Oscar Hilado: Soaring High Beyond the Horizons

His unwavering passion never ceases to touch and inspire lives each and every day.
By Cristine Antonette B. Catu


“ When I received word that the De La Salle Alumni Association (DLSAA) had selected me as one of the Distinguished La Sallian Awardees for 2006, my immediate reaction was one of complete surprise. Surprise because I am not even an alumnus of DLSU. I graduated in 1958 from what, in 1958, was a rather obscure La Salle Bacolod. In my time I thought it was a second tier La Salle.”

Oscar J. Hilado’s (USLS, BSC, 1958) induction to La Salle’s Distinguished La Sallian Awardees is a fitting tribute to this man who significantly led PHINMA’s expansion to over 30 affiliated companies, into diverse industries such as cement, steel, paper and packaging, mining and oil exploration, energy, agriculture, trading, property development, consulting, and insurance brokerage during a career that spanned 40 years.

From his humble beginnings in Bacolod City to heading one of the country’s major business groups today, it is clear that Oscar Hilado was definitely made for success. After earning both his grade school and high school diplomas from Casanova School, he attended La Salle College in Bacolod and graduated with a BS Commerce degree in 1958, with highest honors and a gold medal for general excellence.

Hilado recalls the times when he was just breaking into his teens. Studying under, and living in the company of the Brothers, particularly Bro. Leander Fidelis, Bro. Francis Cody, and Bro. Jeffrey are his fondest memories in La Salle Bacolod. For Hilado, his four tough years in college of striving for excellence was challenging… but fun. Dynamic, creative, and a born leader, he was inclined into a complete menu of activities – academics, sports, student governance, school publication, and student catholic action.

Hilado’s versatility is amazing. He was a lawn tennis, table tennis, and handball player rolled into one. Believe it or not, this Student Council President displays his unique style of leadership…as well as his subordinateness…as he touches the lives of his batchmates, emphasizing unity, a legacy he always wants to hand down. A faithful servant of God and a Christian model, Hilado was the president of the Student Catholic Action. At the same time, he was the editor-in-chief of SPECTRUM, La Salle Bacolod’s school paper. Often, Hilado was seen with a pen in his hand, writing his heart out in pieces that affirms the author’s zeal and values.

If there is one mentor that had a really profound influence on Hilado in school, it would have to be the smiling Brother – Bro. Leander Fidelis, who passed away at age 87 on June 12 last year. Bro. Fidelis was the college dean and his Religion teacher then. As he looks back during his moments of doubt and worry, he recalls how the Brother would always tell him “Don’t worry, Oscar, nothing in this world happens except that God wills it, or that God permits it.”

Hilado passed the CPA exams after graduation in 1958, and worked for a British sugar trading company in Bacolod for two (2) years. “Bro. Fidelis was my pillar of support when, two years after college and in one moment of reckless imprudence, I decided to seek admission at the Harvard Graduate School of Business,” recounts Hilado. He went as a Fulbright Smith-Mundt scholar under the Fulbright program, one of the US’ most competitive and prestigious scholarships, and a Harvard grant.

The smiling Brother also taught him typing very well so that – he quips -
“If he failed to make it to the Harvard Business School, he might end up as a rather good stenographer!”

With Hilado’s infectious smile and uninhibited warmth, indeed, the smiling Brother had really left a deep impression in his life.

Two years after earning his MBA in 1962, he joined the Philippine Investment Management (PHINMA), Inc., and in twenty years, became its president. Hilado professes that he was lucky to have met Amb. Ramon V. del Rosario in 1964, because it was the ambassador that gave him the opportunity to succeed.

He stayed as President of PHINMA for eight years – from 1986 to 1994 – and during that period chaired DLSU-Manila’s Board of Trustees for 4 years, received the St. La Salle Award for Outstanding Alumni from the University of St. La Salle Bacolod, the MAP Management Man of the Year award in 1991, and in 1996, the Outstanding Fulbright Award for Business Management. He was also honored with a doctorate in business management Honoris Causa by De La Salle University in 1992. Hilado was Vice-Chair of the Philippine Business for Social Progress from 1981 to 1999, and president of the Management Association of the Philippines from 1993 to 1994. In 2003, University of St. La Salle (Bacolod) also conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa.

After his term as President of PHINMA, he moved on to become the company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Presiding over the expansion of PHINMA to over 30 affiliated companies in diverse industries in a period extending over 30 years was a challenging task. Driven by a passion for expansion and diversity, his formula for success, when asked, replied: “Friendly and trusting investors. Hardworking and loyal staff. Competent and dedicated associates. Inspiring and exacting boss. A supportive family.”

“To lead effectively, one needs to lead by example. You can’t expect people to work 12 hours a day, if you are the last man to come to the office and the first one to leave; you can’t ask them to be honest if they see you as being a cheat. Also, to lead is to learn from mistakes, and to have the courage and energy to bounce back from setbacks.” asserts Hilado.

If growing the company was a challenging task, presiding over the restructuring of the Group after the Asian crisis of 1997, to preserve its value, and to protect the work of a lifetime, was at once an exacting and emotional experience, as restructuring included the divestment of some prized assets; but it was also a stimulating exercise and eventually, a fulfilling and rewarding work that capped his professional career.

Asked if awards placed undue pressure on him, Hilado replied: “No, because I do not live for the purpose of winning awards. I look at awards as recognition for what you do and what you are, and seen to be. I don’t try to fit myself into a mold,” said the successful businessman who has recently relinquished the position of CEO, but remains Chairman of PHINMA.

As Chairman of PHINMA, Hilado also chairs the Board or Executive Committee of most of its subsidiaries and affiliates. He also chairs the De La Salle University Science Foundation, is a member of the National Mission Council of De La Salle Philippines, Inc. and a member of countless other civic and professional groups. He is also the honorary consul of Ecuador.

As he winds down his professional career, Hilado wants to devote more time to travel, to philantrophic work – particularly for the homeless, for talented but financially disadvantaged students, and for the handicapped – and to what he calls the great passion of his life – TENNIS – playing it, and helping in the development of the sport in the Philippines.