The reason I come to the Philippines to do my very modest contribution to the military is because I have never, in my life, come across a nation, a people, who are more deserving. I work and teach in many countries in a year but I have never come across a country that is so deserving. All you need to do is walk around the streets of the Philippines and look into the eyes of the people.
He is considered as Asia's Corporate Strategist – a senior fellow at Wharton School, the number 1 business school in the U.S., and a senior adviser on business and international matters with a track record of 100 percent success in making companies grow and profit. But despite the high profile profession, Professor Brian To is a simple guy with extraordinary talents and philanthropic dreams of touching the lives of many people all over the world.
Professor Brian To is a practicing global strategic management consultant and a professor of management at HEC in Paris and the Singapore Management University. Last year, he taught at Oxford University and IIM the Indian Institute of Management. He is also a management consultant and adviser to Fortune 500 companies, the top 500 companies in the United States of America, as ranked by Fortune Magazine every year and also does consultancy work for the top family-owned enterprises in the world.
"I basically advise, teach and coach," he said, adding that he has been doing this in the last 28 years.
Born in England to poor parents, To was able to attend good schools like Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, John F. Kennedy School of Management, Carnegie Mellon University, University of California, Berkeley, INSEAD and Wharton Business School by working three jobs while he was a student.
He got interested in "business" and "developing companies" at the age of 5 when he, while hiding under the table at his family's restaurant, would listen to the business conversations of the guests. The young Brian gleaned, from what he heard in the conversations, that businessmen had a lot of fun and this motivated him to pursue a career in business.
And business is indeed fun for this globetrotting gentleman who spends most of his time hopping from one country to another, teaching strategy and leadership to the world's top companies. Aside from giving advice to Fortune 500 companies and some of the respected families in the world on how to strategize their growth amidst competition, family business issues, succession issues and related matters, Prof. To also does coaching for CEOs and for students who want to enter first tier universities in the world. "Every year, I teach less than 10 students, preparing them to enter first tier universities whether in the U.S, in Europe or in Asia. So far, I have been fortunate that all have been accepted," he proudly shared.
But teaching and giving advice on business matters are not the only things that bring Brian To around the world. Most of his time is devoted to charity and pro bono work.
Included in his charity work is giving speeches to raise money for unwed mothers in Malaysia and for young girls who have been abused in Guatemala. Why women's issues? "Not because I got women pregnant," he joked. "It's because the Women's Institute in Malaysia asked me to help them raise money for unwed mothers. I am an advocate of women's issues and causes because the leaders of these organizations come to me for help. Women chase me to do women's causes," he further explained with a mischievous smile.
Charity and pro bono work are also what brought him to the Philippines, as he does pro bono work for the Philippine Military.
"I teach strategy at the Philippine Military Academy pro bono. Strategy is basically how to get things done, like strategy for battle. So I teach these things at Camp Aguinaldo: I teach the Navy and I teach the Senior Staff College," he elucidated. In exchange for teaching strategy at the PMA, Prof. To gets a can of Coke Light for every day that he spends at the PMA.
To started teaching strategy in the Philippine Navy in 2005 and at the PMA just last year. Committed to his teaching work at the PMA, Prof. To is usually in the country six to eight times a year.
"The reason I come to the Philippines to do my very modest contribution to the military is because I have never, in my life, come across a nation, a people, who are more deserving. I work and teach in many countries in a year but I have never come across a country that is so deserving. All you need to do is walk around the streets of the Philippines and look into the eyes of the people," he said, adding that the Philippines requires moral leadership to be able to prosper and perform as well as its neighboring countries. "Moral leadership should begin at home. Anything is possible in the Philippines. The challenge, of course, is the elimination of egos and arrogance," he pointed out.
Professor To always looks forward to coming to the Philippines and helping the country. "Every time I visit the Philippines I am terribly humbled. There wasn't a time when I left the airport that there wasn't a tear in my eyes. I always leave contemplating on what more I can contribute, what more I can do to help the Filipinos," he shared.
But all the things he does, Professor To said, is really nothing special. According to him, what he is doing is what he is supposed to do. "I have been fortunate to go to the best schools in the world. I am well fed, I have everything that I need. So it all boils down now to how I can share these gifts, what Brian can do to help. That's why I do all these things to touch the lives of many. One thing I believe in is that all hands that reach out can touch," he concluded.