Fun in the Philippines
Credit to Author: Leah C. Salterio| Date: Sat, 16 Nov 2019 16:19:17 +0000
“Banking is the most technical field for a finance person. You need to have a strong grasp of finance [matters] to actually do banking well. It’s very different from any other industry.”
For Hazli Abu Samah, chief financial officer of Maybank Philippines, entering the banking world proved to be a seamless affair. His previous job at Ernst & Young in Kuala Lumpur, where he audited financial institutions and the power company, made it easy for him to make the transition. He worked with the prestigious multinational professional services firm from 1995 to 1998.
“I found banking to be really an exciting industry for a finance person,” says Hazli, who joined Maybank in 2008. “Banking is the most technical field for a finance person. You need to have a strong grasp of finance [matters] to actually do banking well. It’s very different from any other industry.”
He completed a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, and was keen to work there. He had to return to Malaysia, however, to help the family when his father suffered a stroke. The young graduate stepped into the role of family breadwinner. When told by this writer that his selfless act was “very Filipino in orientation,” Hazli, the second in a brood of seven children, reacted with pride. Two of his siblings worked in the US and New Zealand for a time, but have since returned to be with the family.
Hazli first came to Manla in 2001 as part of the team introducing the multi-purpose smart card for e-government services to the Social Security System. That coincided with the time that Malaysia was also launching its “smart” national ID card. But, the tie-up with local authorities didn’t materialize, which saw Hazli and his colleagues market the innovation in the Middle East.
“The biggest job that we accomplished was in Saudi Arabia in 2004,” Hazli recalls beaming.
“We introduced digital passports. People could also renew their driver’s license online and apply for their passports online. One didn’t have to leave the house to do all those tasks.
We thought the Philippines could have benefited at the time from the convenience.”
In 2008, Hazli’s former staff joined Maybank and submitted his resume. “At that time, they were looking for a person to fill in an opening in the corporate planning and strategy department,” he says. “They wanted somebody with a background in banking, while at the same time, a strategic thinker with a strategic mind. I fit the bill.”
Maybank was about to second him to Pakistan, and even sent him there for a two-week familiarization stint. But, a visit to the bank’s Manila office in late 2012, then under the watch of former chief executive officer Herminio “Jun” Famatigan, changed plans. “BGC (Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City) was a different place,” Hazli narrates. “There was no contest. The Philippines was it. I fell in love with the place. The economy was really growing. President PNoy (Benigno Aquino 3rd’s nickname)’ was new in power, and we saw a lot of business potential here as far as banking was concerned.”
Manila presented an exciting assignment for Hazli, whose name means “jester” in Arabic.
After 12 years with Maybank, he still maintains an energy about the job that infects even those not familiar with the industry. “Our business [in Maybank] is steadily growing,” Hazli says. “The team is full of confidence. Manila is the ideal place to be in. I didn’t think twice.
I didn’t regret my decision.” The Maybank network now counts 73 branches nationwide.
Hazli’s weekends are devoted to his family, which consists of his wife Diana and their son Arash Nabil, 17, and daughter Arissa Sofea, 6. They do their weekly marketing at Farmers Market in Cubao, Quezon City even if they live in BGC near the Maybank headquarters. Then, it’s off to golf, which he learned to play during college in Bristol. “The first time I hit the ball, I fell in love with the game,” Hazli recounts. “I was not good at all then, but I believe I’m a lot better now. I’ve been playing golf for 28 years.”
All that practice has led to an admirable 16 handicap. Hazli is so committed to improving his technique that he doesn’t mind walking to all 18 holes. “The game is to better your handicap and beat your handicap always,” he says. “If you beat your handicap, even if you play with a pro, you are competitive. So, you can enjoy golf with a non-skilled person, a very skillful golfer and still be good at the game.”
He tees off “everywhere,” in Alabang, Makati, Batangas, Laguna, Baguio at Camp John Hay and Baguio Country Club. “I go to Baguio every year, around the Christmas season. But now, the traffic is crippling. When we settled here six years ago, it was not that bad yet.”
His wife, Diana, whom he calls “the boss,” took a two-year sabbatical to join him here. She has since gone back to work, occupying the post of executive vice president/head strategy of Etiqa Philippines, the bank’s insurance and Takaful (type of Islamic insurance) business. Meanwhile, the kids study at the International School in BGC.
“She’s more Filipino than anyone of us,” Hazli says, referring to his daughter, who was a mere two-month old when she arrived in Manila in 2013. Of his son, he says: “He was only 11 when he first came here, but he adjusted really well. He would be petrified if I got reassigned to Kuala Lumpur. All of my children’s friends are here now.”
Baguio holds a special place in their hearts, Hazli declares. All their Christmases and New Years have been spent in that mountain station built by the Americans in 1900. They have also ventured south to Cebu and Davao. Home visits to Malaysia are done yearly during Eid al-Fitr (the Muslim festival that signifies the end of the Ramadan month of fasting), when they spend the holidays with their respective relatives in Malacca, where Hazli comes from and in Batu Pahat, Diana’s hometown.
But after six years of living in Metro Manila, the Philippines has certainly carved a special place in this expat family’s life, creating memories of a lifetime.
About me
ROLE MODELS
Muhammad Ali. I love boxing because of him. I know his whole life. I followed him; what he did; what he stood for; how he managed his life and helped others. Jun Famatigan, our former chief executive officer at Maybank, a great coach, and Dato Dr. Tan Tat Wai, Maybank group board director, an intimidating man who taught me how to manage people.
GOAL
I would like to be successful in leading my team.
FIRST PAY CHECK
That was 950 ringgit a month, roughly P11,500.
MORNING RITUAL
I prep the kids for school, especially my daughter. They go to school at 7 a.m. Then, I help my wife Diana with breakfast.
SPECIAL SKILL
I think I have a knack for linking up businesses.
LIFE FACT
I don’t drink. I never had a drink in my life. I’m a Muslim. I love traveling with my family and spend as much time with my children. I believe that’s precious.
TIME SPENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Twenty to 30 minutes, and it’s mostly Linked-In, not Facebook. I don’t have a Facebook account.