This Filipina is the key in making Middle East brands soar higher in the regional arena - Joanne Rico

Joanne Rico

This Filipina is the key in making Middle East brands soar higher in the regional arena

Joanne Rico’s first break in the marketing industry started when she joined Ministop Philippines as a franchise marketing officer. She accepted the position despite having no formal education in marketing or business. Her grit, passion, and thirst for learning helped her to embark on a journey she couldn’t believe would take her to success.

Rico recalled mapping a plan on how the team could grow the business and hit the target. In just three months, they nailed the process, captured the leads, and doubled the number of investor inquiries. Because of her, the firm’s franchise sales increased from an average of one investor per month to five investors per month, shelling out at least P1.5 million each to own a franchise. In less than a year, the highly-spirited Filipina received the Rookie of the Year award. A month later, the management handpicked her from a pool of over 100 equally competitive workforces to take the role of Advertising and Promotions, making her the youngest manager in the history of the entire organization at 23.

Journey in Qatar

Her first jump overseas was in Doha, Qatar when, in 2009, one of the largest private premium hospitals in the country saw her perseverance and offered her ad administrative role. “At first, I was hesitant because I did not want to leave my growing career in the Philippines. But because I need to help my family financially and I was confident I could easily move to the marketing industry at a larger stage, I accepted the offer,” she said.

Rico was posted as an Executive Assistant to the Managing Director, then as an Executive Assistant to the General Manager. She said that the Arab country is a totally different ballgame altogether where being an Asian and a woman bore significant weights in winning or losing professional battles. “But such challenging dynamics did not stop me from pursuing my Marketing career. In addition to my regular work, I volunteered to help with more Marketingrelated projects. I floated campaign concepts and ideas to Executive Management,” she further added.

A year after, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer officially posted her as the organization’s Marketing Executive. Officially, Rico has become the first Filipino and woman to breakthrough in the healthcare marketing space in Doha, Qatar.

Journey in UAE

UAE’s Burjeel Hospital took interest in her potential. She was pirated by the healthcare management and consultant facility in 2012. She became the first and only Filipino work market-pioneered a large healthcare brand in the capital, then in other parts of the UAE, then in the Middle East region. Her task was to launch the Burjeel in Abu Dhabi and grow its market share within the emirate, within the country, then within the region. She single-handedly managed and implemented marketing campaigns of the brands across all platforms. She was also the key in making the brand soar higher and mightier in the local and regional arena. After receiving two consecutive prestigious awards from the company, Rico steadily rose up the career ladder and was promoted to Senior Marketing Executive, then a year later, rose to become the Assistant Marketing of the brand.

Presently, Rico is working as the Head for Sales and Marketing at the NMC Bareen Cluster with the task to turn around the company from negative to positive profitability. Six months after joining the largest private healthcare provider in the UAE, the branch she spearheads has reached the highest number of patient footfall, has finally achieved break-even, and most significantly, has started gaining profits months after.

“As the first Filipino in the mostly Arabic and sub-continent (Indian) leadership team of the organization, I am deeply

honored to play a key role in driving Bareen business, which became a significant feather on the hat not only of Bareen but of NMC Healthcare as well. Due to this record-breaking success, NMC Healthcare stepped up expansion plans, acquired more medical centers in the emirate, and winged each of the medical facilities under Bareen. In less than 2 years, Bareen has grown from managing 1 medical facility to 8 medical facilities, and counting – hence the network is now called NMC Bareen Cluster,” she said.

With over 16 solid years of work experience in marketing and brand management under her belt, Rico has managed brands in local and international markets including Qatar, UAE, Oman, and the Philippines. “In my desire to grow professionally and personally, I regularly attend conferences, seminars, training, and workshops, and immerse in mentorship and coaching opportunities to sharpen and advance my Marketing métier and be at par with global standards,” she said.

“Filipinos should break free from the chains of fear of failure and start championing life with more grit and resilience. We all falter and get hurt, but it is how we deal with crises and choose to move forward that shapes our character. From a very early age until now, I have faced many problems and challenges. More than winning, we should not be afraid of failing. Failures make us wiser, bolder, and stronger,” she further added.