October 1, 2020
Manila – Manulife China Bank Life Assurance (MCBL) has organized a webinar titled “Business Resilience in the time of COVID-19,” featuring globally renowned Filipino industrial designer Kenneth Cobonpue and entrepreneur, actor, and China Bank brand ambassador Richard Yap, as they share the lessons they have learned pivoting and reinventing their respective businesses amid today’s challenging landscape.
“At MCBL, it is important for us to support our customers, many of whom are entrepreneurs and business leaders, as they face disruption, volatility and uncertainty resulting from the pandemic,” said Sandeep Deobhakta, President and Chief Executive Officer of MCBL. “This webinar gives them a platform to learn from peers who are also running businesses, and who have managed to weather today’s difficulties, by finding and developing growth opportunities through agility and reinvention.”
At the webinar, Cobonpue shared how he harnessed and fueled his creativity during the lockdown by devoting specific time for creativity, imagination and bursts of inspiration. He also inspired his team to increase productivity while working remotely. “There should be a good balance of maintaining creativity and running a business. We had to reinvent ourselves and maintain discipline while we’re working from home. At the height of the lockdowns, we decided to boost our online presence and render our designs digitally because we couldn’t go to our showrooms. I also kept the communication with my people going through our daily check-ins,” shared Cobonpue. He also believes in the importance of self-care to remain creative.
Meanwhile, Yap shared practical tips that he learned from his different ventures on building online presence, re-assessing business operations, improving products and services, optimizing employees’ skills and capabilities, and cultivating customer relationships. “We had to innovate in many areas to meet our customers’ needs. The lockdown disallowed dine-in options, so we had to grow our online presence, came up with promos to offer budget-friendly meals, partnered with delivery riders to help us reach our customers, and even trained our wait staff to have our own food delivery system as well. This not only allowed us to keep our business afloat and expand our delivery areas, but also helped us save people’s jobs.”
To provide more insights and tips on how entrepreneurs and business leaders can keep their workforce and their loved ones protected, MCBL also invited Atty. Victoria Hilado, estate planning and settlement lawyer. She highlighted the importance of “keyman insurance,” which protects employees and businesses in the face of unexpected loss or sudden death of a key personnel.
“In China Bank, we continuously provide sound and practical advice to help our clients stay competitive and financially resilient during these trying times,” Patrick Cheng, Chief Financial Officer, China Bank. “While there may be challenges along the way, this webinar aims for everyone to be several steps ahead, by reevaluating our strategies and embracing an innovative mindset to help us thrive amid our present challenges.”
This webinar is part of MCBL’s 13th anniversary celebration, and only the latest of Manulife Philippines’ free webinars. To watch previous installments or know more about succeeding episodes, follow Manulife’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ManulifePH.
About Manulife Philippines
The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company opened its doors for business in the Philippines in 1907. Since then, Manulife’s Philippine Branch and later The Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. (Phils.), Inc. (Manulife Philippines) has grown to become one of the leading life insurance companies in the country. Manulife Philippines is a wholly-owned domestic subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation, among the world’s largest life insurance companies by market capitalization. Learn more about Manulife Philippines by visiting the website and follow them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ManulifePH), Twitter (@ManulifePH), and Instagram (@manulifeph).
About Manulife
Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services group that helps people make their decisions easier and lives better. We operate primarily as John Hancock in the United States and Manulife elsewhere. We provide financial advice, insurance, as well as wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. At the end of 2017, we had about 35,000 employees, 73,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving more than 26 million customers. As of September 30, 2018, we had over $1.1 trillion (US$863 billion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made $27.6 billion in payments to our customers. Our principal operations are in Asia, Canada and the United States where we have served customers for more than 100 years. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong.