This is the official company video presentation released by HRD for the 23rd HARIversary held at Studio 300 Makati on 9 August 2024.
Born on exactly 3 August 2001 in Makati Automotive Row of Pasong Tamo in Makati City, Philippines spearheaded by soon to be recognized as Iron Lady of automotive industry in the Philippines, Ms. Maria Fe Perez- Agudo, the Vice-Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer of HARI Group of Companies.
HARIPHIL ASIA RESOURCES, INC., formerly Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI) was then the official distributor of Hyundai passenger cars & now the commercial vehicles in the Philippines. HARI was appointed by Hyundai Motor Company of South Korea in August 2001 as the official distributor of Hyundai vehicles in the Philippines. Currently, HARI remains the exclusive distributor of Hyundai trucks & buses in the country.
Ms. Agudo, at the forefront of the Company’s business operations, is the Authorized Representative to engage in business dealings with counterparts from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries. She is also the President of the Association of Vehicle Importers & Distributors, Inc. (AVID) in the Philippines.
She is a 2014 Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship (APEA) awardee in the “Outstanding” category, cited among the 2013 Women Icons of Entrepreneurship Awardee (Go Negosyo) & 2011 Ernst & Young Women Entrepreneur of the Year-Philippines. From 2014 to 2017, she served as Honorary Consul of the Philippines to the Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI) with the mission to assist the Ambassador of RMI to the Philippines in identifying priority areas of collaboration between the 2 nations in the areas of education & health care.
Under Ms. Agudo’s tutelage & leadership, Hyundai’s network in the Philippines grew rapidly to 42 passenger car dealerships nationwide & in its peak, the 3rd top ranking automotive brand in the Philippines. HARI received from Hyundai Motor Company the Asia-Pacific Distributor of the Year (2005, 2006, 2008 & 2013) & Global Distributor of the Year (2011 & 2016).
Currently, as the head of the official Philippine distributorship of Hyundai Trucks & Buses, Ms. Agudo & her team, ably supported by 11 & growing CV dealerships all over the country, successfully taps into the huge potential of the domestic CV market, garnering for the company a new series of citations from Hyundai Commercial Vehicles: Regional Excellence Award for Asia & Pacific (2017); Regional Distributor of the Year (2018) & Best in Global After Sales Operations (2018, 2019, 2020).
Having developed a keen “nose” for challenger brands, Ms. Agudo launched the exclusive distributorship of Changan passenger cars in the Philippines in November 2020 until 2023. Backed by Changan International Corporation’s (CIC) honored tradition of 158 years in business & manufacturing, she once again set out to change the profile of the Philippine automotive scene by responding to the needs of an emerging market for intelligent, future-forward mobility. Ms Agudo established a dealership network of 16 pioneer dealerships & 17 sales outlets.
In July 2024, HARI welcomed global brand & the American dream - Chevrolet as the latest addition to its portfolio of power vehicles. Ms. Agudo now takes on the challenge of reestablishing the iconic status of the Bowtie Brand in the minds & sensibility of today’s diverse markets. True enough, as early as the first half of 2024, Chevrolet has showed positive signs of resurgence. Ms. Agudo reported 131% growth for the first half of 2024, beating the brand’s full year performance in 2023 driven by the Tracker, Camaro & Trailblazer.
As the pioneer executive of HARI, her best business practices & innovative thinking that contributed to the growth of the company have been documented in the book “On the Ball: Leveraging the Future You Want with WBL” by Drs. Perla Rizalina M. Tayko & Josefina M. Agloro.
Ms. Agudo subscribes to Corporate Social Investment (CSI) as a key driver of business. On a personal & professional capacity, she adapted her experiences with various brands of global vision of responsible corporate citizenship to the Philippine setting, spearheading public-private partnerships for sustainable nation building through HARI’s affiliate company, H.A.R.I. Foundation, Inc. (HFI).
Up next: the world’s safest car brand - VOLVO!