Doris Magsaysay Ho is president and CEO of the Magsaysay Group of Companies, which is involved in shipping and human resources services. Established in the Philippines in 1948, the Magsaysay Group grew from its roots in shipping to emerge as one of the country’s leading global human resources providers. Magsaysay is present in regions with rich sources of men or women from the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, China, Eastern Europe and Central America and North America.
The company prepares its people for a diverse range of positions in the maritime, cruise, healthcare and hospitality industries. Its shipping arm, Magsaysay Transport and Logistics Group, operates in the Philippine trade with container liner and tanker services. Its affiliate, Fairmont Shipping Limited, based in Hong Kong, Vancouver and London, operates in the dry bulk trade.
Guided by its principles of caring for people and investing in training, Magsaysay has been twice awarded by Lloyd’s List Maritime Asia as Manning Agent of the Year, in 2005 and 2006.
Doris is chair of the Asia Society Philippine Foundation Inc., a board of trustee member of the Makati Business Club and trustee of the Asia Society (New York) among others.
I asked her to share her favorite books with us this Sunday in her own words:
“Selecting 10 great books out of so many is not an easy task so I delved into my memory for the ones that emotionally tugged my heart — a spark of genius for my mind, a light of magic and inspiration — and others that had an impact on my life.
“Two of the most beautiful books are Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte and Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden — books about unreachable, painful, yet absolutely profound love — with unforgettable characters that have stayed imbedded in my memory.
“I love the book The Life of Pi by Yann Martel for its magical qualities.
“I read The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand when I was still in school and never forgot the idea of the hero as a person with uncompromising conviction in his search of happiness and perfection.
“There is one book given to me by my colleague Eddie Manese that I refer to as ‘the wise guide to business’: Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, speaks about how great companies built their strategies not from vision alone but more importantly from clear core beliefs as a guide that would not be compromise.
“Another book I read long ago was The Prophet by Khalil Gibran, which made life’s choices and relationships so much clearer to me.
“Monique Villonco, my good friend, gave me a book called The Missing Piece Meets the Big O by Shel Silverstein. Seemingly written for kids, it really is an important book for everyone to read and absorb. The Missing Piece led me into a search to find ‘the Big O’ — the complete Self.
“I subsequently found a teacher named Gurumayi Chidvilasananda who has written many great books about the journey that one can take. One of her books is The Magic of the Heart: Reflections on Divine Love.
“Two other great books that had a great impact on me are I Am Have Become Alive by Swami Muktananda, Gurumayi’s teacher, and The Supreme Adventure by Peter Hayes. These books show the way into that place within us where we can find everything we are looking for.”
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The Reading Club recommends A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, author of the unforgettable The Kite Runner. He has once again written a poignant novel that you are not able to put down. Available at all National Book Store and Powerbook branches. For those of you into gadgets, subscribe to T3: Tomorrow’s Tech Today available at Emerald Headway (647-4744).
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Your comments and suggestions are welcome at readclub@aol.com.