FIFTEEN years ago, Thierry Tea received an assignment to work in the Philippines as a young trainee of Bell Helicopters.
Now the CEO of local aviation company PhilJets, Tea shared in a recent interview with the BusinessMirror that he was just 23 years old when he got the local post to sell the rotor-powered flyers.
“At that time, the Philippine market [for helicopters] was not yet a ‘byword’ in France. I was asked by the sales director here if I was interested, because he was moving to another country,” he recalled.
Soon after, the French-Cambodian professional was able to sell his first unit. That’s when his career in sales got off the ground, and literally took off.
From then on, there was no turning back for Tea as he successfully sold more helicopter units. Thereafter, he was appointed as president and CEO of Eurocopter Philippines, a subsidiary of Airbus Group, where he worked for five years.
For his stellar performance, he was appointed as head of the Airbus group in the Philippines, where he supervised the sales campaigns of the company, including those of its affiliates ATR and Airbus helicopters, as well as its defense and space divisions.
Tea was instrumental in leading his team in landing a major contract with a local carrier when it procured 70 Airbus planes, which effectively boosted the complement of its fleet.
After that campaign, the executive took a sabbatical in France to recharge. That proved to be meaningful, as he made a post-vacation decision to spread his wings after spending a career-defining decade with the Airbus Group.
In 2014, he established the PhilJets group. One of his first corporate moves to immediately expand operations was to acquire charter company Zenith Air Inc. Later that year, the company was renamed PhilJets Aero Charter Corp.
The CEO swears by one of his keys to success in business—that of keeping his network of business contacts in the Philippines.
“My objectives are to promote local aviation, and to level up Philippine tourism to world-class standards,” Tea pointed out.
“The Philippines is very underrated and ‘self-focused’ on local tourism. As an enhancement, it has to train its sights on foreign markets. [For instance,] we have to make Boracay at par with Bali or Phuket.”
This month, PhilJets is marking a milestone as it celebrates its sixth anniversary. It is Tea’s goal for the company to continue delivering quality service while keeping a delighted roster of clients.
Sphere of operations
A MAJOR player in the local aviation industry, PhilJets operates within the Philippines and neighboring countries in the Asean. It has as clientele general-aviation firms; commercial airlines; maintenance, recovery and operations or MRO companies; as well as government agencies.
Based in the hangar of the Manila Domestic Airport, PhilJets provides fleet management for clients, especially those in the high-end markets. It also helps interested parties acquire private aircraft services for flight operations within the archipelago.
The aviation business also offers chartered helicopter services for special flights and corporate functions.
Tea, likewise, described PhilJets’s business function as a distributor of aircraft products, which include components, spare parts, consumables, software and various tooling equipment for the aviation industry.
True to Tea’s nature of maintaining networks, the firm has forged strong collaborations with manufacturers and aircraft owners. PhilJets also has participations in a number of relevant start-up companies in the Philippines as adjuncts to its operations, and now has even created its own.
Singapore-based Starline Global Industries, a newly established firm by PhilJets, consolidates purchasing services for the PhilJets Group, as well as provides consulting services to a handful of companies in the region. Its sphere of operations span Singapore, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, Thailand, Hong Kong, France and the United Kingdom.
Sky’s the limit
TEA recalls with fondness and awe that PhilJets started in 2013 with nary an aircraft in its complement and only offered brokering services. Right now, it has a total of 14 for its operations.
“We’re planning to acquire three to four aircraft to beef up our fleet. Hopefully, we can reach 30 in two to three years,” he said.
At present, the company has a total manpower of 70. “We’re basically expanding and on the lookout for skilled people. We are keen on having our current on-the-job trainees as potential employees in the future,” the CEO claimed.
He pointed out that it is PhilJets’s aspiration to lure Filipinos based overseas, as they have managed before to invite experienced Pinoy pilots who were once working in Angola, Thailand and other parts of Asean.
Under his helm, PhilJets was able to tally annual corporate performances of 100-percent year-on-year revenue growth from 2013 to 2017. Tea sees unabated progress for the company in the near future.
To achieve the agenda, the aviation entrepreneur recognizes the importance of human resources. In fact, PhilJets is now investing in a series of trainings, as well as continuous hiring of highly skilled mechanics and experienced technicians.
While doing that, Tea is also tracing his roots by investing in Cambodia’s agriculture and real-estate sectors as well as its digital start-ups.
The PhilJets head is also active in civic works. He happens to be a cofounder and director of Asiaware Cambodia, an organization that aims to provide support to children in his native country, with a focus in the southwestern province of Kampong Speu.
“I also want to create a bridge between the Philippines and Cambodia,” he enthused.
Asked why he has a strong affinity toward the Philippines, Tea said he is still experiencing and embarking on an enriching journey in the country, finding the Filipinos as a talented, friendly and hospitable people.
“My career grew here, and I was able to succeed while working with the Airbus Group. Many [of my former Western colleagues] thought that an Asian could not do it.”
Tea went on to declare: “My personal advocacy is to make the Philippines competitive in tourism and aviation, while promoting it to the world. It’s my way of giving back to a country that has been so good to me.”
Image credits: Jimbo Albano