Monday, July 25, 2011

Broad vision catapults lit major to exec position

By: Abigail L. Ho
Philippine Daily Inquirer


Not all chief executives saw themselves at the helm of a company when they were but teenagers who were about to enter college. Nestlé Philippines Inc. chair and chief executive John Martin Miller certainly had no idea that he would be on the upper echelons at one of the world’s largest manufacturers of fast moving consumer goods.

An English literature and geography major from the University of Durham in England, all he had when he started his career in the 80s was a broad vision of what he wanted to do with his life.

“I did not see myself then as an executive. I had a broad vision of where I wanted to go. I’ve always wanted to work internationally, and that’s what I’m doing now. You shouldn’t have a too-specific idea of where you want to be, as that will restrict you,” he shares in an interview with SundayBiz.

Entering the world of business as a management trainee for a multinational company after earning his degree, he had no qualms about being unable to deliver what the job required of him, despite his lack of hard-core business know-how.

“I have no business qualifications, aside from my years of experience in business now. There weren’t that many business schools when I was growing up,” he relates. “But education is not so much what you study but how you study.”

Starting from the bottom

Although he did not take a business course in college, Miller did have some exposure to business—at least the manual labor side of it—when he was growing up.

His father was in the frozen food business and he helped re-arrange freezers from time to time. He also took on summer jobs during school breaks, the first one being as a shelver at a liquor store in England.

“I earned 33 pence (around P22.50, using present-day conversion rates) an hour, which wasn’t very much. It was a vacation job when I was a teenager,” he recalls. “I also worked in a silkscreen printing factory. That was before I started university.”

Today, after more than three decades of working for various companies, most of which were multinationals, he no longer had to do any heavy lifting, shelving, or freezer re-arranging. The challenges he had to face, however, were no less easier to deal with.

Adapting to diverse cultures



Aside from day-to-day job demands, Miller also had to learn to adapt to various cultures—most of which were as different from his own culture as night was from day.

He was first assigned to Asia in 1990 and had, since then, made the rounds of almost all countries in the region.

Prior to his posting here in the Philippines, he was chair and chief executive of Nestlé Indochina, where he held fort in Thailand, and was managing director of Nestlé Singapore Pte. Ltd. prior to that.

He also served as senior vice president for Danone’s biscuit business in Asia Pacific, a board member at Britannia Industries Ltd. in India, and senior vice president for Unilever Corp.’s personal care business in Africa, Middle East, and Turkey.

During his earlier days with Unilever, he held various senior management positions that got him assigned to the Czech Republic, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Slovak Republic, and the United Arab Emirates.

Even after all those years in Asia Pacific, he admits that he still has a few surprises when he came to work in the Philippines.

“I’ve been visiting the Philippines for more than 20 years, but this is my first time to work here. The Philippines is fascinating because it has so many latent characteristics. It’s a very stimulating country. It has a diverse culture—more than many other Asean countries that I’ve been to,” he relates.

It was mainly the people that set the country apart.

“In working with Filipinos, I’ve seen the passion of the people. The level of emotion, driven by passion and commitment, is extraordinary in the Philippines. That’s part of our success,” he says.

Philippine difference

Now on his third year in the country, Miller says he was still fascinated by the passion of the Filipinos, both those on the factory floors and those on the management side.

Working with such an able team—the best and the brightest in the industry—made his job so much easier, he says.

“During the recent visit of our CEO (Paul Bulcke), he was greatly impressed. He said I got the easiest job. The things I do here are fairly limited: I choose where to invest, I pick people to occupy certain positions, and I manage the external environment,” he relates. “We have an extremely able team. We attract the best and the brightest people, and that makes my job a lot easier. We’re a company of individual leaders, but we work as a seamless team.”

“As one of the many expats working here, we constantly learn about what works and what doesn’t work. We learn how to adapt. Here at Nestlé Philippines, I believe I learn more than I contribute,” he adds.

Apart from the people, he adds that another thing unique about his Philippine experience was the fact that no two days were ever completely alike.

“I don’t have a typical day. No two days are the same. Here, it’s not like in the West where we like being structured and we know how our days will go. Many things happen that you can’t predict. It’s a combination of knowing what you need to do and the things that just happen. That makes my job such an exciting one,” he says.

This made his work life so much more enjoyable—something that was particularly important, especially since there was no big division between his work life and personal life.

During days when he could get some non-work-related things done, he relates that he favored reading biographies, fiction, and business books, as well as running marathons. The last marathon he ran, however, was 10 years ago when his daughter Sophie was born.


Despite his hectic work schedule, he says he always had time for his family. Many times, his Malaysian wife Ying was also involved with the company, working with the wives of the other executives.

“We’re a tight-knit family (at Nestlé Philippines). I know that family’s very important in the Philippines,” he says. “In Nestlé, we involve everybody. We’re a family company.”

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Looking forward to the next 100 years

By: Abigail L. Ho
Philippine Daily Inquirer


Its origins may be Swiss and its current head honcho may be British, but Nestle Philippines Inc. is as Filipino as a local company can get.
 
In a recent interview, Nestle Philippines chair and chief executive John Martin Miller shares how the company has survived 100 years of doing business in the country, and how much it is looking forward to spending another 100 years, or more, here.
 
“We believe very strongly in the Philippines. It has a good talent pool and a lot of resources. It’s a good market for (fast moving consumer goods). We have what we call key markets, and the Philippines is one of them,” he says.
 
As proof of its commitment to the country, the company has invested a fresh P4.8 billion to put up a coffee creamer manufacturing facility in Tanauan, Batangas, which will enable Nestle Philippines to source all of its Coffee Mate locally instead of importing from Thailand.
 
“Our vision for the new P4.8-billion coffee creamer facility is to make it one of the most important manufacturing sites in the world. We have a total of more than 500 worldwide,” he relates.
 
“We have room to expand. We’re hoping to put a new coffee plant on that site, where we can make coffee mixes. Those are very popular here in the Philippines,” he adds.
 
In the coming years, he says Nestle hopes to “re-energize the agriculture sector, especially coffee, which is the second largest market we compete in.”
 
Investments will be made in “knowledge transfer,” where Nestle Philippines will provide coffee farmers with seedlings for the “ideal crop,” to encourage them to go back to coffee farming, he says.


Good people, supportive gov’t

 John Martin Miller

Expanding its business in the Philippines is just one way of giving back to the country that has nurtured it and has provided it with a wide base of loyal customers over the past 100 years.

Miller attributes much of the company’s success to the Filipinos working at Nestle Philippines’ four plants in Lipa, Pulilan, Cabuyao, and Cagayan de Oro, as well as its predominantly Filipino management team.

“As a business, we’re the masters of our destiny. Our success here is a result of the hard work of our people here,” he relates.

Apart from the people, government support has also been instrumental to the company’s success in the country, he adds. Being a 100-year-old company, Nestle Philippines has gone through almost all presidents in the country’s history. So far, government policies have been fair enough and good enough to prompt the constant flow of investments into the country.

The Aquino administration’s firm stance against corruption and its crusade against poverty will serve as further impetus to continue Nestle’s growth in the Philippines.

“We’re very encouraged by the policies of the new government. We’re seeing all of the things that we’d like to see. This government has a strong emphasis on poverty alleviation, on fighting corruption. The business community applauds these efforts. The (public-private partnership) program is also there to upgrade infrastructure,” he relates. “We understand that these things don’t happen overnight. The direction (that the government is taking now) is very encouraging.”

“We welcome greater transparency. As a global company, we uphold good corporate governance. We want to see more of that. We want to see corruption stamped out,” he adds.

Investment-friendly environment

Nestlé Tanauan Factory

Even with past administrations, he says Nestle has always viewed the Philippines as a country that offers an environment conducive for doing business. It is a wonder not more companies are investing here.

“The Philippines has an investment-friendly environment. Why don’t more people invest here?” he says. “I’ve worked in other countries more volatile than the Philippines. The problem is more of perception. A lot of what is happening now—for example, corruption —is not unique to the Philippines,” he relates.

He relates that this year, as Nestle celebrates its 100th year in the country, it is a good time to reflect on how the company has gone through numerous peaks and valleys here, as well as what it has achieved in terms of its business and also in terms of its contribution to Philippine society.

As one of the largest producers of such staples as milk and coffee, he says Nestle has become more than a brand for many Filipinos. For the company’s loyal consumers, Nestle has become a way of life.

“It’s an auspicious time for us to be in the company, as we can reflect on past achievements. We’re one of the larger (fast moving consumer goods) businesses in the Philippines, but it’s not just about the size, but about our contribution to society,” he explains.

“We’ve increased nutrition health awareness, we’ve helped in nation building, and we’re one of the larger taxpayers in the country. Over the past 100 years, we’ve provided shared value, providing returns to our shareholders and relevant contributions to our stakeholders,” he adds.

 Nestlé Center

Moving forward to the next 100 years, he says Nestle is prepared to make more investments in the Philippines—not just to grow its revenue base but also to provide Filipinos with products that can improve their health and their lives.

“Our 100th anniversary is a good time for us to reflect on these things and the future. It’s not just about what we’ve done in the past, but how we can continue to nourish future generations,” he says.

Nestlé to continue expansion in PH

By: Abigail L. Ho
Philippine Daily Inquirer


Consumer goods giant Nestlé Philippines Inc. will be investing more in the country in the coming years, in a bid to offer new products to more markets, particularly consumers on the extreme top and bottom of the economic pyramid.

In an interview with the Inquirer on Thursday, Nestlé Philippines chairman and chief executive John Martin Miller said the company, while already serving a wide spectrum of Filipino consumers, still had markets that were largely untapped.

“We’re looking for growth in many areas. Other business opportunities are being explored. We’re serving most of the consumers in the middle, or the C and D classes, but there’s a population on the top and bottom of the pyramid that we also hope to serve,” he said.

He said Swiss parent firm Nestlé SA remained committed to the Philippines, particularly as the country was considered one of the firm’s key markets.

“We’re bullish about the Philippines. There are a lot of opportunities for growth. We’re optimistic about our prospects,” he said. “We want to raise the level of our investments in the Philippines. This has been fully endorsed by our shareholders.”

One particular focus would be the coffee sector, he said, from which Nestlé Philippines was getting about a third of the raw materials for its second-biggest-selling brand, Nescafe. The bulk of its coffee supply came from Vietnam and Indonesia.

Moving forward, he said the company hoped to source up to 70 percent of its coffee requirements from local farmers.

“We want to breathe new life into the coffee-growing sector. During his recent visit here, (Nestlé SA chief operating officer Paul Bulcke) stressed our commitment to providing employment in the countryside. We want to encourage people to go back to agriculture, especially coffee farming,” he said.

Nestle Philippines Kasambuhay Habambuhay Short Film Anthology: "Downtown"




http://www.nestle.com.ph/
http://www.nestle.com/

http://www.facebook.com/nestle.ph
http://www.facebook.com/coffeemate.ph

http://nestlephilippineschoosewellness.blogspot.com/
http://nestlephilsevents.blogspot.com/
http://nestlephilsinthenews.blogspot.com/

Monday, July 11, 2011

Nestle Philippines Kasambuhay Habambuhay Short Film Anthology: "Unplugged"

COMPLIMENTARY USE ONLY. No unathorized rental, resale, reproduction, and public viewing




http://www.nestle.com.ph/
http://www.nestle.com/

http://www.facebook.com/nestle.ph

http://nestlephilippineschoosewellness.blogspot.com/
http://nestlephilsevents.blogspot.com/
http://nestlephilsinthenews.blogspot.com/

Nestle Philippines Kasambuhay Habambuhay Short Film Anthology: "Sign Seeker"




http://www.nestle.com.ph/
http://www.nestle.com/

http://www.facebook.com/nestle.ph

http://nestlephilippineschoosewellness.blogspot.com/
http://nestlephilsevents.blogspot.com/
http://nestlephilsinthenews.blogspot.com/

Nestle Philippines Kasambuhay Habambuhay Short Film Anthology: "Silup"




http://www.nestle.com.ph/
http://www.nestle.com/

http://www.facebook.com/nestle.ph

http://nestlephilippineschoosewellness.blogspot.com/
http://nestlephilsevents.blogspot.com/
http://nestlephilsinthenews.blogspot.com/

Nestle Philippines Kasambuhay Habambuhay Short Film Anthology: "Isang Tasang Pangarap"




http://www.nestle.com.ph/
http://www.nestle.com/

http://www.facebook.com/nestle.ph

http://nestlephilippineschoosewellness.blogspot.com/
http://nestlephilsevents.blogspot.com/
http://nestlephilsinthenews.blogspot.com/

Nestle Philippines Kasambuhay Habambuhay Short Film Anthology: "Tingala Sa Baba"




http://www.nestle.com.ph/
http://www.nestle.com/

http://www.facebook.com/nestle.ph

http://nestlephilippineschoosewellness.blogspot.com/
http://nestlephilsevents.blogspot.com/
http://nestlephilsinthenews.blogspot.com/

Nestle Philippines Kasambuhay Habambuhay Short Film Anthology: "The Howl and the Fussyket"





http://www.nestle.com.ph/
http://www.nestle.com/

http://www.facebook.com/nestle.ph

http://nestlephilippineschoosewellness.blogspot.com/
http://nestlephilsevents.blogspot.com/
http://nestlephilsinthenews.blogspot.com/

Nestle Philippines Kasambuhay Habambuhay Short Film Anthology: "Cooking Mo, Cooking Ko"





http://www.nestle.com.ph/
http://www.nestle.com/

http://www.facebook.com/nestle.ph

http://nestlephilippineschoosewellness.blogspot.com/
http://nestlephilsevents.blogspot.com/
http://nestlephilsinthenews.blogspot.com/

Nestle Philippines Kasambuhay Habambuhay Short Film Anthology: "Oh! Pa Ra Sa Ta U Wa Yeah!"





http://www.nestle.com.ph/
http://www.nestea.com.ph/
http://www.nestle.com/

http://www.facebook.com/nestle.ph
http://www.facebook.com/nestea.ph

http://nestlephilippineschoosewellness.blogspot.com/
http://nestlephilsevents.blogspot.com/
http://nestlephilsinthenews.blogspot.com/

Nestle Philippines Kasambuhay Habambuhay Short Film Anthology: "Sali-Salita"




http://www.nestle.com.ph/
http://www.nestle.com/

http://www.facebook.com/nestle.ph
http://www.facebook.com/nidofortified.ph

http://nestlephilippineschoosewellness.blogspot.com/
http://nestlephilsevents.blogspot.com/
http://nestlephilsinthenews.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Nestlé protects coffee, choco drinks - No price hike expected soon

By: Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat
Manila Bulletin

MANILA, Philippines — Nestlé Philippines Inc. (NPI) does not discount any price hike of its products for the remaining of the year but said it is protecting coffee and Milo, two products that Filipinos love most.

John Miller, NPI president told reporters at the sidelines of the recent media event over the weekend for the visit of Nestlé S.A. chief operating officer Paul Bulcke to the local unit, which is celebrating its 100th year of operation in the country.

According to Miller, although he does not see any further price adjustments of their products soon, he cannot be sure if they would seek price hike in the future.

Earlier, NPI has raised prices of its milk products to account for the increase in prices of milk solids in the international market.

“But we are protecting our Nescafe and Milo products,” Miller said. Nescafe and Milo products are two preferred Nestlé products by Filipinos.

During the visit, Bulcke has acknowledged the upward trend in prices of food products. But the company has been trying to cope with high prices of raw materials through various efficiency measures in their operations. He cited its efficient procurement processes, product innovation on packaging and sourcing. He said that price increase is only resorted to once all other measures have been exhausted.

Bulcke also announced that the Philippines is included among the beneficiaries of its 500 million Swiss francs for its coffee program, which seeks to augment coffee production via some form of assistance granted to farmers.

He did not elaborate on how it would be allocated for the Philippines under that coffee budget, but said the coffee farming initiative of Nescafe is expected to revive coffee production in the country by linking up with coffee farmers in terms of support, technology, planting requirements and seedlings. Doing so, he said, would make Nestlé less dependent on imported green coffee beans for Nescafe’s production.

At present, Nestlé buys 85 percent of local coffee beans and imports the rest from Vietnam and Indonesia because of insufficient local production.

“The Philippines should be part of this coffee production initiative because the conditions necessary are there like the right climate and environment to accelerate coffee production,” Bulcke said.

At present, Nestlé has an experimental coffee production in Davao.

Improving coffee production in countries where they operate is Nestlé’s strategy to increase local sourcing of raw materials. The strategy is expected to make its operation more cost efficient, help the plight of coffee farmers and promote sustainability. Over 90 percent of the products the company sold locally are produced locally.

Nestlé Philippines has four factories manufacturing coffee, milk, chocolate energy drinks, cereals, infant nutrition products, ice cream and chilled dairy products. A fifth Nestlé factory is under construction in Tanauan, Batangas and will start operations in 2012.

Nestlé has invested over P10 billion in the country in the past five years, with P4.8 billion allocated for the Tanauan facility. The bulk of these investments have gone towards enhancing production capability to meet growing local demand.




http://nestle.com.ph/
http://nestlephilsevents.blogspot.com/
http://nestlephilippineschoosewellness.blogspot.com/

Nestlé reaffirms long-term commitment, gears up local materials sourcing

By Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat
Manila Bulletin

MANILA, Philippines — Nestlé S.A. chief operating officer Paul Bulcke has re-affirmed NestléGroup’s long\term commitment to the Philippines as the world’s largest food and beverage company further gears up local sourcing of raw materials for local production, especially with the inclusion of the Philippines for its 500 million Swiss francs coffee program aimed at making its local coffee production self-sufficient.

Bulcke was here in the country for an update on Nestlé operations and to meet with public and private sector leaders. His visit coincided the company’s 100th year of operation in the Nestlé in the Philippines. He was accompanied by Nestle S.A. executive vice president Fritz van Dijk, zone director for Asia, Oceania, Africa and the Middle East.

“The Philippines continues to grow in importance to Nestlé. We believe that making long-term investments will help unlock the country’s great potential. The diversity and dynamism of Filipinos and the favorable demographic and economic growth trends mean that the country will continue to draw foreign investments which, I believe, will contribute significantly to its growth and development,” Bulcke said in a roundtable discussion with journalists over the weekend.

Bulcke announced that the Philippines would be among developing countries that would benefit from its 500 million Swiss francs budget for coffee farming production.

He did not elaborate on how it would be allocated for the Philippines under that coffee budget, but said the coffee farming initiative of Nescafe is expected to revive coffee production in the country by linking up with coffee farmers in terms of support, technology, planting requirements and seedlings.

Doing so, he said, would make Nestlé less dependent on imported green coffee beans for Nescafe’s production.

At present, Nestlé buys 85 percent of local coffee beans and imports the rest from Vietnam and Indonesia because of insufficient local production.

“The Philippines should be part of this coffee production initiative because the conditions necessary are there like the right climate and environment to accelerate coffee production,” Bulcke said.

At present, Nestlé has an experimental coffee production in Davao.

Bulcke also said that while the growth of Nestlé in emerging markets could double in 10 years, the produce in these markets are not meant to supply the requirements of the developed economies.

Nestlé’s sales in these markets currently amount to CHF 39 billion or 35 percent of turnover, and projected to grow 45 percent by 2020.

“We have worldwide expansions depending on the capability and capacity of each market but the acceleration of growth is in the emerging markets,” Dijk said noting that Nestlé has 450 factories globally and most of these are very local. Dijk used to serve Nestlé Philippines.

Nestlé locally manufactures 90 percent of the products sold in the Philippine market.

“Food is very local,” Bulcke said thus the strategy is to increase local sourcing for local production.

Nestlé Philippines has four factories manufacturing coffee, milk, chocolate energy drinks, cereals, infant nutrition products, ice cream and chilled dairy products. A fifth Nestlé factory is under construction in Tanauan, Batangas and will start operations in 2012.

Nestlé has invested over P10 billion in the country in the past five years, with P4.8 billion allocated for the Tanauan facility.

The bulk of these investments have gone towards enhancing production capability to meet growing local demand.

On pressure on food prices, Bulcke said Nestlé has been in the forefront to increase investments in R & D in agriculture noting that only a meager one-fifth of R &D expenses are spent on this sector.

“The world owes so much to agriculture,” he said.

While he acknowledged the upward trend in prices of food products, Bulcke said they are trying to cope through various efficiency measures in their operations. He cited its efficient procurement processes, product innovation on packaging and sourcing.

He said that price increase is only resorted to once all other measures have been exhausted.




http://nestle.com.ph/
http://nestlephilsevents.blogspot.com/
http://nestlephilippineschoosewellness.blogspot.com/

Nestlé to continue expansion in PH

By: Abigail L. Ho
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Consumer goods giant Nestlé Philippines Inc. will be investing more in the country in the coming years, in a bid to offer new products to more markets, particularly consumers on the extreme top and bottom of the economic pyramid.

In an interview with the Inquirer on Thursday, Nestlé Philippines chairman and chief executive John Martin Miller said the company, while already serving a wide spectrum of Filipino consumers, still had markets that were largely untapped.

“We’re looking for growth in many areas. Other business opportunities are being explored. We’re serving most of the consumers in the middle, or the C and D classes, but there’s a population on the top and bottom of the pyramid that we also hope to serve,” he said.

He said Swiss parent firm Nestlé SA remained committed to the Philippines, particularly as the country was considered one of the firm’s key markets.

“We’re bullish about the Philippines. There are a lot of opportunities for growth. We’re optimistic about our prospects,” he said. “We want to raise the level of our investments in the Philippines. This has been fully endorsed by our shareholders.”

One particular focus would be the coffee sector, he said, from which Nestlé Philippines was getting about a third of the raw materials for its second-biggest-selling brand, Nescafe. The bulk of its coffee supply came from Vietnam and Indonesia.

Moving forward, he said the company hoped to source up to 70 percent of its coffee requirements from local farmers.

“We want to breathe new life into the coffee-growing sector. During his recent visit here, (Nestlé SA chief operating officer Paul Bulcke) stressed our commitment to providing employment in the countryside. We want to encourage people to go back to agriculture, especially coffee farming,” he said.


http://nestle.com.ph/
http://nestlephilsevents.blogspot.com/
http://nestlephilippineschoosewellness.blogspot.com/

Monday, July 4, 2011

Nestlé Kasambuhay, Habambuhay Short Film Anthology on Sunday's Best


Catch the TV premiere of the
Nestlé Kasambuhay Habambuhay
Short Film Anthology on ABS-CBN Sunday's Best,
July 10 at 10:45PM.

Invite your family and friends to watch!