It's a story that could inspire a generation: a young woman, fresh out of college, enters the corporate world with a dream and a determination to make her mark. Decades later, that same woman is shattering glass ceilings and redefining what it means to be a leader.
Her journey, marked by challenges overcome and opportunities seized, has culminated in a historic appointment to the top of a major real-estate company, proving that with hard work, resilience, and a commitment to excellence, one person can truly change the game.
Not one to rest on her laurels, Robinsons Land Corporation’s new president and chief executive officer is all geared up to hit the ground running once she takes over the helm of the company from parent company JG Summit Holdings’ main pilot Lance Gokongwei.
“I have already been meeting with the different business groups, already starting on the onboarding. While I'm already familiar with the business, the different facets of it, it's really that I also want to do a very detailed onboarding. So that it will be all systems go when I assume the post on Feb. 1,” said RLC’s newly-appointed CEO Mybelle V. Aragon-GoBio.
While the firm’s budget and plans have already been laid out for 2025 by the company’s leadership before the end of 2024, she explained that, “I'd like to push the leaders in the organization to see what else can be done. Maybe some tweaking of these plans can still be done.”
Aragon-Gobio’s appointment as the incoming chief of the conglomerate’s real estate development arm is making waves, not just because she is the company’s first woman president, but also because she will be its first CEO who is not a member of the Gokongwei clan by birth or by marriage.
She does not consider her being a woman as ever having been a hindrance to her rise in the organization, pointing out that, “I've been asked that question many times, but I never really felt that there's any glass ceiling that was hindering my growth. I have been very fortunate because RLC and the Gokongwei Group has always been known to value meritocracy.”
Rising through the ranks
However, when Mybelle first joined Robinsons Land 31 years ago and eventually rose through the ranks, she said she never thought nor envisioned that one day she would become its chief executive.
Fresh from college in 1993, she decided not to pursue a career with a multinational corporation or the country’s biggest food and beverage firm. Instead, she chose to join Robinsons Land after being personally recruited by Frederick D. Go, RLC’s president, for more than three decades before leaving for an important role in the government.
“I really just focused on learning as much as I can. Frederick was the one who hired me and had been my mentor for three decades. So, of course, I wanted to be able to contribute meaningfully, as any new worker aspires to do. It was only when I started to take on more responsibilities that I started envisioning how much of an impact I can make if I were a leader and, thanks to Frederick, as I progressed in my career, he gave me many opportunities to lead different business units,” she recounted.
Mybelle started with the residential group and headed it for nearly two decades, establishing RLC’s High-Rise Buildings Division, driving significant revenues through residential condominiums and office projects which capitalized on the growth of the Business Process Outsourcing industry.
She was instrumental in launching successful residential brands, forging high-profile joint ventures with local and international partners, and advancing Public-Private Partnership projects with local and national government entities.
In 2016, Aragon-Gobio set up the integrated developments, as it was called before, but it has since been renamed Robinson's destination estates. This gave her valuable insights into all the divisions of RLC since estates have residential, office, hotel and mall components.
“A year and a half ago, I set up the RLX business (Robinsons Logistics and Industrials Inc. So, there, I was happy enough to see how far I can go and grow with what I had. But FDG’s (Go’s) joining the government was unexpected when it happened, it challenged many assumptions within the organization.
“But even then, the role of president and CEO being on the table was not something that we saw happening anytime soon. But, it reminds me that leadership opportunities really arise when you least expect it, you still have to be prepared and open to the challenge,” she noted.
Mentored by the best
While there may have been others who were willing to rise to the challenge, Aragon-Gobio credits her appointment to her being prepared through a “combination of the years of experience mentorship that I was fortunate to have from Mr. Frederick, also Mr. Lance and Mr. James (Go) and self-development through honing my leadership skills.”
She added, “I think what has served me well is my current leadership style, which is really collaborative and inclusive. I believe in empowering the organization and my teams. I believe in fostering a culture of innovation. I'm a big believer in that. And also I like encouraging open communication because, if you promote that, then there's a higher level of accountability, and also the organization as a whole is more motivated to achieve shared goals.”
Life-work balance
Outside of work, Mybelle cherishes her time as a wife to Timmy and mother to their daughter, Bea. She said she always makes sure she spends enough time with her family, including their furbaby, and “I like going out with my family, trying out new restaurants.”
Their daughter looks up to her as role model “so I'm a very involved mother because, she's taking the same courses I took. So I can identify with her academic struggles and, from time to time, she'd consult me.”
For sport, the statuesque Mybelle said she used to play golf. “I used to play with my friends and brothers because I have a family of golfers.” However, she said she had to give up playing golf because she needs to achieve a good balance between her career and her family and golf “takes up so much time. You have to wake up really early, and then, you'd be lucky to finish 18 holes in four hours.”
Guiding principle
Throughout her career, Aragon-Gobio’s guiding principle can be found in the Holy Bible’s book of Proverbs 10:9: “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.”
“Really, it's about integrity. We were by no means an affluent family. We were a typical middle-class family. And of course, integrity was our real and true wealth. I was orphaned at a fairly young age. But I know that God has always been there to guide us through those challenges and, of course, I look to Him for wisdom whenever I face tough situations.
“So that passage resonates with me because it really shows the foundational value of integrity which I've always used in my decision making, in the business setting. If you're a leader with integrity, then you don't only secure your position, but you also strengthen the organization, because you know you set the moral standards, you have an alignment of your purpose with your organization, and then you also establish how to go about achieving your objectives. So for me, integrity is very important,” she stressed.
Aside from integrity, Mybelle said a leader should have empathy tied in with respect for other people, for those who may have different perspectives since “Much can be learned from just listening to each other and respecting differences in opinions.”