Clarence Tenorio, Jr. Heir to Joeten’s throne

Six years after the death of businessman Jose C. Tenorio, more popularly known as Joeten, his six children had begun the task of preparing the young generation in the Tenorio family who will one day take over the reins of the biggest locally-owned business empire.

The decision of 27-year-old Clarence Tenorio Jr., son of Clarence Sr., president of J.C. Tenorio Inc., to join the company after four years of rigid training with the U.S. Army, came as no surprise.

From the start, Clarence Jr. knew that he and his cousins would one day inherit the responsibility of running the family business. Clarence, who now works as merchandise audit manager, is perhaps facing one of the most daunting challenges in his life as the plunge of the island’s tourism economy sent many businesses in the CNMI reeling from the effects of Asia’s financial crisis, including Joeten Enterprises.

His intense loyalty to the company, Clarence says, stemmed from his closeness to his grandparents, who invested in the education of their grandchildren. “Joeten is not just a company. It is a way of life. This family business is all I’ve known since I was growing up. I owe it to my grandfather, grandmother, aunts and uncles who helped raise me to comeback,” he says.

Adventure

Joining the U.S. Army after finishing a political science degree from the University of California Berkeley was more of an adventure for Clarence. Born with the proverbial silver spoon, Clarence could have chosen to take an easy life but he surprisingly chose to tread a different path even for a short period of time.

For four years, he worked as second lieutenant in the U.S Army where he dealt with tanks in Texas. Clarence did not mind the rigid military training because it enabled him to travel in many places in the United States and make friends with people from different cultural background. He left the U.S Army with the rank of captain last March.

“I wanted to do something for myself because I knew I would be coming back here. The training was fun, especially preparing yourself to go to war,” he says.

Grandpa’s influence

With the determination and guts of a self-made man, grandpa Joeten became one of the biggest businessmen in Micronesia. The first mom and pop grocery store on Saipan was Tenorio’s Grocery Store.

Aside from instilling in his grandchildren the value of education, grandpa Joeten also showed the importance of hardwork. Ironically, a member of the family has to work more than eight hours as there is no such thing as a 9-to-5 job.

Clarence remembers all the stories about how his dad and Auntie Norman would help his grandfather in loading the goods to be distributed to all the stores.

When his grandfather “retired” from the family business, he spent a lot of time with his grandchildren, taking a keen interest on their education. Every summer, grandpa and grandma would bring the older grandchildren to Tokyo for vacation and Japanese language lessons. Joeten never really imposed on any of his grandchildren to work for the family business, but it was some sort of a bonus if any of them would come back.

Preparing for the job

Somehow, the military training prepared him to take on the challenge at Joeten Wholesale where he handles close to 20 people. Although his only credential is his Army career, Clarence says he brought with him his strong military discipline which helps carry out his job.

He is like a sponge, absorbing everything that his aunts and uncles are telling him about managing the company. He attends the company’s board meetings as an observer where multimillion expansion plans and loans are discussed.

Not too long from now, he knows he will be sitting in one of those chairs, making decisions for the family enterprise. While Clarence Jr. thinks of assuming a bigger responsibility 10 to 15 years from now, Auntie Annie Sablan, who is president of Joeten Enterprises, apparently wants a shorter period of succession as she speeds up his training.

“It is understandable, they have all been working in the company all their life. It can take a toll on you. They are all ready to retire,” he says. Among the grandchildren, Auntie Annie’s son Joe is manager of Price Costco, Clarence’s brother Craig is with Joeten Motors. As soon as his sister Sherry, who is studying law in San Francisco, graduates, she will become the legal counsel of the company.

What lies ahead

Young and ambitious, Clarence wants to help the company carry out its expansion plans while at the same time maintain its commitment to serve the community.

Just like many businesses on the island, the economic crisis has taught Joeten Enterprise to take a hard look at its operation. Trim off excess fats, cut down on inventory. It is currently in the process of installing a state-of-the-art inventory tracking system. Joeten Enterprise will make sure that it is technologically proficient in the new millennium. In fact, shoppers can check at Joeten’s website, which was installed a month ago.

Is Clarence scared of the responsibility? Not really. He is taking everything one at a time. While he is still learning to become more comfortable with the job, Clarence says being in the family business makes one work harder. “It is not easy. I am reminded everyday of what lies ahead for me. It is tough and challenging,” he says.