Behind every woman comes a story of strength, resilience, and perseverance. Some of these stories are of powerful women who, in their own right, have left a remarkable impact in their respective fields.
Chaye Cabal-Revilla, second from left, receives the Women Super-Achievers Award from the Congress organizers.
One such woman is Chaye Cabal-Revilla, who serves as PLDT SVP and Group Controller, and Smart CFO. With her extensive background and numerous awards and recognitions, Cabal-Revilla adds another milestone to her impressive career streak by being hailed as one of this year’s Women Super-Achievers at the 5th World Women Leadership Congress in Mumbai, India — the only Filipina awarded during the prestigious gathering of women leaders from different fields. The Congress recognizes the strategic and influential role various women leaders play in the development of the modern economy, technological breakthroughs and innovations, and nation-building.
Being an empowered woman
In her speech during the World Women Leadership Congress, Cabal-Revilla shared her insights on how to become an empowered woman, which includes knowing one’s purpose, reconciling all facets of one’s life, breaking the mold and status quo, and being a blessing to others.
“Being an empowered woman, to me, has always been a confident, positive feeling that one gets. And just like anything else, empowerment starts from somewhere. To me, it should start from within. Empowerment lives inside all of us women. Just like a fire, we need to know how to ignite the flame and start the spark from within. After all, a step made today will definitely shape tomorrow,” Cabal-Revilla said.
For Cabal-Revilla, knowing one’s purpose is anchored in her faith in God. Her faith enabled her to build up the confidence and humility to be able to achieve her purpose through God’s Grace. “Knowing your purpose will ground you. It entails getting a grip of what you believe in, what you stand for, and what you value in life,” Cabal-Revilla said.
Indeed, being an empowered woman begins with a purpose — in fueling that spark within an individual to find her greater sense of self. But as one goes through her journey in life, it is also important to reconcile all facets of one’s life. “To be truly empowered, you need to live a consistent life. It is important to be whole. A woman is able to shift from role to role seamlessly by being authentic all throughout. If you are happy and empowered personally and professionally, you can set specific goals and achieve consistent milestones in all aspects of your life,” Cabal-Revilla said.
More than anything, an empowered woman is a strong and resilient woman. In these changing times, Cabal-Revilla proves to be a catalyst as she breaks the mold and continue to challenge the status quo.
In her line of work, which is Finance, she admits that taking roles of senior leaders could be quite a challenge. But with her perseverance and relentless effort, she became a game changer in the industry. “We women need to break the mold by daring to do what men do and doing it better,” Cabal-Revilla said with a smile.
For years now, Cabal-Revilla has continuously dedicated her time and effort in serving the country's leading telco PLDT and its many subsidiaries and affiliate companies as a top finance executive. She also serves as the Director and/or CFO/Treasurer of various PLDT and Smart subsidiaries, and affiliates including Pacific Global One Aviation, and PLDT-Smart Foundation (PSF). She is also the CFO of the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), a consortium of the largest conglomerates and companies in the country, and the director and trustee of Tahanan Mutual Building and Loan Association, the home financing arm of PLDT and the Metro Pacific Investment Corporation (MPIC) Group.
On top of her professional achievements, Cabal-Revilla has also earned many awards throughout her longstanding career, including the 2008 PICPA Young Achievers Awardee for Commerce and Industry. She was also selected as a member of the Financial Reporting Standards Council of the Philippines, which is the accounting standards setters’ body in the country. She was also named as the Business and Real Estate Who's Who (BREW) by the country's largest weekly business magazine BizNewsAsia, and in 2013, she was among The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) awardees for her notable efforts in establishing Gabay Guro, a joint program of the PLDT-Smart Foundation and PLDT Managers Club Inc. In 2015, she was the only female and Filipino recipient of the CFO Innovations Award conferred in Singapore. In 2017, Cabal-Revilla was also the only Filipina speaker at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit held in Hong Kong. Adding to her list of outstanding credentials, she was also made a resource person of Harvard Professor Groysberg’s “How Star Women Succeed” program.
Being a blessing to others
As she takes every moment to appreciate all these blessings in her life, Cabal-Revilla stands by the belief of paying it forward — allowing herself to truly become a blessing to others. Aside from her vital role as CFO and/or Treasurer of PLDT and its many subsidiaries, she still considers being the Chairperson of Gabay Guro as her most special and beloved role to date.
“As empowered women, we must help empower others. This is the mindset I had when we started Gabay Guro (roughly translated as Helping/Guiding Teachers), an advocacy dedicated to uplift the lives of teachers from all over the country through scholarships, skills training, housing and classrooms, and livelihood programs. By empowering our teachers, we uplift education and we contribute to nation development,” Cabal-Revilla said.
“Education is a great equalizer — even less fortunate people, if educated, will have a shot at improving their lives. The ultimate success of an empowered woman can be seen in the spark to instigate positive change and help empower others,” Cabal-Revilla added.
With her sheer determination, incredible work ethic, and outstanding credentials, Cabal-Revilla is truly an empowered woman — braving through the world and leaving remarkable changes, one step at a time.
