For people in the city, every day involves navigating the buildings and skyscrapers that breathe life into it. This is the world of Miguel V. Tan, an up-and-comer with his sights set on building for the future as Chief Executive Officer of Fasclad Inc.

At 26 years old, Tan, now in his prime heading the Filipino Curtain wall Facade construction and development company—all at a unique point in time, too. At 22, he was not only the newly-minted CEO of the business but found himself steering it through the COVID-19 pandemic.

His history, however, prepared him for the task. “I started working [in Fasclad Inc.] as early as my high school days starting from the ground up, this was a baptism by fire as it was a challenging time for the business so I had to be involved early,” begins Tan. “As soon as I graduated from college in 2018, I was given the privilege to lead and take the reins as I was deemed fit by the board under our my Father and group Chairman Antonio Lee Tan. Here, the reality settled in immediately that there was very little room for error. He adds: “As a young CEO of a highly-technical glass and aluminum construction group, I had to lead at the front lines working alongside with the team from the ground up.”

In an industry dominated by older professionals, Tan knew he had to learn quickly, not only picking up on the industry’s best practices but making sure that should he fail, he needed to “do it fast and get up even faster.” Tan also shared his early memories when he started his first day leading the group, that his most important lesson is to stay humble. He adds: “My first day as CEO I had to convey my vulnerability to my team on what I know and don’t, I am extremely blessed to have a team of industry experts while I conveyed my duty as a manager who is present to align our talents in order to hit and achieve our goals and vision in the company. At the same time it is paramount for me to select a capable board of mentors to guide me in this field of work. The biggest challenge in any leadership position, especially in our industry, is to earn the respect of your people so that we can function as an organization based on trust and mutual confidence”. 

Starting Out Young

Along with his energy and determination, Tan brought to the table a strategy that enabled him to go toe-to-toe with the company’s oldest and biggest competitors. He likened this to the story of David and Goliath. “We are a David battling the Goliaths with significantly more resources than us,” he explains. “But our size is also our advantage. What we lack in size, we match with speed.” Coupled with a laser focus on quality, this allowed Fasclad Inc. to expand rapidly through Luzon and then the Visayas with the strong ambition of expanding further Nationwide. 

It isn’t only this technical side of his industry that Tan wants to conquer. The way the business is run eventually became another chance for change. Having been exposed early to the culture of toughness and brute management, the young leader knew he wanted to run things differently. Thinking back on his formative years in the industry, he shares: “ as a young man in the business I was naturally side-tracked, ridiculed, and even bullied, but all this was a remarkable learning and humbling journey for me.” This is what drove him to take things in the opposite direction. “This enabled us to cultivate [instead] a culture of kindness, compassion, and fairness,” he adds. “We decided on [prioritizing healthy and productive] relationships with our staff, clients, and suppliers as we operate and be better than the status quo.” Getting the trust of clients was also a struggle for Tan as he shared his stories that he added: “I had to quickly mature at an early age, I had to dress older, speak older, and even adapt to the culture of my clients. I understand the predicament that most of my clients face since it was rather odd at that time to trust a 25 year old, to execute a challenging job of Designing, Engineering, and Cladding a building from scratch”. Tan had to step up and show them their group’s strengths and expertise that even though he is a young leader in the company, the team is composed of industry experts presenting them their cutting edge methodologies and technology which significantly maximizes efficiency which in turns lowers the costs and budget of the project. Tan Adds: “We will forever be grateful to our valuable clients who have given us our first big breaks especially during the pandemic which helped jumpstart our track record and fuel our growth”. 

Building for the Future

This shot at leadership coincides with what Tan considers an exciting stage for the construction industry. 

With the pandemic causing an enormous backlog in the development of high-rise and mid-rise buildings, Fasclad Inc. came into 2022 with renewed energy, in more ways than one, looking also into the latest innovations they finally got to adopt. Smart glass is a prime example. “I am most excited about solar-powered glass façades and active glass that adjusts its color and tint depending on the users’ lighting preferences. Imagine a day when we no longer need to have curtains or blinds ,” says Tan. “Another exciting development is pre-fabricated glass that allows installation [to be] as safe and as simple as stacking together blocks or Legos.” 

Thinking ahead while using tradition as his jumping-off point has clearly been a winning formula for Tan so far.

What Lies Ahead

As various industries prepare for the future, climate change-proofing has then become the next critical frontier. Here, Tan makes sure Fasclad Inc. stays in step. 

Apart from complying with industry rules and standards, the young visionary is leading the charge when it comes to ensuring that his company’s carbon footprint stays as small as possible. “Several innovations have been set in motion by our R&D team to ramp up and introduce [innovations here] that provide sustainable energy,” explains Tan. “As a glass façade contractor, we guarantee that the [structures we create are] safe from extreme typhoons and external seismic movements.”

For Tan, it isn’t enough either that buildings stand the test of time. They likewise have to adapt constantly and respond to changes—projecting these changes, too, long before they take place. Tan Adds: “The Glass Facade Systems we produce and install at highrise buildings may seem simple at first glance but the amount of engineering and design it took to make it seem effortless is what makes all the difference, as each Glass panel is engineered to withstand typhoons and seismic movements, the facade system creates this invisible dance that keeps our buildings and skyscrapers safe”. With this, he hopes Fasclad Inc. gets to serve more projects nationwide while establishing itself as a reliable partner of the Philippines’ top real estate developers for buildings and commercial developments. 

What else is up next? “All I can say is that we have a very exciting project pipeline in both the private and public sector,” hints Tan. Soon, dwellers in and around the city will get to see all this rise: state-of-the-art facilities powered by advanced machinery, an early glimpse of metros of the future, with new blood like Miguel V. Tan shaking up very traditional industries.

—alike.com.ph

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Read more of Miguel Tan's: What Building Leadership Looks Like - Miguel V Tan of Fasclad Inc  and more inspiring Stories here at alike