A distinguished keynote address inspired veterinary professionals and industry leaders with resilience, purpose, and empathy at the 1st Post-Graduate Scientific Conference of the Philippine College of Canine Practitioners. The speaker was Dr. Robert H. Lo, Founder and CEO of RDF Feed, Livestock & Foods, Inc., an agri-food enterprise based in Pampanga, Philippines.
From the outset, Dr. Lo highlighted three guiding principles that have steered him through challenges and triumphs:
1. Turning crises into opportunities
2. Pursuing your passion
3. Leading with empathy
These are not slogans but lived experiences, each a thread in a tapestry of challenge, learning, and growth.
Turning Crises Into Opportunities
The story of Dr. Lo begins with early life challenges and a family that taught resilience. His lifelong vocation began with a deep love for animals. A pivotal moment came when a visa denial derailed his plan to pursue a master’s degree abroad. The setback could have been the end of the road, but it became a detour toward something greater.
Failure became a teacher, not a tombstone. Small ventures – an animal clinic, a quail farm- rise and fall, each teaching resilience. Crises become catalysts. The Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 devastated the business landscape, leaving financial wounds in the millions. Yet the pain forged a deeper determination and a renewed commitment to the industry. From these experiences, the core message emerges: every crisis is an opportunity in disguise —an invitation to rewire, relearn, and redirect toward something more meaningful.
Pursuing Your Passion
Passion fuels a career beyond mere employment. After enduring numerous crises, Dr. Lo diversified into hog farming, meat retail, restaurants, and, crucially, continuous learning. Knowledge is pursued as a lifelong journey. A master’s degree in entrepreneurship at the Asian Institute of Management expanded horizons and sharpened judgment.
Quotes to carry forward:
o Steve Jobs’ “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.”
o Passion is not merely hard work; it is heart work. It blends love for what you do with a commitment to growth, learning, and adaptability.
The lesson? Discover what ignites your spirit, feed that fire with knowledge, and remain vigilant for new opportunities to evolve. In veterinary medicine, staying current—surgery, diagnostics, preventive care—ensures animals receive the best, evidence-based care.
Leading With Empathy
Empathy lies at the heart of leadership. The speaker described a leadership culture at RDF built on quality, value, trust, and respect. Empowerment follows: teams are trusted to make decisions, with leaders providing support.
Empathy pays off. Dr. Lo cited a Harvard Business Review study showing that emotionally intelligent leaders outperform peers through higher engagement and productivity. The practical side of empathy includes training others to lead, fostering an environment of mutual respect, and turning conversations into collaborative action.
The talk also offered concrete takeaways for small animal practice: prioritize preventive care; provide a holistic approach to housing, nutrition, and health to reduce the need for expensive interventions; and invest in quality resources—reliable diagnostics, imaging, and medications — to improve outcomes.
Dr. Lo wrapped up his keynote address with a video titled “The Story of RDF’s Journey To Transformation,” which celebrates his company’s 37 years of ensuring safe, high-quality meat and meat products from farm to table.
The 1st Post-Graduate Scientific Conference of the Philippine College of Canine Practitioners took place from October 28 to 30, 2025, at the SMX Convention Center Aura in Taguig City.