By MAAN D’ASIS PAMARAN |Â Photography by KURT ALVAREZ |Â Grooming by SARI CAMPO
Nissan Philippines Inc. president and managing director Antonio “Toti†Zara, the first Filipino to hold the post,talks about the company’s roadmap and how he went full throttle to achieve his goals.
The Don Bosco Technical College top-notcher first worked at a car dealership. Toti started as a parts engineer, working at the production line developing local parts. “On my first day, I came to work in long sleeves and a tie. The next day, I reported in a white t-shirt with the Toyota logo,†he laughs. “I was told, ‘that’s your work station,’ the final stop of the assembly line.â€
He took pride in his work, even both inside and outside of the plant. “I courted my wife in my jumpsuit,†he smiles. “It was the uniform for technical service, where I spent a lot of my time. I went to her house in that jumpsuit, to the point where my now father-in-law took her aside and requested a change of outfit. He asked me not to visit in my overalls,†he chuckles.
All in all, he spent 10 years on the assembly line section of the car company. “By the time I was 29 or 30, I was already head of the parts and services division nationwide. I got around to thinking if this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my career.†It was with a new vision that he went to his boss and asked for a position in marketing and sales. This eventually gave him the sales expertise that would come in handy as he heads Nissan in the Philippines, along with the knowledge he has accumulated as the former managing director for International Sales for General Motors (GM) in Korea, president of GMJ National Sales Company for GM in Japan, and director for sales, service and marketing for P.T. GM in Indonesia, to help him coach his team.
Hands on the wheel
Toti talks about his vision for Nissan in the country. “In terms of my management style, I don’t want to just do things better, I want to do things differently. I think that it is well in tune with Nissan’s brand positioning, as our corporate driving force is innovation.â€
Nissan has been in the Philippines for a long time and Pinoys are familiar with the Sentra and the Altima. “In the past, we had independent distributors — there was Nissan Motor Philippines Inc. for the passenger cars and Universal Motors Corp. for the commercial vehicles. Last year, Nissan Japan saw that the Philippines had become a critical market so they decided to take over the business. It became a joint venture with the distributors, with the company having majority share.â€
He continues, “I have always wanted to make changes, and not just improve things. One example of how I am applying it now is the Nissan GT Academy, a program that uses virtual tech to look for talented prospective racecar drivers. If we did it the traditional way, we would be holding our own Sylphy Cup or the usual marketing stunt.â€
The program targets those who have no access or funds to get into this sport, which is admittedly expensive. “We have this vision of discovering talents from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, who have the skills to be a competitive race car driver on a global scale, even if he is a taxi driver.â€
Toti says success in becoming a truly global company would be about finding a middle ground between the Western way of moving forward through innovative changes and re-engineering, and the Japanese way of accumulating constant improvement. “In America, it is about individual talent, which is why they have superstar CEOs. The Japanese are all about teams, which adhere to inflexible standards while the Americans move with the thought of ‘improve as you go.’ There has to be a middle ground,†he explains. “The mere fact that I am a Filipino, while my counterparts are all Japanese, says something about the company’s innovative spirit.†Nissan Motor Co.’s CEO is also non-Japanese; Carlos Ghosn, a French-Lebanese-Brazilian businessman.
Growing markets, busy streets
He says that Metro Manila’s traffic aside, the car industry still has a lot of potential. “The Philippines is on the verge of motorization, and I believe that I came home at the best time. There are more people who have the capacity to buy cars, and they are no longer concentrated in Manila,†he says.
Toti recently went to Ilocos when they launched the Navarra, and noticed that the houses along the way are now made of concrete, have televisions and satellites, and even have air-conditioning units installed. “The father may be a farmer in the province and he could have a son working in Dubai and a daughter who is in Japan, and this gives them extra income,†he speculates.
He also notes that there is so much development in places like the Calabarzon and Bulacan, where the car sales from Manila (which currently comprise 70 percent of total sales) can eventually spread out. This is the reason why Nissan is putting up a regional presence in places such as Dumaguete, Calamba and Talisay, which is in the outskirts of Cebu City.
As a motoring exec, his inputs on the Pinoy street scene are invaluable. “As a car company, we believe that a good driver is a safe driver. In that sense, one of our responsibilities is to improve driving habits and consequently, road safety,†he explains. He gives an anecdote about how Filipinos are in contrast with their Asian neighbors. “In Tokyo, I was stopped three times. When it comes to tickets, they show no mercy! You cannot even say sorry, what you have to do is get the ticket and pay your fine at the 7-Eleven. Being a Filipino driver, my mentality is always ‘I did nothing wrong — I simply changed lanes!’ But for them, that’s swerving!†he grins ruefully.
Toti also exclaims that having worked in Jakarta where traffic is horrible, he has perfected the art of using his backseat as a roving office where he answers e-mails and attends to other responsibilities on a mobile device.
The time he saves by working in the car, he spends doing the things he loves. “During my downtime, I play sports like golf and tennis. I have been golfing since I was nine years old,†he reveals.
Being a husband and a father, family plays an important role for Toti. “When you move abroad, you have no friends and your family is not there. So, we developed this close bond where even though we have friends and family here, we still make it a point to spend time together.â€
The same goes for him as a son. “My grandfather, Gregorio Zara, is a National Scientist as declared in 1978. His death anniversary by chance, is Oct. 15, my birthday. That is why I always joke that I am the reincarnation of my lolo. He was a Mechanical Engineer like me. My father, Antonio Zara, is also successful in his field, and so is my brother who is the Junior. I am Antonio the third. I have much pressure to live up to the family name but it is from my lolo that I learned that being smart and working hard go hand in hand in order to succeed.â€
Speaking of reincarnation, this gentleman was more than willing to share a wish he developed abroad. As happy and contented with the hard work he has churned out, he, too, seems to dream of a life full of comfort and recreation. “On my next life, I want to be an expat’s wife!†he jokingly concludes.
