On the right track
Credit to Author: Leah C. Salterio| Date: Sat, 29 Feb 2020 16:25:04 +0000
She gamely accepted the responsibility of continuing the business legacy of her grandfather Lee King Yek, who founded the LKY Group of Companies. Despite being only 26, she has definite ideas about running a hotel chain and is determined to see The Oriental Hotel and Resorts be recognized internationally.
“I have to ensure that our brand stays on top and stays true to its promise while monitoring the profitability of our business and the welfare of our employees. To have the right management team is also key [to success].”
Young executives in large companies are either meticulously scrutinized or casually ignored for their capabilities. Either they succeed with flying colors or fail spectacularly.
Twenty-six-year-old Rebecca Marie Abigail Lee is well aware of such pressures, but these have not prevented her from accepting a senior role in the family-owned conglomerate LKY (Lee King Yek) Group of Companies. Young as she is, Rebecca has always known she would one day be asked to continue the legacy of her grandfather, after whom the organization was named.
“There has always been a high expectation for young executives like myself to accept the challenge to take over LKY,” Rebecca explains. “Fortunately, both my parents are very supportive of what I am doing and the way I manage our hotel chain, The Oriental Hotels and Resorts. With five hotel sites and 12 more in the pipeline, I believe I am on the right track, helped by my family and a great team, that provides strategic support.”
Rebecca participated in the launch of The Oriental Albay, as well as in the run-up to winning the bid for The Oriental in Hundred Islands, Alaminos, Pangasinan. She also led efforts to have The Oriental Leyte be recognized as the first four-star hotel in the Eastern Visayas region. It was all tough going, she recalls, pride in her voice, but she survived and learned.
“Our management and staff passed through rigorous training,” she says. “Our mantra at The Oriental is ‘Stay delighted.’ We work to ensure that our products and services are seamless, from booking online, to planning your event to arriving at the hotel.”
Rebranding the hotels in the current network this year — from Balinese-themed retreats to Filipino-inspired boltholes — provides Rebecca her most pressing priority to date. “The Oriental Hotels and Resorts is now one of the biggest Filipino-owned hotel chains in the country,” she observes. “We believe that it is time for us to highlight our Filipino culture and heritage, thus the reason for the reimaging. We had to make changes to our interiors and tweak future architectural projects.
“We also had to make sure the entire ambiance exuded this feeling, from the way our staff expressed Filipino hospitality to the way they dressed. This included a menu carrying a wide selection of local dishes. We had to source suppliers, who were capable of offering unique products from each region, and we collaborated with the different stakeholders to produce a product we could be proud of.”
If experience is what Rebecca is after, she is certainly getting it, holding concurrent positions in other companies under her family-owned LKY Group of Companies. From 2014, she has worked in the rooms revenue and business development sections of LKY Resorts and Hotels Inc. From 2015, she has been holding the position of treasurer of Philippine Primark Properties Inc., LKY Development Corp., LKY Resorts and Hotels, LKY Property Holdings Inc. and Primariland Holdings Inc. She is also a director of Sorsogon Goodluck Commercial Inc.
But without the support of the right management team, Rebecca is practical enough to accept she would not be as efficient in her main roles leading their hotel chain as well as in her secondary positions. “As president and CEO [of The Oriental Hotels and Resorts], I have to ensure that our brand stays on top and stays true to its promise while monitoring the profitability of our business and the welfare of our employees. To have the right management team is also the key to success.”
A graduate of interdisciplinary studies, major in management and communication from the Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU), Rebecca initially took up biology with the intent to pursue medicine. But, she soon discovered her calling as entrepreneur and shifted courses.
“Being an executive means you have to communicate well the company’s vision and mission to both the management and staff, so we will be journeying in the same direction,” she believes.
Immersion in the hospitality industry has proven to be an interesting episode in her life, she has discovered. “My father, Wilbert T. Lee, has always liked hotels. The hotel in itself is an experience. The family needed someone to translate that and incorporate it into our business.”
When Rebecca sheds her executive’s hat, she turns to her garden to indulge a green thumb she is quite proud of. “We have a variety of herbs on my balcony that we use for our daily consumption,” she reports. Dogs provide another diversion, especially Pudge, whom she calls her “baby.” She also enjoys playing the piano, and cooking and baking for family and friends. As if these talents weren’t enough, she is an accomplished archer, who used to compete in Singapore. Saturdays are reserved for catch ups with friends and Sundays for church with her loved ones.
A normal work day consists of meeting the managers of the different hotels via video call to discuss the highlights of the previous day and the next game plans to excite their guests and stakeholders.
Rebecca is committed to absorb as much as she can from her elders, and at the same time express her ideas and those she culls from fellow millennials. “At a young age, I was trained to accept the role of continuing the legacy of my grandfather, LKY. I am honored to be the next generation to be entrusted with that.
“The good thing about my grandfather is that he respects the way how I run the company.”
“A chip of the old block” — that would definitely refer to Rebecca Marie Abigail Lee.
About me
ROLE MODEL
My grandfather, Lee King Yek
GOAL
To be the top Filipino hotel chain in the world
FIRSt PAYING JOB
Kiddie crew at Jollibee. I was 10 years old and was paid P50.
MORNING RITUAL
Coffee, please.
BEST SKILLS
Copywriting and managing operations
TIME SPENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Four hours daily