the 7-Eleven franchise brand, as well as recruitment and awarding of qualified applicants to the system.
For him, a manager’s crucial role involves making balanced assessments. “We represent BDD’s interest and efforts for PSC, and act as spokesperson for both sides of the divide — the shareholders and the employees. We are tasked to look after both the interests of the PSC and the people who work in them,” he said.
Perez’s leadership style is mentorship, which he said is more relationship-based rather than performance-based. “I share personal experiences, insights and knowledge with the staff to aid them in achieving their goal. I don’t zero in on a specific skill and action to improve them — it’s more about overall development,” Perez added.
Janice Castillones has been with PSC since 2005. Initially a site acquisition specialist, she eventually made her way up to Managerial level after she exceeded management’s expectations on her performance and deliverables.
Together with her four supervisors, Castillones is currently handling the Metro Manila areas since the start of this year. Prior to this assignment, Castillones is credited for pioneering the North Luzon Expansion, specifically in Nueva Vizcaya province which started last year
Ellen Amancio, meanwhile, is credited for the historic openings of two 7-Eleven stores in Mindoro located in Sabang and Calapan. Currently, she is handling the North areas and has been progressing in getting to know new sites and new lessors in the North.Francis Joseph Gonzalez, who joined PSC as BDD Design & Construction Manager in 2017, meanwhile, take on the lead in store construction process “My team supports the franchisee’s goals by completing store construction and opening the store as soon as possible. Teamwork is essential; each one has a part to play in the completion of every project. As a manager, I believe that maintaining a healthy working environment and promoting camaraderie among team members are part of a true leader’s responsibilities,” stressed Gonzales.