As we mend our ways to cope with the new normal so thus market mover Sergio “Boy” G. Edeza. Though, his would be in an altogether different way. This former treasurer of the Philippines (TOP) bade his goodbye at the diversified food and beverage conglomerate San Miguel Corp.
For Boy, 13 is his lucky number. This represents the fruitful years he had with San Miguel as senior vice president-treasurer. He is still a couple of years shy of the mandatory age but decided on taking the optional retirement.
No, he wasn’t green envy, nor was it osmosis because some of his closest friends like Mina Figueroa, also a former TOP and Eric Cruz of Deutsche Bank Philippines, have already taken the plunge. Retirement crossed his mind last year not because of the pandemic. “I’ve always thought of retiring early. It’s always something one looks forward to.”
“I have served the people (as director of the treasury department of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and as TOP). I’ve reaped the financial benefits of working in the private sector. Now, I’m giving back to society service in a different form,” Boy explained
While his responsibility in San Miguel is daunting, to say the least, such as ensuring that the fund-raising activities are of the optimum, Boy still has the zest to share his time in three NGOs. He is vice chairman in two microfinance firms, CEV and KMBI and he’s a member of the board of World Vision Foundation of the Philippines, an affiliate of World Vision UK.
More often, NGO meetings eat up his weekend. Boy, though, has a soft spot for them. He relishes the time spent with them, sharing his cumulative expertise to strengthen their operations. He sits in the risk management and audit committees.
The air of melancholy engulfed Boy during his last working day in San Miguel. But he swears he would cherish the friendships, the memories and the wisdom he learned from President Ramon S. Ang.
Just to digress a bit, who would not treasure? Since the start of the pandemic, San Miguel has been lending a helping hand in the country’s COVID-19 response. Currently, San Miguel is assisting LGUs in the roll-out of the vaccines by deploying its employee doctors and nurses to help administer over 55,000 COVID-19 vaccination shots in the metropolis.
To date, the company's efforts have reached close to P14 billion, representing food and medical donations, continued salaries and payments for all employees and third-party providers, and advance payments to the government to boost coronavirus response.
For now, though, this semi-retired will be concentrating his energy on the mounting task of spring cleaning, getting rid of what he described as files and files of documents accumulated through the years.
As he gets acclimatized to his new work schedule, Boy is seriously considering going into entrepreneurial endeavor. Because of health protocol, he will temporarily close his “Via Emilia.”
Yes, Boy wears another hat on weekends and holidays. A toque! He fancies himself as a Chef, whipping mouth-watering dishes – comfort food adobo cooked with a twist, instead of the local vinegar, he uses balsamic sprinkled with secret ingredients. Then, there’s his most sought after tortellini, a ring-shaped pasta stuffed with different cheeses.
His love affair with cooking, coupled with the increasing demands for his dishes prompted him to open five years ago Via Emilia, a diner in his weekend country home in Tagaytay. It’s a bit snooty, though. No walk-in is allowed. Only with reservation!
Instead, he's thinking of “bottling” his pasta sauces: angus beef Bolognese, dried tomato pesto, sardines and chorizo, four mushrooms in truffle oil, and his “suicidal, killer” shrimp and aligue.
Also, Boy will be wearing a straw wide-brimmed hat, that of a farmer when he checks on his farm in Amadeo, Cavite. Coffee and cocoa thrive in his property.
Though, literally, he has his plate full, Boy swears he is not closing the door to any consultancy that may come his way. In the meantime, anyone for Sergio’s via Emilia pasta sauces?
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