It’s what I do

William Penaredondo

F&B Sales and Marketing Manager

Asiana Hotel – Dubai

Hotelier William Penaredondo has been working outside the Philippines for more the 15 years. Currently based in Dubai, William has worked for prominent hotel chains like Hilton International, Starwood and Sofitel. Now, he is the food & beverage sales & marketing manager for Asiana Hotel.

William loves meeting people and says this makes him perfect for the hospitality business. In his role as manager, he does lots of sales calls and attends loads of meetings with clients who are interested in booking their functions and events. He also trains the new generation of hoteliers who come to the UAE for the first time.

But it wasn’t an easy journey to the top. Despite being a restaurant manager for a fast food chain in the Philippines, the agency who hired him told me that he needed to start from scratch because he didn’t have experience working in a foreign country.

“I’ve had my share of culture shock—from the environment change, food and lifestyle adjustments. But overall, I’m happy because this paved the way to build my character and knowledge. I learned things which cannot be taught just by sitting in a four-corner classroom.”

According to William, Filipinos should realize that “we are simply blessed by being creative and strong-willed – that we are essential movers and shakers of this world.”

Patrick Joey Fronda

Multimedia Engineer / Educator

Murdoch University International Study Centre

Dubai

Patrick Joey Fronda came to Dubai in 2008 as a graphic designer.  It wasn’t long before he realized that it was not enough to raise his growing family as a graphic designer in Dubai. His survival mode kicked in and he started doing wedding films using his experience as a filmmaker back home as a jump off point.

Later, he was offered to teach and facilitate the media department in Murdoch University.

Now a successful and sought after videographer, Patrick is a multimedia engineer for the university where he also teaches broadcast production, cinematography, photography and video editing.

“I am honored that students from around the world studying here will be trained by a Filipino,” he says. And he’s pleased that Filipino students in the university are standing out in his class. In one instance, while checking the short films the students created, he told them that he didn’t want to be biased, but the works coming from some Filipino students really stood out.  And in a photography competition, the two grand winners were also from the Philippines.

But Patrick cautions that success will not come easy. He says Filipinos need to work for it, improve your selves for it, and make the first step for it. Further, he says that his fellowmen should be positive, stop complaining about life and contribute something to their and another person’s life.

“Life has an expiration. Go out and find a reason to live it,” he says.