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Tomo Garcia Professor in a Business Suit Excerpts from an article written by Arn Lagazon, GS ‘77, HS ‘81, BS ‘85
But Lady Luck had other plans for Tomo or Tom, the Americanized nickname by which he also goes. She opened up anew world that enabled the professor to wear a business suit over his scholarly robes earning for him a fortune in the process. Looking at his distinguished resume, one can see that early on he was destined to make it in academic circles. After high school at the Ateneo in 1964, he was a full scholar at the University of the Philippines, where he earned his degree in mathematics, cum laude in only three years. Then came a brief foray into the business world as he worked for IBM Philippines in 1968-69. He then spent the next four years earning his masters and doctorate degrees at the Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York, under a National Science Fellowship. By 1974, he was a professor of Management Science at the University of Chicago, a position he held until 1992. "I was an ascetic for 15 years starting in the seventies. To others, it may sound such a boring life, being buried in books all day long. But for me, it was exciting struggling to understand great men’s ideas," Tomo says. The eighties, however, brought with it a new business climate in the Unites States. US industries were turning to the academe in the face of increasing competition from other countries, such as Japan. In the light of dwindling sources of research funding, the universities themselves were feeling the heat to contribute to US industrial competitiveness and had little choice but to embrace industry in mutually beneficial undertakings such as campus-based industrial research. Tomo Garcia saw the golden opportunity in this new climate of openness. Enter Investment Research Company, the investment management company founded in 1985 by Tomo with another Chicago University professor, Floyd Gould. Using methods steeped in the higher maths, and grounded in the rigor of their solid academic backgrounds, the two offered their services as pension fund managers and investment advisers to individuals and companies. "I thought my knowledge of mathematics would not amount to anything practical," he explains. " But then, a colleague and I started this company which selected stocks entirely via a mathematical model. And guess what, we were able to grow that company, then sell it for a lot of money to a Fortune 500 company. So mathematics was not that impractical after all." To date, Tomo retains his senior position at IRC, putting to good and profitable business use his brilliance in mathematics, management science, computer applications, and systems design. This professor’s achievements in the arena of business did not go unnoticed, as he was included in the 1994-1995 (28th) edition of the Who’s Who in Finance and Industry published by The Marquis Who’s Who Publications Board. This exceptionally good fortune he ascribes to luck, coupled with plain old hard work, and a deep understanding and passion for his work. "I was very lucky," he confides. "But most people are very lucky too, except that they are unprepared to act when luck comes their way. You have to hone your skills everyday, getting dirty on lots of unsuccessful things, preparing your mind and body for the day when luck comes, so that you can take full advantage of it. Though far away from his first home, Tomo keeps up with the goings-on in the Philippines and has very firm ideas about how the country can compete in the global market. On the recent peso devaluation, he believes the most important thing to do is to stabilize the peso in order to avoid discouraging long-term foreign and local investors. He also believes that the Central Bank should stick to its primary function as a defender of the peso’s integrity and leave other agenda like increasing exports or reducing unemployment to the other government entities directly concerned. As for the country’s prospects in the coming years, he fears that, just as we missed it in the eighties, we might miss the boat again in the nineties. With the advent of the worldwide web, Java, internets and intranets, a good group of programmers with a good business idea can create a substantial company from anywhere in the world, with the world as his clientele. He says the India, China, and Israel are taking advantage of the new opportunities opening up - why not the Philippines? We can if we do what with our brains and our exposure to a lot of western ideas and business ways. He also believes very much in the important role of education. That’s why he and his wife put up an annual competitive academic award for excellence in teaching and research at UP four years ago. The award confers a prize roughly equivalent to a UP professor’s annual salary-with no strings attached-to brilliant, promising young professors. To him, all these efforts are, as it were, but a small measure of giving back the blessings he has received through the years. Tomo realizes that there are many things and events he can be proud of and thankful for in his life.
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