Read this in The Manila Times digital edition.
“THIS pandemic is redefining our future. It has not only brought about the need for change, but also points to a way forward,” Michael Sherwin Macatangay, One A-TEAMS Consultants founder, president and chief executive officer, shared when asked about the biggest lesson he learned from his role models, elders, teachers, professors and mentors.
“More innovation is expected to emerge as we move to new ways of working and living not only to survive and recover, but eventually to thrive in the VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world,” he added.
Macatangay opted for One A-TEAMS to be based in Singapore when he established it in 2018. “With a rich colonial history and diverse population, Singapore is competitively positioned between Asian, American and European cultures, enabling the city-state to establish itself as one of the leading business, financial and investment hubs in the world,” he explained.
“Singapore's friendly framework allows for the most conducive environment for business expansion in the region, resulting in it becoming the consistent world's top five and most competitive economy in the past years.”
One A-TEAMS does not have an office in Manila but has strategic partners and sister companies in the Philippines. “I plan to put up offices in major Asia-Pacific countries, especially in major Asean countries post-pandemic,” Macatangay said.
Asean is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
“We continue to create valuable, timely, strategic and innovative services,” he said of the company. “It started as a professional consulting firm with digital marketing services in 2018. It then pivoted during [the] 2020 pandemic year by adding business solutions services such as valuation, cybersecurity, HR (human resource) systems, data privacy and [the] cloud.”
“Given all the issues of the times affecting our future as the business landscape transforms in a new world order, One A-TEAMS Consultants strives to be more resilient, innovative and transformative,” Macatangay said. “It will continuously embrace and experiment with ideas outside of its comfort zone, reimagine, replan and restrategize so it can seize opportunities during adversities.”
Singapore's vibrant business ecosystem — a unique blend of political stability, effective trade and investment policies, multicultural workforce, and comprehensive cutting-edge technology and infrastructure — laid a robust foundation for business success and One A-TEAMS was recently awarded the “Most Innovative and Transformative Company” at the 2022 Singapore Business Awards.
The advantage of his company
Macatangay's advantage over companies that operate in the Philippines is that One A-TEAMS performs all kinds of business consulting, executive and investments management, financial advisory, business brokering, business and family succession structure planning, digital marketing, cybersecurity, cloud, data privacy, HR systems, valuation and all other strategic value creation services and activities.
“For those who want to explore, set up, organize, expand, buy and sell businesses, preserve business and family harmony and wealth for generations, and perform any business activities in Asean countries and beyond, One A-TEAMS Consultants is the strategic integrator of all unique technologies, products, services and borderless business opportunities in all 10 Asean countries,” he said.
“Whatever one Asean country has that is not yet present and available in another Asean country, we bring it there and vice versa — the genuine Asean cross-border integration,” Macatangay added.
“One A-TEAMS Consultants has strategic business partnerships with top companies, investment firms, financial institutions and international organizations, all of which are successful, trustworthy, and industry leaders under the very strict regulations of various Singapore and First World countries' government agencies, regulators, authorities and all other international standards.”
Macatangay's more than 20 years of professional experience allowed him to start One A-TEAMS. He worked in companies involved in the food and beverage, consumer goods, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, integrated marketing communications, industrial and construction manufacturing, finance and auditing, and executive strategic management consultancy, which gave him extensive knowledge, skills and competencies.
Making the right decision
He dreamed of becoming a lawyer when he was younger but took up accountancy at San Beda University (SBU) as an academic scholar, where he is presently a board trustee at SBU Alumni Association. Before graduating, he already had a job offer to work at P&A Grant Thornton. He finally got to take up law at San Beda while working as an executive at Coca-Cola. At the same time, he was also a part-time professor.
“I only finished up to second year law proper as I needed to be a full-time law student starting third year because of the heavy study load, and San Beda Law being a top and tough law school in the country,” Macatangay recalled. “I had to choose between my high-paying job, very promising career and upcoming promotion at Coca-Cola versus my law studies. I definitely made the right choice, as I had no regrets with my decision.”
Macatangay, who continues to be a professor and lecturer in various academic institutions and training leader, earned an executive master in business administration degree as a company scholar at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), where is presently the chairman of the board of trustees at the AIM Alumni Association. He is a doctor in public administration candidate and a university scholar at the University of the Philippines' National College of Public Administration and Governance.
Born in Candelaria, Quezon, Macatangay has been happily married for 22 years to Ma. Loreza Merluza Macatangay, a law and business graduate, and businesswoamn. They are blessed with two daughters, Athena Gwyneth (finance and marketing double major degrees graduate at Singapore Management University) and Bridgette Vianney (six-year accelerated medicine degree program student at De La Salle University).
Juggling time between work and home is challenging for Macatangay, especially since he is often out of the country. He shuttles not just between Manila and Singapore but also travels to other Asean countries. “[P]roper time management, prioritizing and scheduling of work activities, and errands are definitely a must,” he said.
Macatangay is a senior and multi-awarded Rotarian leader, treasurer of the Israel Chamber of Commerce, and very active longtime member of the Management Association of the Philippines and Singapore International Chamber of Commerce. He attended various executive education programs at Singapore Management University, INSEAD Business School, Singapore Government's SkillsFuture SG, and was a pioneer awardee graduate of the SGV-Ernst and Young, and the Management Association of the Philippines “NextGen CEO Transformative Leadership Program.”
A normal day for him is “always a very busy [and] hectic day.” His weekends are a combination of work and rest. Before the pandemic, he would hang out in malls, meeting venues and social gatherings. He misses doing those things as well as attending parties, socials and events. As he loves traveling, it is the first thing he wants to do when this pandemic ends.
Macatangay makes it a point to start his day with a personal prayer, thanking the Lord for everything. From his spouse and loved ones, meanwhile, he gets “emotional, moral, financial, physical and motivational” support.
“We have to fight through some worst days to earn the best days in our lives,” he mused.