By Dee Verano, Lance Dy, and Kiara Rioferio

The Revolution Begins

When Lance Dy and Kiara Rioferio joined forces to establish A-trepreneur during Aboitiz Group's inaugural ExO Sprint (now known as the Future Co-Creation Voyage) in early 2022, they had one goal in mind: to create a radical organizational shift within the company. Teaming up with Aileen Nagpala shortly after, the trio embarked on a journey to become corporate rebels in the hopes of sparking a movement that will lead to the creation of growth engines within the Aboitiz Group.

The Future Co-Creation Voyage, led by the Aboitiz Transformation Team, is a 12-week program that helps teams develop innovative startups from conception to implementation. Guided by industry professionals and experts in exponential growth, participants pitch their ideas to investors and explore the potential directions of their ventures. Lance, a former Account Officer from AboitizPower's Commercial Operations, Kiara, who specialized in Human Resources and was a former HR Supervisor for Culture and Employee Engagement for Hedcor, Inc., and Aileen, who focused on Innovation and Digital Transformation for AboitizPower, all brought their diverse backgrounds to the table.

Meeting the Corporate Rebels

During their research for the microenterprise model they presented, the team stumbled upon the Corporate Rebels blog, a global platform that shares creative work methodologies to inject fun into work. Through a virtual encounter with Joost Minaar, one of the co-founders of Corporate Rebels, during the Voyage, they gained insights about the Haier microenterprise model and other progressive organizations worldwide. Minaar even introduced them to Yang Wen of the Haier Model Institute, expanding their knowledge and inspiring them to take a rebel approach to organizational design.

After getting the green light from the investment committee, A-trepreneur continued their learning partnership with Corporate Rebels Academy's six-week course on Understanding and Designing Progressive Organizational Structures. The course covered a range of topics, from the history and evolution of organizational design to the principles and practices of agile and self-managing organizations, and featured case studies of successful examples from around the world. Lance and Kiara were particularly drawn to the course's emphasis on empowering employees, promoting purpose-driven work, and fostering a culture of experimentation and learning.

Personally, I have always been committed to challenging traditional practices if they do not align with sound reasoning. Through my experiences, I have come to realize that there are numerous ways a company can be progressive and it is up to us to determine which ideas can be adapted to our context and culture. The approach has taught me the value of critical thinking, flexibility, and the importance of embracing innovative approaches to drive meaningful change within an organization.

– Lance Dy, Co-Founder, A-trepreneur

Kiara adds, "There's a real hunger among people, especially younger generations, for more progressive and inclusive work environments. We need to challenge the status quo and create organizations that can adapt and thrive in today's fast-changing world. This course is an affirmation that change is possible, as shown by different organizations. It's also a testament that we're pursuing the right direction towards building the next techglomerate in Aboitiz."

One of the team's most significant discoveries was that the Haier model might not be the perfect fit for Aboitiz. Instead, they realized that a diverse array of best practices could help transform Aboitiz into a holistically progressive organization. Armed with these insights, they shared their learnings with the GT culture and operations pillars, and have continued to experiment with them. Even after the course ended, Lance and Kiara remained members of the Corporate Rebels Academy, proudly representing Aboitiz in the global online community of innovative thinkers.

The valuable lessons learned from their involvement with Corporate Rebels quickly gained widespread attention. In September 2022, SMA publicly recommended "Corporate Rebels" as a complementary read for Aboitiz's Great Transformation journey. He even suggested that employees could use a portion of their PHP5,000 personal innovation budget to purchase the book.

Rebel Roundups and the Future of the Revolution

In December 2022, the Group hosted Joost Minnaar and Pim De Morree, the co-founders of Corporate Rebels, at their BGC office in Taguig City. During their visit, they gained further insights about the Aboitiz organization and also served as keynote speakers at the 2022 AboitizPower Innovation Summit, advocating for the infusion of enjoyment into work. It was during this visit that they were introduced to "Super Ditch Day," a simple yet powerful initiative aimed at eliminating processes or practices that no longer add value to the Aboitiz Group.

Just a month later, in January 2023, the Corporate Rebels Academy showcased Aboitiz's Super Ditch Day in their virtual rebel social event. Isaac Galang, a member of the Transformation Team, highlighted the accomplishments of SDD and had the opportunity to learn about other leading approaches from different organizations.

Although Kiara and Lance are transitioning to other foundry teams, and Aileen is currently undergoing the 12-week Future Co-Creation Voyage, we can still count on them to make significant and impactful contributions to the entire organization. Kiara, Lance, and Aileen are determined to materialize their innovative ideas to address some of the world's most urgent problems and help create a better future for Aboitiz.

Through these meaningful engagements, Aboitiz has become part of the growing movement of corporate rebels who are advocating for better ways of working, where people, purpose, and progress are valued. Let's work together to make work more ‘fun’ as we strive to become the Philippines' first techglomerate.