Manila, Philippines — Time and time again, women have proven that they can wear as many hats, and kick ass for each one. 

#StylishGirlBoss Clarinda “Claire” Quisao, a mother of one and regional chief finance officer of Van Kessel Mackay Bana Holdings Inc., understands so well how it is like to do her best at managing multiple roles simultaneously. And oh, did I mention she’s also the president of the Bonifacio Global City chapter of the Rotary Club of the Philippines, too? Indeed she can do it all.

Finishing her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of the Philippines Diliman, Claire has always known that she wants to be an entrepreneur.  She even furthered her studies in business as she finished up her master’s degree in accounting and business management from Ateneo Graduate School of Business  in 2005. She also studied diploma courses in real estate management at De La Salle University, with honors.

More than her impressive educational milestones, Claire takes pride in doing meaningful work in her professional life. Her career aligns to her vision of doing things with greater purpose. Her position as the regional chief finance officer of Van Kessel Mackay Bana Holdings Inc., the distributor of Bana Grass, a source of renewable energy, she envisions to help the Philippines to have access to sustainable energy.

Wellness Advocate

Before her stint in her corporate life, Claire started Well Nest Lifestyle Café and Organic Store, an organic store and dining place located in Bel-Air, Makati City back in 2017. At her dainty restaurant, she and her partners sell healthy meals like free-range burger steak meal with pink rice, free-range beef tapa meal with pink rice and garlic bangus meal with pink rice– to name a few. Well Nest also offers guilt-free pastries that Claire herself bakes.

“WellNest Lifestyle Café and Organic Store is a dream come true for me. I wanted a space for me to do something I love: baking.  How it came to me was through a vision board we created in one of the leadership seminars I attended years back,” she  said.

“Moreover, having had family members who had cancer, advocating living a healthier lifestyle was a top priority for me.”  

“At Well Nest, we want to sustain a holistic lifestyle by offering organic meals and healthy food products which are affordable.  We also offer meal planning for health and dietary concerns,” she said. “We also believe in women empowerment, so some of our organic products are supplied by mom entrepreneurs like myself.”

Their organic store also offers the infamous Well Nest Shots, a hit especially during pandemic.

The Mind-Gut Connection and Probiotics are a probiotic drink blended with fresh fruits, made to be drunk as a shot in a day taken intermittently. This drink balances the ecosystem of the body and supports gut and brain health.

Sustainable Energy Advocate

As the regional CFO at Van Kessel Mackay Bana Holdings, Claire is aligning her passion to push sustainable energy in the Philippines with her career goals. Her main focus is on Carbon Credits, and how this can help the Philippine economy and empower farmers.

Mackay Bana Grass, a sustainable short-rotation cycle energy crop, which can help supply and distribute energy, even electricity in renewable and sustainable ways. Originated from Africa, Bana Grass is a crop which can grow up to 25-30 feet and was first introduced to  Australia to be used as a windbreak for planting around sugarcane crops to protect them from typhoons.

Later on, it was discovered that Bana Grass can be a source of renewable and sustainable energy, as it was selectively enhanced to create superior properties of Pennisetum Purpureum, or napier grasses used to improve soil fertility and protect arid land from soil erosion. 

Meanwhile, Bana Grass as a biomass is used as feedstock for boilers and manufacturing firms, and can help power-generating plants to distribute electricity in a sustainable manner. It can also be used as biofuels, gasoline, aviation fuel and marine fuel.

“According to our research, there are approximately three million idle lands in the Philippines, and with our fertile soil and good climate year round, it is ideal to grow even more Bana Grass here,” Claire said. “The Philippines has a high level of yield when harvesting Bana Grass, and it can be harvested up to 30 years from planting. So with more strategic plans, we can use Bana Grass to advocate the use of renewable and sustainable energy.” 

Claire further explained that Mackay’s trademarked Bana Grass can replace the reliance of electricity generation on fossil-based fuels, allowing the country to adopt a national renewable energy platform that will help Filipinos become empowered through agriculture. This form of renewable energy can also improve the livelihoods through sustainable employment.

For everyday use, Bana Grass has become a great replacement for charcoal, as it burns longer, non-carcinogenic  or not cancerous and smokeless. Claire shared that Mackay Bana Grass is available in Robinsons Supermarkets and South Supermarket as packed sustainable charcoal sold per kilo.  

It is easy for this #GirlBoss to take pride in her work. But more than anything, she is more proud about her core values that she has thoughtfully aligned in any professional undertaking she does.

“Integrity and honesty are key ingredients to being a powerful entrepreneur. My late father taught me the saying, ‘If at the end of the day, you can say to man and to God that your day’s work is worth your day’s pay, then you are an honest man’, and I live by that. Integrity at work and in any other aspects of life is important.” 

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Photographer: Redj Sayco

Makeup Artist: Ricsol Montilla

Hair Stylist: Tracy Jones Campo

Venue: Manila Coworking Space