OPTEL ADVANTAGE

Ambassador of Goodwill or “The Don”.

This is how people affectionately call Don Felbaum, Managing Director of OPTEL, and past President of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines.

Don is well known in the wide, wide world of the Philippine and American business communities, especially the ICT Sector, for his consulting expertise, as well as his incredibly friendly and helpful personality, making him the pleasantly compelling “go-to-guy” for anyone seeking personal or professional advice, particularly those just new in town.

Don is the Managing Director of OPTEL, a boutique ICT Advisory firm he started in 1989. The company supports its clients in outsourcing, strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, government interface and advocacy assignments.

Active in directorships and on advisory boards, his business experience has through the years covered at least 25 countries worldwide. Don brings to the table a broad general management experience backed by a well-developed entrepreneurial mix of visionary, strategic, analytical and implementation skills. Well adept at business development, including leading start-ups, mergers and acquisitions, and project funding, he is thus actively sought for assistance and support by a number of foreign and local firms.

An American who has lived in the Philippines for more than 20+ years, Don believes that the Philippines, with its young and vibrant workforce, will continue to play a key role in the Asia Pacific Region over the next few years.

Don foresees the Philippine economy continuing to grow in the coming years, adding that the local business leaders can benefit by adapting to the ever-changing global landscape. He urges incoming business executives to be flexible, patient, and proactive in their undertakings, encouraging them in the process to create new jobs for broad-based growth throughout the country.

Somewhat analogous to the famous line “Build and they will come” from the movie “Field of Dreams”, his favorite advice is: “Make friends and business will surely follow.”