Cover Brian Poe Llamanzares

Serving as Philippine senator Grace Poe's chief of staff, Brian Poe Llamanzares is also a serial entrepreneur and a newly published author. This is how he balances it all

In the What Matters To Me series, a Generation T honouree describes what they do, why they do it, and why it matters.

Brian Poe Llamanzares is a man with many responsibilities. He is the chief of staff for Senator Grace Poe, the CEO of Time Masters Watches and co-founder of clothing brand Someday, Maybe.

Llamanzares says his seemingly disparate duties all tie into his ultimate life mission: to promote Filipino talent, businesses and artisans, be it through public service or his personal business endeavours. 

Here, he describes his work in his own words.

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To me, government will always be the single best way to help the most amount of people at the same time. With just one phone call to the right agency we can make sure that medical bills are taken care of. With one text we can make sure kids can go to school. With one amendment our office can make sure that the economy of our country can and will be saved. That’s the power of being in government for the right reasons. I’ve been really focused on making sure the office of Senator Poe is able to provide medical assistance, relief goods, and educational assistance to those in need.

Three national elections and I still mess up on stage—and that's okay. Everyone respects how difficult it is to speak in public. Just hang out with friends after, and learn to laugh at your mistakes.

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I just finished writing my e-book called Thinking Outside The Box, which is a Facebook marketing guide that I gave away for free in order to help small business owners make ends meet during the pandemic.

I’m happiest when I build something that contributes to society. I love being a businessman because I like watching things grow. I’m proud to be able to support my friends and their businesses. It’s one thing to put money in a bank or in stocks and watch numbers grow, it’s another to put money towards an idea and watch it become a reality. In terms of my other businesses, we’re working on expanding our retail operations, from clothing and watches to other products.

I have learned that patience is definitely a virtue. You have to be understanding and know when to compromise. No matter how well you plan things out, it doesn’t always go according to what you want, and that’s okay. Sometimes it turns out even better.

Surround yourself with partners and staff that are better than you in fields you are interested in. There’s no shame in not being as good as someone else. You end up learning so much from them and growing a lot. There’s more shame in pretending to know it all.

To deal with stress I try as much as possible to manage my time so that I can have adequate rest. I also read at night and in the morning to centre myself and get in the right state of mind to tackle the coming day.

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Above Brian Poe Llamanzares

The best advice I have ever received is: Whatever you do, do it for the right reasons. It’ll help you make tough calls or hurdle indecisiveness.

I would like to tell my younger self to not worry too much, that you’re on the right track. Whatever challenges you are going through now will help you build the skills, habits, connections, and will for you to achieve your dreams in the future.


See more Gen.T honourees from the Government, Public Services & Law category of the Gen.T List 2020.

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