National
President
2009 JCI Philippines National President
FULBERT CHAN WOO: A Young Man in a Hurry
He is a young man on a mission. His life of thirty-one years is marked with action and bold ventures with people and industry, of a uniquely personal triumph in search for excellence, of hopes raised and dashed for progress in his own world. Aggressiveness and vision beneath his reticent exterior reigned pre-eminent, and was, in great part, the base for his current status of glory. And the progression of Junior Chamber International Philippines in 2009 – for good or ill – shall largely be the handiwork of one man: FULBERT CHAN WOO.
For what he accomplished in his on-going life, what was well begun – and inescapably, too, his prolonged vision to forge more relevance and character in the JCI movement – he has already carved his own niche in the organization’s sordid history.
Fulbert Woo was born in Iloilo City to Mr. and Mrs. John Jose Woo, Cantonese immigrants who worked as innovative entrepreneurs and possess a mutual passion for community work. A precocious youth who exercised academic skill and fortitude, he obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from De La Salle University. Upon graduation, he immediately worked for his father’s growing business of manufacturing and trading oxygen and acetylene gases throughout the Visayas region.
At a young age, Fulbert already realized the value of supplementary education, both inside and outside the classroom. He was a young man in a hurry to absorb the lessons necessary in life. Apart from his involvement in the Iloilo Chinese Dynamic Youth Club and the Iloilo Cantonese Club, where he currently serves as Executive Vice-President, he also found time to master his skill with the saxophone.
It is therefore not surprising that the tenets espoused by the JCI movement easily appealed to him; this was where he could imbibe the realities of making a living, doing business and succeeding. It was this unquenchable thirst for learning that he was inducted as a member of JCI Iloilo – one of the oldest JCI chapters in the Visayas area – on December 5, 1997.
From there, it was no looking back for this young achiever. After assuming several key positions in his chapter, Fulbert was elected JCI Iloilo’s chapter president in 2001. The following year, he took his first foray in the national organization by serving as National Executive Vice-President for the Visayas Area. In 2003, he was appointed member of the national grievance committee and served as National Convention Director for the 56th JCI Philippines National Convention in Boracay in 2004. In 2005, he was elected National Treasurer of the organization and was unanimously selected to assume the prestigious role of National Chairman for TOYM – JCI Philippines’ flagship project.
In 2008, he was appointed to two key positions in a concurrent capacity, both of which carry significant import: as National Secretary-General of JCI Philippines, and as JCI Asia-Pacific Development Councilor for New Zealand. It was in these two posts that cemented his reputation as a leader fully capable of standing on his own in the big-time arena.
Fulbert’s affable nature, as well as his proven leadership skills, has made him an unparalleled presidential timber that complemented his ambitions; so much so that when he finally aspired for the National Presidency, no one dared to challenge him.
In 2009, Fulbert Woo became the 61st National President of JCI Philippines.
To that quality of leadership Fulbert aspired with all the intense ambition that brought him to all the organizations which he represented, to the zenith of achievement – was the most inspiring character of all. "Think Green!” was the phrase he repeated time and again – rallying cries which set the tone for his brand of management. It is with this inner strength, tenaciously rooted in self-discipline and matchless determination, that Fulbert has made himself the unchallenged voice of the young upstarts of his generation – and, sometimes, the disquieting conscience of the old traditionalists.
That voice in turn has infused his young colleagues themselves with the fiber that gives their revolution its true stature. The mark of excellence he displayed in the organizations which he led, as well as in his business ventures, attests to the triumph of his far-reaching vision and leadership style.