Joevel RiveraJose Joevel Rivera, vice president and head of Research and Product Development (RPD) at SKY Cable Corporation, was the award-winning head of MIS (Management Information Services) for Eastern Telecommunications Philippines Inc. when he was recruited in 2003 to head Product Development and Management for Bayan Telecommunications Inc.

With synergy initiatives in full swing beginning in 2010, Rivera was invited to concurrently head Product Development for SKY, until Globe Telecom Inc. bought Bayan in 2013.

But he wasn’t always working for telephone companies. The certified public accountant worked for nine years at SGV & Company Inc., first as an auditor, then after finishing computer training, as an IT (information technology) consultant. His last project for SGV was probably the forerunner of BPO (business process outsourcing) services, where a system developed in Chicago was programmed completely in Manila for an SGV client.

Support of RPD team

Fast forward to the present, Rivera has to manage the expectations of different groups that require the support of the RPD team.

“We want to do so many things at the same time. But ours is a small team supporting them, with meager resources. At the same time, we don’t want to be behind competition in terms of technology. We have to prioritize which to invest in first,” he says.

While SKY may not be a leader in broadband, Rivera says, “in areas where we operate, we want to be better than Globe or PLDT. We would like to be able to support the requirements of the business in terms of being ahead with products and technology.”

This is why his team is finding ways to make SKY’s cable service more exciting to users.

“One may look at cable as legacy (old) but with more apps (applications) in the (digital) boxes, we hope this 

would make it more interesting to use our service and encourage subscribers to spend on it. We also want to be at the forefront of OTT (overthe-top), which seems to be a very big growth opportunity for SKY. ABS-CBN, in particular, gives us some strategic advantage in the OTT space because of the content they provide.”

Lopez Group culture

Asked why he opted to stay with SKY when Globe bought Bayan, he said he liked the Lopez Group culture that he experienced in both Bayan and SKY.

“I like working like a family. I like that we do what we do not because we need to earn, but because we want to contribute to the success of the company. I like that the leader of the company treats you well and looks after you,” says Rivera, whose work ethic is well known being almost always first to get to the office in the morning, and still being last to leave in the evening.

“I make sure I don’t leave things behind. I want to be on top of things, especially now that slowly, things we have been doing in SKY are taking shape and we hope we can contribute to the success of the company in terms of competing with the big telcos.”

Among the Lopez Values, he believes his team will benefit most from practicing business excellence, integrity and a pioneering entrepreneurial spirit.

Like a family

“Business excellence is something I have developed in me throughout the years I have worked in different companies. Integrity has always been very important. I know that we work like a family in the Lopez Group and it is important that in all things we do, we have integrity, especially in dealing with other employees, customers, vendors and partners. I have developed the entrepreneurial spirit while in the Lopez Group. Seeing how they make decisions, develop strategies, it’s very entrepreneurial how these are crafted. Especially with (ABS-CBN president and CEO) Carlo (Katigbak), he wants us to develop, to make decisions that help the company in any way we can, particularly in how we treat customers, which is number one among SKY values (customer-centricity).”

His message to LopezLink readers?

“First, I’d like to thank the Lopez Group and the Lopez family for being there. Despite the challenges that 

we are facing, we continue to survive and put priority on our customers and those we serve. Second, may I ask our fellow Kapamilya to look at what SKY is offering on the market and to tell us frankly if they are happy with our service, as well as areas we can improve on. Finally, while we work hard, don’t forget to balance that with family and health,” says Rivera, who targets to make 15,000 steps daily. (Story/Photos by: Carla Paras-Sison)