Conversation with a Filipino HR guru

THE People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP) and the Philippine Society of Fellows in People Management (PSOF) recently honored five human resources (HR) practitioners who made significant contributions to the HR profession. The honorees were Vicente Abella, Luzmindo Fajardo, Metodio Ganuelas, Ismael Khan Jr. and Alberto Quimpo. The last four are accredited Diplomates in People Management (DPM). Messrs. Abella, Fajardo and Khan are PMAP past presidents, while Messrs. Khan and Quimpo are lawyers.

One day after the event, Mr. Ganuelas called me up and we had a great conversation. Here's one secret: Mr. Ganuelas hired me at San Miguel Corp. in early 1975 for a position that was advertised as requiring at least three years of HR experience. The other secret: I had no prior HR experience when he hired me after a 90-minute one-on-one final interview. Later, I would hear him talk a lot about potential as a hiring predictor, aside from experience and tests.