SUBSCRIBEDe-ARMed
The technology and business sections of major newspapers were a-flurry with news of the eventual de-ARMing of Smart. ARM by the way is the initials of Anastacio Martirez, PLDT’s (and Smart’s), the largest telecoms company in the country of which Smart is a subsidiary) erstwhile marketing whiz and top honcho. Starting with Smart from day one, he was widely known as a workaholic (which may just be an understatement) that advertising people feared. But in the process, he was credited in contributing to its marketing success that saw the wireless company overtaking Piltel in the analog market and then Globe in GSM. While speculations point out to an internal dispute with Napoleon Nazareno, PLDT CEO, this was also followed by resignations of two other top managers (Alex Caeg and Brenda Dichoso).
One thing that will definitely cross one’s mind: what will be the performance of Smart - the wireless powerhouse, post ARM?
December 5th, 2005 at 6:34PM
uy, parang nabaso ko na rin to sa office email a :p
December 5th, 2005 at 3:29PM
ARM was replaced by Butch Jiminez, a very competent leader who has a vast experience in various industry. Here’s a brief resume of Butch . . .
His business experience spans more than twenty (20) years in film and cinema, theater, television, advertising, publishing, broadcasting, education, and recently, in the telecommunications sector.
He joined PLDT in December 2001 as Vice-President for Corporate Communications and Public Affairs. In early 2004, he was promoted to First Vice-President and in mid-year, moved to the Retail Business Group (RBG). He was promoted to Senior Vice-President of RBG in December of the same year.
As Head of RBG, Butch is responsible for running the nationwide operations of PLDT, principally composed of 43 zones and about 120 business areas spread across the country, with a team of over 4,000 people under his leadership. He is also responsible for the Sales and Marketing of the various consumer products of PLDT such as the landline, myDSL, PLDT Vibe and international and local prepaid cards.
In his first six (6) months as RBG Head, his major accomplishment was to push his team to hit the group’s stretch revenue target, the first time in PLDT’s recent history. In 2005, Butch was able to reverse the declining trend of postpaid landline subscribers, which averaged a loss of over 50,000 lines per year since 2002. He is set to end the year 2005 with a gain amidst strong competition from Sun Cellular’s 24/7 and Globelines’ free NDD nationwide. His marketing strategy against VoIP, the ID-DSL, has effectively addressed the proliferation of outbound VoIP operators.
Despite the challenging technical difficulties, Butch was able to grow PLDT myDSL broadband subscribers by 100% and retain leadership in that field. His most recent product, the PLDT Budget Card, changed the pricing paradigm of international call cards from dollars to pesos and slashed the rate to P5.00 per minute. Overnight, it became the hottest selling international call card with an upsurge in revenue of P30 million per month from its previous P7 million per month.
Butch attributes his success to his RBG team whom he says had made things happen. As he said in his talk during the 2005 PLDT-Smart National Conference, “RBG is not just about numbers or targets. RBG is about people. All 4,000 of us, who push forward together, make things happen for the company.”
Prior to his employment at PLDT, Butch was a Film Producer for GMA Films who came up with internationally recognized and top-grossing movies such as Jose Rizal, Muro-Ami, In the Navel of the Sea and Deathrow.
He also founded the Trumpets Theater Company, which produced top musical plays such as The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Joseph the Dreamer and Little Mermaid.
He also had a stint at GMA Network, Inc., where he served as Creative Director, Copywriter and Producer for the company’s various multi-media campaigns, many of which garnered local and international awards.
In 1998, Butch was given the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) Award in Manila for Multi-Media Achievement. In 1999, he received his Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) of the World Award for Cultural Achievement in Cannes, France.