Proud Filipino Moment as the first Apprentice Asia grand winner was announced, Jonathan Yabut the young Senior Product Manager of Glaxo Smith Kline based in Manila bested 12 other contestants from the Asian region.
(Getting to know the 12 contestants)
We were honoured to witness the show’s final task of the toughest job interview on July 31 over AXN. Jonathan Yabut bested lawyer Andrea Loh Ern-Yu of Singapore for the title “The Apprentice Asia.” They were tasked to organise a charity black-tie fundraiser for the AirAsia Foundation in Kuala Lumpur.
In the tasked, Yabut got to pick as his finale teammates Indian Samuel Rufus Nallaraj, Malaysian Nazril Idrus and fellow Filipino Celina Le Neindre. Loh on the other hand had China-based expat Frenchman Alexis Lothar Bauduin, Indian Ningku Lachungpa, and Indonesian Dian Krishna Mukti.
The final bout was intense specially inside the boardroom, it was a fight between Team Jonathan’s words against Team Adrea’s. After the fired candidates left the boardroom, Tony Fernandes pointed out that Andrea had a better winning record (6-2, 1-1 record as Project Manager, 1 time in bottom 3) compared to Jonathan (4-4, 0-1 record as Project Manager, 3 times in bottom 3). With a split opinions between Fernandes’ advisors making the scene more intense. Kathleen Tan voting to Jonathan, felt that he had better people skills, bringing out the best in people, and wondered if Andrea’s emotions would be a hindrance in AirAsia, while on the other hand, Mark Lankester felt that Andrea had more potential, the qualities of an apprentice, and that she would be a better leader.
At the end, stressing out Fernandes’ line that after hearing the words from the two contenders, he would be having a change in decision, firing Andrea Loh Ern-Yu and hiring Jonathan Yabut as the first Asian Apprentice. Yabut bagged a one-year work contract under AirAsia with a salary of at least $100,000.
It was indeed a Victory Party not just for Yabut himself but for the Filipinos making his name part of the history. As Yabut says in his speech, “This is not about me. This is about my country, about proving to the world that a Filipino can make it internationally.
“I’m gonna make some big changes in the world.” – Jonathan Yabut.
Congratulations Jonathan! For making your dream came a reality, and bringing in inspiration to the Filipinos and pushes to change things for the better. It was indeed a Proud Filipino Moment!
