Page 26 - WashingtonSyCip_Bio_Excerpt_LastChapter_2nd_Edition

A Good Night’s Sleep
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Postscript A Good Night ’ s Sleep
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Wash pitched in to help the Firm get over the hump. “He went out of his way to help
the Firm reconnect with and reassure clients, even offering his home for meetings. He
had established long-term relationships with these clients, often with their founders
when he was still with SGV. By the time we came along, we were dealing with the
second or third generation.” Wash’s personal involvement brought a touch of magic
to the table, reminding everyone of the integrity and professional competence that
SGV’s reputation was built on.

Vic Noel also embarked on a new growth strategy—knowledge outsourcing, through
what came to be called the Asia-Pacific Talent Hub, by which Filipinos serviced
foreign clients locally. “These were basically Ernst & Young (EY) clients. We started
with a group of just about 50 people, but by the time I left, we had more than a
thousand in that operation, which grew into a separate company located in McKinley
Hill. Through the Asia-Pacific Talent Hub, SGV turned into a regional and even
global player in a highly competitive environment. It also stopped the mass exodus of
people because now they could work on international accounts from here.” During
his tenure at SGV, Vic saw its number of personnel grow back from 2,000 to a
healthy 5,000.

All throughout this transition, Wash was there to offer Vic his counsel and support—
and, as usual, guiding by example. “He’d call me from the airport and say he’d just
arrived from the States, but that he was going straight to the office—and this was at
seven in the morning, on a Saturday or Sunday. I took that as a hint that he expected
me to be there, too.”

On that fateful October weekend, Vic was all set to fly to New York, to join Wash’s
annual dinner. He had already retired in June and felt a bit awkward about going, but
Wash insisted that he come. “It could be my last dinner,” he told Vic. As it happened,
Vic’s ticket went unused.

But Wash’s lessons in leadership were not lost on Vic, who says that “As a steward, you
make sure that the Firm is better and stronger than when you entered it. Stewardship
was one of my hallmarks in running SGV. You make sure that you take care of the
Firm, and hand it over to the next generation of leaders better and stronger. To the
end, Wash wanted to make sure that the Firm was run properly and would be there
for the long haul. He wanted SGV to deliver at its very best, and not to compromise

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