Monina Cacayan: Building Systems That Scale and Teams That Make It Work
When Maria Fe Monina Jayma-Cacayan, Vice President for JWS FAHR Shared Services, stepped into her role in 2020, the timing could not have been more challenging.
The world had slowed down. Teams were suddenly working apart. And yet, the work ahead required speed, clarity, and coordination across markets.
Her mandate was clear: to bring together finance, accounting, and HR functions across multiple international entities into a shared services organization to support the Jollibee Group’s growing global footprint.
There was no playbook for doing this in the middle of a pandemic, so she and her team built one as they went.
“You don’t always feel ready, but sometimes you have to move forward and figure things out along the way.”
One of her earliest assignments was integrating global entities into the shared services model—aligning processes, transferring knowledge across geographies, and building new ways of collaborating remotely.
It was complex. At times uncertain. But it became a defining experience.
“I experienced leading an agile workgroup that delivered results and made a difference in a short period of time.”
What stayed with her was not just what the team delivered, but how they worked—moving quickly, trusting one another, and making decisions even without complete information.
That experience shaped how she leads today.
Where Transformation Begins
As the shared services organization expanded—supporting more markets, brands, and functions—Cacayan remained clear on one thing: systems alone do not drive results.
People do.
“I find ‘joy’ in the workplace knowing that I could make a difference and that I am enabled and empowered.”
For her, building a future-ready organization means equipping people with the right capabilities while continuously improving how work gets done. This includes strengthening expertise in process improvement, embracing automation, and introducing new ways of working that allow teams to operate more effectively at scale.
Transformation, she emphasizes, is rarely linear.
There are moments when decisions must be made without full clarity—when teams need to move forward, adapt, and learn in real time.
Her role is to create the conditions where that progress is possible: where people feel trusted to act, supported to learn, and accountable for outcomes.
A Leadership Style That Adapts
Cacayan describes her leadership as flexible—shifting depending on the needs of the team and the situation.
She can be directive when needed, but her default leans toward transformation: improving systems, strengthening processes, and enabling people to think differently about their work.
What anchors this approach is a clear sense of direction.
The ability to adapt, while staying focused on long-term goals, is what allows transformation not just to begin—but to sustain
On Leadership and Individual Strengths
When asked about women in leadership, Cacayan offers a perspective shaped by both experience and reflection.
“What people bring to the workplace isn’t about gender, ethnicity, etc.… it’s about the individual and how she chooses joy in the work she does.”
For her, what matters most is the individual—what each person brings in terms of strengths, values, and perspective—and whether the environment allows that to surface.
It’s a belief reflected in how she leads: by creating space for people to contribute meaningfully, and ensuring that opportunities are grounded in capability and readiness.
What Drives the Work Forward
Today, the shared services organization continues to grow—supporting a wider network of brands and markets, and playing a critical role in enabling the Jollibee Group’s global ambitions.
The systems are stronger. The scope is broader. The work is more complex.
But at its core, the work remains the same: bringing people together, improving how things are done, and moving forward even when the path is not perfectly defined.
Because for Cacayan, transformation is not just about systems. It is when people, processes, technology, and the required leadership all come together.
