The Philippine Airlines’ president and COO, also the first pilot to be on top of the flag carrier since 1963, is now also president of SKAL International Makati.

SKAL International is a professional club of movers and shakers in global travel and tourism. Operating at local, regional, national, and international levels, it is composed of decision makers and game changers in the industry, who join forces to maximize opportunities for networking for individual members and the collective in the pursuit of sustainable and responsible travel and industry growth.

I can’t think of anybody more suited for the job, if only because, while Stanley is young, only 44, the youngest ever to be at the helm of 83-year-old Philippine Airlines (PAL), his experience is vast, including a long career with the airline, in which he started 20 years ago at the airport check-in counter as a PAL agent doubling up as a translator, thanks to his proficiency in Mandarin. After a year on the ground, having gone through PAL Aviation School, he was flying Boeings and Airbuses, first as a cruise relief pilot and eventually as chief pilot of the Airbus 320 division.

Stanley rose through the ranks at PAL, becoming head and then senior vice president of airline operations, before being appointed president and chief operating officer in 2022 while the airline, like the rest of the world, was reeling from the devastation of the pandemic.

Now everything is looking up, still as challenging as ever but with more hope, and Stan soars with his wings unfurled. Within nine months of 2022, reversing a ₱21.93-billion net loss registered in the same nine-month period the year before, PAL Holdings, which operates the airline, drew ₱6.76 billion in net profits from the robust growth of its passenger and cargo revenues.

It takes strong leadership to be on top of a company like PAL, so obviously Stanley has that and more. Yet he is mild-mannered and soft-spoken. He doesn’t seem—or want—to dominate the room, but…

…Who was it who said that the first secret of success is showing up?

Legendary self-esteem advocate, motivational speaker, and bestselling author Jack Canfield did say that “sometimes, showing up is the hardest part. Do that, and you’ve already overcome the toughest obstacle.” On the same topic, albeit in the context of creative writing, world-acclaimed Chilean-American writer Isabel Allende said, “Show up, show up, show up and after a while the muse shows up, too.” On moral grounds, he isn’t exactly the best person to quote, but Woody Allen, whose body of work as a filmmaker is sure to outlast and—with hope—overshadow his ill repute, also did say that “80 percent of success is showing up.”

There surely is more than 20 percent to Stanley's success-generating skills other than his reliable, often reassuring presence—his open, inclusive, accessible, approachable leadership, for instance. From where I stand, however, showing up has proved a great tool for his success too. On a light note, once, mystified that he would take on the mic at parties, I asked him, “You appear shy, but you always sing when asked.” He laughed and told me he used to sing in high school, and his daughter, 16, is in a band. I told him I wouldn’t dare sing even at the most private parties, with only my closest friends, if my life depended on it—and I don’t even consider myself shy anymore.

Recently, Stanley decided to put on yet another hat as the just-inducted president of SKAL International Makati, whose core mission, as he put it in his acceptance speech, is to promote responsible and sustainable global tourism.

More than a community organization, SKAL International is a global association currently headquartered in Torremolinos, Spain of tourism goalsetters, visionaries, and professionals. It was initiated in 1932 in Paris by travel managers inspired by an educational tour of Scandinavia. Ninety-two years hence, it now has over 13,000 members—and counting—in almost 400 clubs in 101 countries.

I asked Stanley what his main goal would be as head of SKAL International Makati and, off the top of his head, he said, “to grow a meaningful membership base.” During the cocktail reception on the evening of his induction, he was already rattling off names to me of people he thought would be helpful in pushing forward the SKAL agenda, including hospitality dreammakers and storytellers.

On top of his duties as PAL president, Stanley would also put his SKAL hat on to work with the Department of Tourism, other airlines, hotels and resorts, and other travel-related organizations to advance tourism. Of his initial plans, food tourism is a highlight. “I’d like to work with chefs, food historians, food entrepreneurs, and restaurateurs to curate a program to push the Philippines as a food destination,” he said.

If networking is the backbone of the SKAL vision, they have the right guy in Manila. Stanley is a master at networking. He is currently the darling not only of industry functions but also of society parties, from private get-togethers to big benefit balls.

I’m sure the weight on his back is heavy, but Stanley stands tall and firm, uncowering even in the face of overwhelming challenges. How does he keep going? “I guess my faith is strong enough to carry me through tough times,” he told me. “Being grateful also helps. And I always believe that nothing lasts forever, good and bad. As long as you are doing your best to solve the undesirable situation, then that’s enough. Being stressed out doesn’t really help.”

In November 2022, Stanley piloted the 168-seater Airbus A321neo aircraft that carried President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., the first lady Liza Marcos, and the official Philippine delegation to the ASEAN 2022 Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I met him a few months later on PAL’s inaugural flight from Manila to Perth and back in March last year, of which he was the pilot-in-command. Although he doesn’t sit in the cockpit as much as he would like anymore now that he isn’t only captain in the sense of being at the controls of a high-tonnage aircraft, but also captain of industry, he keeps his wings at the ready.

The boy Stanley was must be very proud of the man he has become, especially the high school kid who began to dream of flying while playing video games. “My friends suggested that I could use my good psychomotor skills and analytical mind to fly planes,” he recalls.

Now, he is flying even higher.