A Man of Many Hats: Robert Gerard Nazal Jr. on Building a Better World
Entrepreneur, businessman, and builder of dreams. Get to know Robert Gerard Nazal Jr., his diverse businesses, and his success story.
Robert Gerard Nazal, Jr. is a dream builder. As the figurehead of seven different companies in the country, it’s not a stretch to call him a renaissance man. From wellness companies to mining and construction, Robert was no stranger to the world of business.
He admits, however, that all of it feels like a dream—one that began a long time ago. He begins, “It has always been my dream to run my own business but I never thought [that] I will turn out to be a serial entrepreneur [and] managing several businesses.”
Build, Build, Build
To him, every part of his life played an important role in placing him where he is today. While there are obvious factors like his undergraduate degree from Ateneo de Manila University and his post-graduate degree in Business Economics at the University of Asia and the Pacific, there are also more whimsical factors to consider. Like his childhood interests and the way he saw the world around him.
“As a young boy, I was fascinated by earth minerals that I used to collect stones and play with magnetic sand. At the present, I am the CEO of MRMJ Earthmovers Corporation, a company that extracts nickel, iron ore, basalt, and andesite all over the country,” he shares.
Robert was also fond of building things as a kid, which makes sense now that he’s the CEO of PERRC Construction and Development Corporation, a category AAA contractor for ports, roads, and bridges for the last 24 years. In fact, they’re now exacting change on a national level with their large contributions to the Build Build Build program.
From Simple Beginnings to Success
As he currently enjoys all his success, Robert continues to fondly remember the early days. He shares, “When I was still in university, my mother’s practice was thriving. She was making her own products and selling them through her clinics.”
He soon saw the opportunity to expand distribution by making them available through mainstream retail outlets. “As soon as I graduated, I set things in motion,” he adds.
While most stories normally say “...and the rest is history,” Robert goes on to share that, “It wasn’t easy at first because our brand was relatively unknown to retailers. I thought it was that simple to get your products in retail outlets until I experienced my first series of rejections when I spoke directly to the buyers. I never knew they would expect a brand plan, an ad budget, and an 'in-store support plan' from me. This was my first dose of reality in the FMCG market.”
Robert had a lot to learn and he needed to be smart with what he had. “In order to succeed, we had to differentiate ourselves. And due to limited resources, we had to focus our marketing on the niche that we created.”
