ITAMAR GERO is the new president of the Israel Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ICCP), and he is very much determined to take the chamber to new heights.
Gero, an Israeli who first came to the country nine years ago, has a very dynamic vision of the ICCP, which is only on its seventh year of existence.
“I want to see a vibrant ICCP, which is on a par with the biggest chambers in the country,” Gero optimistically quipped on how he sees the chamber moving forward.
Gero, who is also the founder and CEO of TrueLogic Online Solutions Inc., is a certified workaholic and claims to put in 12 hours of work daily, which, on most occasions, start at 6 in the morning.
Currently, his days are divided between his company, along with meetings and engagements with the Israeli Embassy and other chambers in the country.
He said they are now forming committees for the various works the ICCP will be doing.
The innovator
Israel has long prided itself as a start-up nation. In fact, outside of the United States, it has the second most number of companies listed in the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (Nasdaq), with close to 300 Israeli companies having their initial public offering there since 1980.
The Nasdaq is the second-largest stock market in the world by market capitalization after the New York Stock Exchange.
“You have to come in with an idea and a vision. That is the backbone of any nation,” Gero said, while adding that start-ups are exciting for any Israeli with them regularly holding hackathons.
Before coming over to the Philippines, Gero had an information technology (IT)-related start-up company in Israel. He eventually sold his shares to his partner, as he decided to explore the world.
“I was then looking for the next place to invest,” Gero said.
He traveled to Europe, South America and Asia. His last stop before coming to the Philippines was Japan.
During his initial visit in 2007, he saw the Philippines as a tropical country with amazing islands. He said the country was a great place, but still had doubts if it was the right place to invest.
Upon arriving to the Philippines again the following year, he became enamored with the burgeoning IT sector in the country. He saw Manila as the next potential Silicon Valley.
“I saw the talent pool. It is an English-speaking country and understands the West. Establishing business also comes at an affordable cost,” Gero said.
He added: “There is a natural progression of things. You cannot stop it. The Philippines can be the center of Asia for services. At some point it can rival New York.”
By 2009, he started TrueLogic Online Solutions Inc., an outsourcing company that provides resources to accommodate offshore IT and search-engine optimization (SEO) needs.
The company offers a full range of solutions that help businesses strengthen their presence online.
TrueLogic offers creative services, including SEO, local marketing, online-reputation management, social-media marketing, Google ads services, digital content, Web design and development, and consulting.
Gero said the only challenge for him was dealing with the government bureaucracy when he was starting his business.
“But it is not there anymore, which is a great thing for this country. I am a very positive person and I knew that it was worth it,” Gero said.
He added: “We started with 10 employees and now we have 140. We provide services to companies in Africa, Australia and the United States.”
Gero then cited the time when Warren Buffet invested in an Israeli company that was in the line of missiles from Lebanon.
He said overseas companies the Israeli company was servicing did not feel any of the issues the danger posed by its physical location.
According to Gero, it is the same thing for them here in the Philippines where they provide 24/5 service to clients abroad, while they have to deal with the occasional typhoons that visit the country.
With international clients from the biggest industries and brands, TrueLogic is now servicing more than 1,000 clients while having 150 partner-agencies worldwide.
But Gero is looking at bigger things for his company. He sees his company servicing 100,000 small- and medium-sized enterprises by 2020. He said the digital world is now expanding to them.
“Nothing in me says we are over the hump. I am never settling for greatness. We have humps daily,” he said.
Gero said that, even with services from the Philippines easy to sell abroad because of their affordability, there will come a time when they will no longer be an edge for the country.
“It will not be a competitive edge forever. Knowledgeable people and visionaries will be the edge. We must learn to conceptualize,” he said.
Gero said the current trend on gaming and casino applications is a “necessary evil” that will push those in the industry to learn more and to “blossom” to whatever they want.
“We will get to a higher standard and be more global,” Gero said.
As for TrueLogic, he said they are in a comfort zone now and they do not want to get to a point where they have to lay off people because they expanded too much.
“We are very much like a family here. We want to stay lean and healthy. There is no greedy attitude here. We want to stay fit,” he said.
Back in its second year of operation, TrueLogic expanded too fast and added a lot of staff. Gero said it was a lesson learned for them. He said it is not about the scale on the quantity of work, but more on the quality.
A work in progress
The ICCP, just like the other business chambers in the country, aims to foster two-way trade between Israel and the Philippines; increase investments from the two sides; improve cultural awareness, while also contributing to the community through outreach projects.
In the short term, Gero wants to create an increased awareness for the chamber by highlighting the benefits of partnerships between Israel and the Philippines. He also wants the ICCP to have a stronger presence online and double its membership.
“We want to maximize the potential. Israel is not just a destination for religious pilgrimage,” he said.
He added that there are potential for partnerships in agriculture, technology, cyber security and tourism. For the Philippines, there is also the opportunity to export food, employment among overseas Filipino workers, and establish businesses in their country.
Gero said they will also be aggressive in having monthly events that promote Israel-Philippines ties, while also focusing more on civic and social projects.
The chamber has close ties with the Israeli embassy, which assists in the various trade missions that come into the country.
The ICCP regularly holds its ambassador’s forum and business forums, along with its quarterly general membership meetings.
Image credits: Jimbo Albano