Management Wiz Manny Maceda Did It His Way
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Manny Maceda (Source: bain.com)
When I asked him, “Why were you not afraid?” He replied, “It reminded me of the children’s parties we used to have where we would have dry ice for effect.” How many people would have done what Maceda did? Most of us would have run to the nearest exit, but not Manny Maceda, the cool, practical and down-to-earth CEO and Chairman of the Board of Bain & Co.
Shortly after that incident, Jack Welch invited Maceda to visit GE and gave him two job offers he could choose from after graduation. Maceda turned them down as he had already committed to join Bain & Co.’s office in San Francisco, then a fledging, small firm. And that’s where he stayed for 30 years, the past six years as CEO and Chair, becoming the first Asian and Filipino American leader in the company’s history.
Bain & Co. is a worldwide management consulting firm that helps other CEOs and leaders solve their most pressing problems and business challenges. As CEO, Maceda oversaw the company’s growth and transformation to embed digital and technology “while maintaining Bain’s culture and its ranking as one of the best places to work according to Glassdoor (top 4 for 14 years) Fortune, Vault and others.” To achieve long-term increase in the companies’ value, Bain specializes in “full potential transformations” driving strategy, performance improvement, customer loyalty, and organizational effectiveness. Before Bain, Maceda worked at DuPont after college, and had never even heard of “management consulting” as a possible career.
Again, Maceda made the right decision. Not only has he advised CEOs around the world and acquired an expertise in areas including stakeholder capitalism, ESG (environmental, social, and governance) and in private capital, he also leads a company that has a 10-year commitment in pro bono consulting work, achieved a carbon net negative status, and named as one of the top 100 Workplaces for Diverse Representation and Top Pioneer in Diversity and Inclusion. “I encourage our teammates and individuals to define themselves into many aspects of their make-up.” At the same time, Maceda is a member of prestigious organizations like the US Business Roundtable, World Economic Forum’s International Business Council and Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, and the First Movers coalition, among others. “There’s always room to get help from an expert in the field. We help CEOs of corporations make good business decisions,” Maceda says.
Emmanuel “Manny” Maceda, was born in New York City to the late Senator Ernesto Maceda and the late Marichu Vera Perez whose family owned Sampaguita Pictures. He is the only one among his four brothers who was born in the U.S. while his father studied law at Harvard. He grew up in the Philippines, privileged and wealthy, attending La Salle Greenhills for grade school. But fate had other plans for the Maceda family. In the ‘70s, his parents separated, his mother’s family business went bankrupt, and his father joined the opposition and was forced to flee to the U.S. “with literally just the clothes on his back.” (Senator Maceda took the bar exams again in order to practice law in New York. He returned to the Philippines to accompany Cory Aquino, the wife of slain opposition leader Ninoy Aquino, after President Marcos was deposed.) During his parents’ separation, the five sons were divided: Maceda and another brother stayed with the father, the next two boys stayed with the mother who had now moved into a condo, and the youngest brother, who was only five years old, was given to the care of the grandmother.
Maceda's parents: the late Senator Ernie Maceda and the late Marichu Vera Perez.
The singing brothers: (L-R) Edward, Ernest, Macky, Manny and Erwin.
Maceda moved to the U.S. in 1981 while visiting his father who convinced him to stay to pursue his education. But without any resources, he requested help from family members in the Philippines and the U.S., applied for scholarships and student loans, worked two jobs as a computer programmer and as a physics tutor, and had a full-time job while completing his chemical engineering degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He graduated magna cum laude. He would earn his master’s in Management at MIT. Being born into a political family and the motion picture business, Maceda saw both sides and was not interested. He preferred to strike out on his own where his background was “neither an asset nor a liability.”
Last July, Maceda was the speaker at De La Salle University’s 196th Commencement Exercises at the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila, and the school conferred on him an honorary degree, Doctor of Business Administration. In his speech, he extolled the value of “GPS” in one’s life – gratitude, purpose, and service. He thanked the many family members who helped him with his education, “appreciating family, friends, co-workers and teammates, and God.” Purpose, he says, is how you want to spend your life. “Each of us will have a special role in the world. Find yours!” Without service, life is not complete, he says. Whether it’s in your work or in your vocation, serving others means using your gifts properly.
In 2023 Maceda received the Heritage Heroes Award from The Asian American Foundation in New York. He acknowledged his Filipino roots as a critical asset to his work. "My knowledge of and experiences in global markets and cultures created a tremendous opportunity for me to support our clients, working seamlessly with colleagues worldwide. My heritage has been an important part of my career and family," Maceda said in his acceptance speech.
One of the moving forces in Maceda’s life is his wife, Lyra Rufino, (daughter of Ernest Rufino and Josie Padilla), whom he had known since they were very young as their grandmothers were friends. Other members of the Vera and Padilla families were also politicians from the same party. One summer before taking a job at DuPont, he visited Manila and re-kindled his relationship with Lyra. After many love letters and expensive long distance phone calls, Lyra came to the U.S. to pursue graduate studies at the Fletcher School of Diplomacy while Maceda was at MIT. Being close to each other (about an hour away) allowed the romance to blossom and in 1988, they were married in Manila. Rufino also finished her law degree from UC Berkeley but chose not to practice to care for their children.
The Maceda Family
They have four children whose educational backgrounds are just as noteworthy. Oldest daughter, Alexandra, is now a full-time artist after graduating from Dartmouth and Stanford Business School. Second child, Mike, graduated from Boston College and has a master’s degree from MIT Sloan as well. He is now based in Manila for a technology incubator and will be getting married in a few months to a British Filipina. Ginny, based in New York, works for Danone, the French yogurt company. She studied at Yale and Wharton Business School. The youngest, DJ, will be graduating from Stanford University this year with focus on Philosophy and Psychology. Although three of their older children live outside of the Bay Area, they come home (sometimes) during Easter or Christmas. Maceda says that in their case, Covid was a “silver lining” because all the children came home, studied and worked from home, and stayed for almost a year. During that time, the family discovered the state of California.
“Jack Welch, CEO of General Electric at the time, invited Maceda to visit GE and gave him two job offers he could choose from after graduation. Maceda turned them down.”
On July 1, Maceda is stepping down as CEO and Chairman of the Board of Bain & Co. after his second three-year term. He plans to take a long vacation with his wife in Europe, and in Manila in October for his son’s wedding. He has received numerous offers to join other Boards – for profit, non-profit, and academic -- but for now, at 61 years old, he is keeping his options open.
Maceda shares a story with the graduating students at La Salle about his confession experience in Fatima, Portugal during a pilgrimage some years ago where he intimated to the priest about his uncertainty in what he was doing.
“My son, it sounds like you are in business of some kind – are you good at what you do?” the priest asked.
“Yes, Father, “Maceda replied.
“Is the world better because you do what you do?” the priest continued.
“I hope so, Father.”
“Well, who gave you your skills to be a good businessman? Thank Him. He didn’t give you a different set of skills, he gave you skills to be good in business. Honor that gift and ensure it helps the world. And remember that it’s not just about this world but the next one,” the priest advised.
Maceda definitely took that message to heart.
