Capt. Stanley Ng: Steering a Filipino dream above the clouds

"It's the nature of a pilot to be process-oriented," the president and chief operating officer of Philippine Airlines, looking youthful and current in a locally designed, short-sleeved modern barong top, tells DAILY TRIBUNE one afternoon in December.

"That's okay in itself. But I realized that I needed further training and education. So I applied at Harvard."

Capt. Stanley K. Ng, touted as the "youngest president in PAL history at 44," does exhibit the badge of his generation — but beyond looks and style preferences, he shows a strong mindset with a steady gaze at a purposeful future.

At the time, the Airbus A320 commander decided to put off further studies. "They told me, 'we still need you here,' so I didn't push through. Then after that came the pandemic," he recalls.

Also described as "the first pilot to assume the presidency of PAL since the early 1960s," Ng's rise through the ranks certainly equipped him for the major role he plays today, from flying planes to steering the airline higher.

Capt. Stanley started out as a member of PAL's on-ground staff in 2003. After training at the PAL Aviation School, he started flying in 2008 as a second officer.

Before the world was halted in its tracks by the deadly coronavirus, the then senior vice president for airline operations was toiling hard to improve the workings at PAL. "Since 2019, I have been quite busy because there was a lot of transformation," he says. "We needed to correct a lot of systems, so (it was really) busy."

Admittedly "very hands-on" in those days — "actually too hands-on," he laughs — Capt. Stanley called on his pilot instincts to address problems and tackle challenges. It was necessary then, he recalls, "that time in the company because wala pa talagang (there really weren't) fundamentals on how to do things."

With the consolidation of Lucio Tan's empire came bigger responsibilities for Ng, who stepped in as PAL's acting president and chief operating officer after the stint of Gilbert Santa Maria. In 2022, Capt. Stanley formally took on the role with his own management style, which some have described as "open and inclusive."

(This is where a full disclosure should be made. Capt. Stanley Ng is PAL owner Lucio Tan's son-in-law, having married the taipan's daughter, Lilibeth, with whom he has two children. But that's neither here nor there, as we shall see that he is very qualified in his own right.)

"For me, I don't want to sanitize anything. I want the raw data. Kung may (If there is a) problem, just tell me directly. Kung saan nagkamali, kung may problema sa proseso (Where we made a mistake, if there is a problem with the process). Because if we know, we can correct. If you try to hide it, hindi lalabas, sasabog din 'yan (it won't come out, it will explode anyway)."

 He learned plenty along the way — "different disciplines, finance, accounting, marketing…," he recounts — pretty much "everything."

"It's like having a mindset of constant change. Like, if you're not changing, then your competitors will do something different. That's why I think the most dangerous thing, really, is success. Because the more successful you are, the more you don't want to change. You'll say, why change anything? It's not broken, right? The truth is, if you don't change, you'll decline, because your competitors will move ahead," Capt. Stanley points out.

"That's why it's important to have that underdog mindset in a way. You always have that hunger. You always need to be better. Because all those below you would be raring to overtake you. Don't get comfortable being up there."

And so he worked to steer PAL to higher strata. "We were able to improve our performance. From 70 percent, it became 90 percent by October of 2019. My focus then was on this — trying to improve airline operations. My mindset was not yet on other things like nation-building. Then we tackled the challenges brought by the pandemic."

Something bigger

Eventually, Capt. Stanley pushed through with the Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program. "That's where I found the purpose for doing things. I felt, as leaders, we need to be responsible for something bigger."

For PAL, he dreams of carrying not just the country's flag above the clouds, but raising the bar for Filipinos everywhere.

And it begins right where he sits — steering PAL through transformative times.

For him, communication is key to unlocking the barriers to progress. "I always think that any problem is everyone's problem," he says.

"For example, the sales team—they are selling tickets. The operations team, is operating. Sabi ko sa (I told the) sales team dapat may pakialam ka sa (you should get involved with the) operations team. Kunwari na-cancel yan. Paano hinandle 'yan? Dapat may pake kayo. (What if there is a cancellation? How will you handle it? You should be involved.) Kapag palpak yung handling ng operations, next time hindi na bibili sa'yo 'yan. (If operations messes up, next time they will not buy from you.) Your sales will be affected. That's why we have to care.

"Lahat dapat (Everyone must be) involved and sincere. Sabi ko nagbenta ka ng ticket? Dapat in every after-service mo, you make sure nadala mo ang mga (I said, you sold a ticket? With every after-service, you should make sure you brought the) customers to their destinations safely and efficiently.

"If you really care for the customers, you have to care for the entire journey of the customer, from booking all the way to their destinations."

For Capt. Stanley, this aspect of his job — ensuring a safe journey — is an opportunity to deliver meaningful work.

Now, the captain is set on a course for "giving back." PAL has initiated a number of initiatives geared toward this goal, including support for MSMEs, even local weavers, as well as working with the government to help the airline industry move ahead with the times.

For this "chapter" in his life, Capt. Stanley is resolved to do "something that will have an impact on the world."

He tries to teach his children the same philosophy. He is confident that his kids, aged 16 and 14, are on the right track. "As a parent, I am somewhat happy go lucky," he admits. He will let them find their own path, knowing he had molded them properly early on.

"Super strict ako nung bata sila, nag-discipline talaga ako sa kanila. Dapat hindi sila (when they were kids, I really disciplined them. They shouldn't feel) entitled. Work hard for everything. I always tell them it's up to them, but do something that can be meaningful that can change the world."

His and Lilibeth's two kids are happily doing well in school. Lilibeth, by the way, is also a pilot.

They, of course, enjoy traveling together, and for his own pleasure, the PAL president still likes to play his sport, basketball, once in a while. He tells DAILY TRIBUNE he gets to play "minsan na lang, mga (not very often, maybe) once a month." At De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde as an undergrad, he played guard in basketball games.

The young gun was already quite determined, even then. His parents — a businessman father and his mom, a homemaker — were "strict and conservative."

They wanted him to pursue business, not flying. "Ayaw nila, pero sabi ko dito ako mag-eenjoy sa flying (They did not want me to take up aviation, but I told them I would be happier flying)." It took him "months to a year to convince them, umokay din naman (they eventually agreed)."

Long afterwards, his parents finally saw that it was "okay maging  (to be a) pilot, it's meaningful to transport passengers." Capt. Stanley acknowledges, though, that in business, "you can have more impact. Kasi large scale ang magagawa mo (Because you can do more on a larger scale)."

Capt. Stanley realizes the irony in the fact that today, he is doing both — flying and handling the business side of things.

In the pilot seat

For his role as head of the flag carrier, he gets to practice his training and mindset to improve business.

"When I'm flying, I go through our processes. So I know, nai-imagine ko saan nagkakaroon ng problema (I can imagine where the problems are)." Such foresight prepares him to take decisive action on matters like which flights to cancel given certain unavoidable circumstances.

"Judgment is important: alin ba 'yung least impact sa customers mo. Kung eto ba 'yung kinansel mo, ilan ba 'yung connecting passengers nito. Because lahat, poproblemahin mo 'yon (what would have the least impact on the customers? If you choose to cancel one flight, how many connecting passengers will be affected? You have to think of everything).

"It's always about people, how many people will be affected by your decision."

These days, however, he puts his trust in his team to help steer the company to greater heights. To achieve this, he has worked hard to set up open communication lines and instill a mindset of caring.

"Think of a scenario, put up three to four options,  and then come to me and give me your recommendations and why you want to do that. It's so much better because, in the process, they learn," he says. To simply "spoon-feed," he believes, would be wrong. "It's tempting to just solve the problem pero (but) they really have to learn."

The captain admits it is not easy to get everyone on board with the changes. "It's very difficult; matagal na 'yung culture (the culture had long been there). It's not easy. It's a big challenge. It needs time for everybody to see it."

One way he saw fit to open people's minds was to reshuffle the team. "If you've been here for the longest time, sometimes you don't see it anymore. You don't notice all the small nuances. But from a different perspective, different exposure, it's good for the personal growth of a person.

"It's always for their benefit, growth and personal learnings."

As for the pilot in the PAL chief seat, the rewards are always in the journey. And it's been, thus far, "a super learning journey."