A risk work taking

If he had stayed in the Philippines, Eli Buenaventura would’ve been two things: One of the top executives of the country’s insurance industry six feet under or one of the top executives of the country’s insurance industry with a foot already on the grave.

A stressed-out Buenaventura swapped the hustle and bustle of Metro Manila close to 20 years ago in exchange for the quiet and relatively provincial life of Saipan, and he has never regretted that fateful decision ever since.

The 53-year-old Buenaventura remembers too well the three- to four-hour commute from his house in Bulacan to Manila’s business district of Makati and the associated tension that goes along with living in the big city.

That’s why in 1986 Buenaventura followed his then girlfriend and now wife, Matti, to this little dot in the middle of the Pacific and close to two decades and three kids later, the Buenaventuras are proud to call Saipan their home away from home.

“I was already senior manager of AIG Manila (American International Group), the No. 1 insurance company in the world, when I decided to risk everything and leave Manila for Saipan. I came here on an invitation and first worked at Moylan’s Insurance Underwriters,” he said.

What immediately struck Buenanevntura upon arriving was the island was nothing like the Manila he hastily departed.

“The air was clean and it was very peaceful and orderly. But what really clinched my decision to stay was there was no traffic. After that, and of course being with Matti, I no longer had qualms about staying,” he said.

A few months into his new surroundings, Buenaventura was already settling down and even joined a club at the Hyatt Regency Saipan, so he could indulge in his favorite sport, tennis.

But before the year ended, he belatedly got a rude welcome when Supertyphoon Kim visited the Marianas. Until now, Buenaventura vividly recalls the events of Dec. 3, 1986 when the 220-miles-per-hour winds of Kim battered and devastated Saipan.

“It was really scary. The place I grew up in is frequented by an average of 35 typhoons a year but none of them compared to the magnitude and fury of that supertyphoon. Kim also knocked out power and water for three months,” he said.

With his first few years on Saipan under his belt, Buenaventura moved on to bigger and better things. He would change employers and leave Moylan’s for Calvo’s. His tennis career was also on the up and up and he became one of the first Filipinos to represent the Commonwealth when he became part of the National Tennis Team for the 1990 Micronesian Games on Saipan.

Buenaventura did not disappoint and won a bronze medal in the single’s competition. He followed that up with a silver medal in team tennis four years later in the same Games held on Guam. His teammates in that meet were Mike Mason, Jeff Race, Tim Goodwin, and Donn Dunlop.

He also learned golf to help him close more deals for Calvo’s and was so good at it that in no time he became a single handicapper.

Along the way, Buenaventura won dozens of trophies in tennis, golf, and chess. He also helped establish the Filipino-American Tennis Association and served as its president for three terms, including this year. Buenaventura also headed the Fil-Taga Golfers Association twice, and sat as vice president of the Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association.

Professionally, Buenaventura is the general manager of Calvo’s Insurance and oversees the day-to-day operations of the company’s business on Saipan. He has also been elected chair of the Northern Marianas Insurance Association a grand total of three times.

His civic memberships are not far behind his career and sports achievements either. Buenaventura is a member of the Saipan Rotary Club, and a past district deputy grandmaster of Masonic District # 15 of the Scottish Rite of Free Masonry Southern Jurisdiction, USA.

In retrospect, Buenaventura admits that Saipan has been very good to him and his family. He shares that some of his contemporaries in the insurance industry in the Philippines were burned out at the cusp of achieving professional success or have rabidly pursued their corporate dreams only to kick the bucket before even getting to enjoy life.
Buenaventura said Saipan’s slow-paced lifestyle and his involvement in sports, which he couldn’t have done in Manila, saved him from the same fate.

He also believes that Saipan has become his savior in more ways than one.

“The people here are very friendly and generous. I encourage my kids to take up local customs and traditions and even learn the language because this is also home. The island has taken a big leap since I came here in 1986. The only change I don’t like is that the island has become a litigious society,” he said.

On his future plans, Buenaventura said he and his wife want their kids—Ralph (16 years old), Russell (13), and Riley Ann (2 1/2)—to finish college. They also want their children to be sports-minded so they could live a healthy life.

“I plan to reside and work here in the CNMI for as long as there is need for me to be around. I will continue to contribute my insurance expertise for the benefit of the insurance industry, my tennis experience for the benefit of the local players, and my free time for worthwhile community projects,” he said.