Entering the Philippines? Start with the right leader.
We search our collective for a senior executive who knows the Philippine market, vet them and match them to your entry plan. They embed with your new entity for the share of the week it needs, so you build in Makati or Bonifacio Global City with experienced leadership from the start.
The leadership question behind every Philippine entry
International companies usually choose between two imperfect options:
Send someone from head office
They know the company but not the country, and spend their first months learning the market, the regulators and the relationships a local leader would already have.
Hire a full-time country head
They know the Philippines but not your company. The search takes months, the commitment is large before you know whether the entry works, and experienced senior leaders here are in demand.
A structure to get right
Foreign-ownership rules, the choice of entity and any incentive registration all shape what you can do and what it costs. Your legal advisers set the structure; you need a leader who can run the business inside it.
Relationships take time
Philippine business runs on relationships, with English as the working language. Knowing who matters in your sector, including the large family groups and their supply chains, is hard to learn from outside.
The alternative is a vetted executive who already knows the Philippine market and its capital base, embedded in your entry from the start on a company-to-company engagement, with our governance around it.
Who this is for, and who it is not
Best for
- International companies opening their first Philippine entity
- Entrants who need speed and local knowledge from day one
- A launch that needs commercial, finance and operations led at once
- Businesses testing the market before committing to a full local C-suite
- A distributor or partner in place, but no one owning the market strategy
Not for
- A pure legal or licensing task an adviser should handle
- Businesses with no product or offer ready for the market yet
- A one-off market study with no intention to enter
- Companies wanting a nominee rather than an operating leader
What local experience adds to an entry
The part of a market entry that headquarters most often underestimates.
Experience of setting up here
We match for leaders who have stood up a Philippine operation before and know which questions to put to your lawyers, accountants and registration bodies.
Introductions that save months
An executive who has worked in Manila can open conversations with buyers, partners and industry groups far sooner than a newcomer could.
Reading the room
How decisions get made, when to follow up, and how the family groups and their partners like to do business: the judgement that turns a first meeting into a contract.
Incentives considered early
Where your business could qualify for an investment incentive, your executive makes sure the option is assessed with your advisers before the structure is fixed.
Continuity through the entry
Should your executive need to leave mid-entry, the handover is ours to manage and the replacement search starts from your existing brief, so the entry plan keeps its pace.
How a Philippine entry usually unfolds
In stages, over roughly the first 12 to 24 months.
Before you land
Entry strategy, working with your advisers on entity and registration choices, and early conversations with the people you will need to know.
The first 90 days
Commercial work begins. Office, banking and payroll in place, first hires made, and the finance and reporting framework running.
Months 3 to 12
Pipeline builds across domestic customers and any export services. The operating model proves itself, the team grows and the scope of leadership adjusts.
Months 12 to 24
The business is established and revenue is evidenced. Regional options are weighed, and some roles may move to full-time hires; we help you judge when.
The market-entry leadership stack
Most entries need more than one function led at once. Start with the one under most pressure, then add others as you establish.
Market entry needs leadership across commercial, finance, operations and people
The leaders international entrants most often need in the Philippines.
Our executives bring market-entry experience from
