Amusing that I write this piece on my birthday. Contemplating on my generation of colleagues, I always find myself wondering if I have done enough to make them proud to count me as part of their professional age group—because I know they make me feel glad just knowing I get to call these overachievers my friends.

Today, I officially learned that another such individual had added himself to the distinguished roster of successful executives in the car industry. Carlos Ablaza, longtime Toyota Motor Philippines officer, is now president of Lexus Manila, the sole dealership of Toyota’s luxury brand in the country. He formally took over the post last January 1, 2025.

Outgoing president Raymond Rodriguez will remain as an advisor to Lexus Manila’s board of directors.

Ablaza joined TMP in 2000 as a member of its marketing staff. He was quickly promoted as sales training department group head (2002) and dealer development department supervisor (2005).

The writing on the wall of his career’s future seemed to first appear in 2012, when he was named manager of the Lexus Group for our market. After serving TMP’s marketing department as assistant vice president from 2017 to 2019, he became a full-fledged vice president for the Lexus brand.

Prior to his promotion to Lexus Manila president, Ablaza had served as the dealership’s general manager from October 2023 to December 2024.

To be clear, I’m older than Carlo by several years. In this case, I humbly admit that he belongs to a younger generation that has clearly supplanted my same-age peers. Even so, I’m still proud of having personally witnessed his climb up TMP’s corporate ladder.

Cheers, sir!