Importance of being Ernest Cu

Ernest Cu is direct. When asked during an interview with the Inquirer about his plans for Globe Telecom Inc., the company's new president and CEO said what was widely acknowledged but rarely spoken by the firm's officials.
“Globe's always number two in everything. Think about where Globe is number one?” he asked.

“Even our position in postpaid is now being threatened by Sun,” Cu pointed out incredulously. “They're supposed to become now the number one postpaid brand and at times, even our main competitor calls us the number three brand, which I kind of resented, actually.”

When asked about his vision for the Ayala-controlled firm whose helm he took earlier this year from veteran Gerardo Ablaza, Cu was equally direct, defying the discreet, diplomatic style that has almost become a trademark of Ayala group executives.

“My goal is to make Globe a leader in one of the segments we want to play in,” he said. “I'm a realist in saying that, given the lead that the competition may have in telephony, it may be very difficult to say we're going to be number one again.”

According to Cu, he can make Globe the number one service provider for broadband services – despite the considerable lead of the PLDT group in this business segment – simply because the market is still in its infancy. At the sidelines of Globe's annual stockholders' meeting in Makati , Ernest Cu said his main target this year is to take Globe back to its dominant status in the mobile service industry after years of lagging behind its rival, Smart Communications Inc

Click this link to read complete article 6/22/09 Philippine Inquirer