Rafael Consing: The big shift

MANILA, Philippines — Getting an earful from ports and casino tycoon Enrique Razon did not stop him from joining the government, leaving over three decades of private sector life in exchange for a job under scrutiny, but one that would give him the fulfillment he is looking for.

Rafael Consing Jr., or simply Joel, will forever remember how the billionaire owner of the International Container Terminal Services Inc. got furious upon knowing that he will serve the Marcos administration, effectively exiting 16 years at ICTSI.

Unknown to many, Joel, a topnotch investment banker and multi-awarded chief finance officer, went to Malacanang on Nov. 18, 2022 as he was about to be offered the position of president and CEO of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).

“That was my original role. It sounds good to me. Actually, at the time any role in government is fine because I really want to serve and give back,” Joel shared.

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin told Joel that the Palace already informed Razon of his impending appointment, a matter that he himself has yet to discuss with his longtime boss.

“I was really shocked. When I called him, he was mad and did not even say hello. He was like ‘I already know why you’re calling me, I already know for two days now. Why didn’t you tell me?,’ ” Joel recalled.

But even before his DBP papers were signed, a role as executive director at the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Investment and Economic Affairs (OPAIEA) came out, which was likewise presented to him.

Joel thought that such a position is more low-key, more impactful and will allow him to do more research. That was his job for about a year until the hunt for the first president and CEO of the Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC) came.

How bad do you want it?

While serving at OPAIEA, Joel followed the debates on the creation of the country’s first sovereign wealth fund. Deliberations lasted for about seven months before President Marcos signed it into law in July 2023.

As the Maharlika Investment Fund is enacted, the government moved to create the MIC — the investment body responsible for the overall governance and management of the wealth fund.

The MIC is tasked to identify financially and commercially viable infrastructure projects to invest in and will formulate investment strategies covering emerging megatrends such as environment, social and governance, digitalization and healthcare.

Two months later, the Bureau of the Treasury opened the applications for the president and CEO and the two regular and three independent directors from the private sector.

Joel was among the four applicants to the top post.

“I recollected some of the visions, objectives and goals that I had when I was in the private sector. And I felt that this was the proper vehicle to be able to achieve those. So I said I wanted it,” Joel said.

“Everything that I want to do, which would not have been possible in a private sector setting, I can basically execute it here,” he said.

While the possibility of joining the MIC was a very easy decision for Joel, the same cannot be said for his wife and his millennial kids who were reluctant, largely due to the political affiliation and the criticisms that the fund were getting at the time.

“They are very idealistic and perhaps they had a misunderstanding of what this government stood for. When I explained it, they gave me and the government the benefit of the doubt,” Joel said.

“And I needed to basically align with everyone because I wanted to make sure that when I do this, I have everyone behind me,” he added.

A different kind of animal

More than three months ago, Malacanang announced the appointment of Joel as the MIC chief. Just like the various startup enterprises he built throughout his career, Joel is starting from scratch.

While many countries have long had their sovereign wealth funds, the Philippines’ decision to put up one never came easy amid fears of corruption and concerns over its assured success.

For Joel, the past three months have been tiring and exciting, all at the same time, with a steep learning curve. The MIC has yet to finalize its organizational structure pending approval by the Governance Commission for GOCCs.

“Starting up an agency is a different kind of animal altogether. But I fully understand why it needs to be this bureaucratic. Agencies are not created out of whim and caprice,” Joel noted.

Shifting from the private to the public sector meant switching routines and even letting go of precious hours that could be allotted for one’s family, hobbies, and more so sleep.

As the MIC strives to start the ball rolling, Joel admitted that he’s been working longer hours, typically starting as early as 6 a.m. and ending close to midnight to draft manuals, write budgets, and jot down job descriptions, among others.

While his workload is no way near being light, Joel ensures that his Saturday afternoons and Sundays are still spent with his family. He believes that work-life harmony is needed, rather than work-life balance, with the former aiming to integrate and the latter to separate.

Now that he is part of the government, Joel shared that he has a better appreciation of the system and the very people around it.

“When you’re in the private sector, it’s unfortunate that if we have some disappointment over government processes, we utter statements and even direct them to the people when it’s really not their fault,” Joel said.

“I am much more appreciative and patient when it comes to the government process aiming to fix it, of course, because there are inefficiencies, but no longer to blame,” he said.

Joel also brings with him the most important lesson he learned from ICTSI — process.

The global port management firm, according to Joel, is very nimble but is also process driven, a crucial element needed as he operates a fund created to contribute to economic growth and long-term development.

Benefit of the doubt

It’s probably not just Joel’s family that is giving him the benefit of the doubt, but the many Filipinos who are hoping that the fund will turn out to be a success, whether they initially agree with it or not.

Surprisingly, negative criticisms have been less the past months, maybe because there’s nothing to criticize just yet as MIC remains on the lookout for potential investments.

Nonetheless, Joel insists that Maharlika’s significance is way bigger than any of the judgments against it.

“I have listened to all the criticisms. It’s funny because many government colleagues stopped listening to them. But I did continue to listen, I read all the articles because they have all shaped my thoughts on Maharlika today and I’ll do it again and again,” Joel said.

The MIC chief believes that fears about the fund arise out of the fact that there’s not much knowledge around it. While objectives are clear, doubts on it as a potential source of corruption remain, especially with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad as a primary example.

The 1MDB financial scandal uncovered millions of dollars that flowed into former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak’s accounts, as well as to fund lavish spending of his wife, coupled with cases of money laundering and tax evasion.

The 1MDB case was among the reasons why many opposed the creation of the country’s wealth fund.

“In order for your stakeholders and your audience to appreciate what it is that you’re aiming for, is if they’re looking at the same thing. And I believe that I have created enough awareness for them to see exactly what those are,” Joel said.

“We’re also putting words into actions. Because they’ve seen governance being put in place and they’ve got to know much more about our plans, how we intend to achieve them, there’s less fear in the concept,” he said.

For now, Joel maintained that trust is key and the only way he can instill that is through transparency, not just on what MIC does, but on the very people who will work for it and the investments it will undertake.

Pending its organizational structure, the MIC intends to invest in infrastructure, oil, gas, and power, agroforestry industrial urbanization, mineral processing, tourism, transportation, and aerospace and aviation.

The investment body has committed to operating with utmost openness, ensuring public trust through consistent communication and rigorous accountability.

Legacy

It’s quite complicated, an oxymoron even, when Joel shared that he is an optimist, but is also stoic. And that this is a special skill. Upon pondering, however, one can actually look at the good of things and be calm when things don’t go their way.

To be stoic is to accept what one cannot control but still look at the beauty of it.

“I look at the positive in things. I worry not over things over which I have no control, but I always contemplate the worst case scenarios every time whether in a person or a situation,” Joel said.

Joel said such a mindset has worked for him for so long. Whether or not this would continue at the MIC remains to be seen.

When he ends his term as the first sovereign wealth fund head three years from now, Joel wants people to see he is turning over an institution that is well-established and whose processes and frameworks will set it up for the future, which if pursued, exercised and executed properly would generate multigenerational value for the country.

Joel wants to be remembered for the potential returns that MIC will create and the economic value that it would add to the country through job generation, investments and overall economic growth.

At the end of the day, being the first MIC chief is such a daunting task that could either be a curse or a blessing.

Whether Joel ends up as the guy you don’t want to imitate or the guy you strive to become is solely up to him. Whether he will leave big shoes to fill or nothing at all is all up to him.

“That’s why I want to be first, not second,” Joel quipped.

“But seriously, I look at my children and I look at the future, and I want to make sure that when I leave this world, I will leave it in a better position than when I first came in,” he said.