Energetic Women

Suyen Encarnacion Pell and Theresa Encarnacion Gendron, founders of Anahau Energy.

Two Filipinas are setting a new standard by breaking through the traditional male domination of the energy marketing and trading business in the U.S.

The gas industry plays a critical role in the energy business, driving the global economy to a great degree. Since natural gas is considered among the world's most important resources, the trading and marketing of this vital product is a highly essential business.

In the U.S., one of the industry's top new energy trading companies is Anahau Energy, a company that generates more $350 million dollars in gross annual sales revenue and the winner of the "2008 National Supplier of the Year" award from the National Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc (NMSDC).

Anahau Energy was founded by Suyen Encarnacion Pell and her sister and partner, Theresa Encarnacion Gendron, both immigrants from the Philippines. The recent Supplier of the Year award recognizes Anahau for excellence in business acumen and community service. Only four out of 15,000 companies across the country received this award (one per profit category). For winning the award, Anahau Energy was featured in the May issue of Fortune Magazine.

With tenacious perseverance, the young women are setting a new standard in the natural gas business and breaking the age-old trend of men dominating the industry. The women boldly embraced the challenge of being among the very few successful female traders in the field, evidenced by Anahau's remarkable success to date.

"At a recent event, one of our large utility customers noted that Anahau's team may be the first and only woman-owned, American-Filipino combination in the energy marketing and trading business in America," says Pell, who serves as president of the company. "We are very proud to be innovators in our field. As female traders in this market arena, we have embraced the challenge of being among the very few, successful female traders in the field. Perhaps our success lies within our womanly sixth sense. We seem to have a knack for what our customers want and need. Many of the larger suppliers don't seem to be able to catch on to the type of service our customers prefer. In a sense, maybe there is a certain advantage to being a woman in this industry. At the end of the day, it does not matter whether you are a man or a woman, we believe what is important is service and product combined. We have to remember that there is a person on the other end and when you show enthusiasm and respect for what others do, while providing the best service humanly possible, customers will come back. Through diligence, dedication, innovative business strategies, creative supply solutions and high quality service, Anahau has overcome its many challenges and is making its mark in the energy industry."

Anahau Energy is a trader of natural gas commodity, buying from large producers and, in turn, reselling to utilities companies such as Southern California Gas Company, Pacific Gas & Electric, San Diego Gas & Electric, South West Gas, and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and local distribution companies (LDC), utilities, municipalities, industrial end users, energy marketing/trading companies, energy hedge funds, and other wholesale energy players nationwide.

Founded in 2005, Anahau Energy began operations in February 2006.

"Anahau began its operations with only a business plan, our team's combined experiences, expertise and successes and a strong desire to succeed," Pell says. "In building a business from scratch, Anahau's main challenge was to create new, strong working relationships with its customers. To address this challenge, Anahau ensures that no short cuts are taken when servicing new customers. This approach of focusing on the highest quality of service has helped deliver the best overall product to our customers and has been the driving force that separates our company from other small start-ups in the sector."

Prior to launching Anahau, Pell and Gendron successfully worked together for many years at Cook Inlet Energy Supply in Los Angeles, which was one of the leading minority-owned businesses in the energy sector.

"I started with Cook in 1992 as an accounting manager, and then received several promotions from accounting to trading," Pell says. "Eventually, I became their chief trading officer, heading the trade floor and operations of Cook Inlet. Cook Inlet started out as a 4-person shop and grew to 75 employees with $3 billion in revenue within 10 years. I was very proud to be part of their success story from the very beginning until it was sold to Macquarie Bank Ltd in 2005."

Gendron also tracks her start in the energy business back to Cook Inlet.

"Even while in college, I worked as an intern at Cook," she says. "At first, I took the job for the main reason that it will look good on my resume. However, as I saw all the different aspects of Cook Inlet, the more I liked the business. I did anything they asked me to do, from getting everyone's lunch to answering phones, organizing files to doing basic accounting then to operations. I've even babysat my boss's kids. I ended up interning for almost 2 years. I learned a lot and got to know the customers along the way. My bosses, Greg and Hans, always said that they'd hire me full time if I wanted it. When my graduation came, I took them up on their offer with one condition — that I get to be a full time trader right away. They agreed. I worked for them for over nine wonderful years. I learned everything I know today in the energy industry from those nine years," said Theresa.

The big break for Pell happened with the sale of Cook Inlet Energy to Macquarie Bank Ltd., which took away Cook Inlet's minority- owned status. Pell recalls that "since Cook Inlet was no longer a minority owned company, we saw an opportunity to take over their market share. In addition, I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur and be able to create jobs in our community."

Gendron says that she and her sister "seized the moment."

"We always talked about how great it would be to have our own business," she says. "We've worked well together for many years and know each other's strengths and weaknesses. Most importantly, we trust each other."

Pell and Gendron have maximized the niche of being a certified, minority/woman-owned company, targeting companies which are big supporters of Supply Diversity.

"It is truly a good business strategy," Pell says. "It gives every new business an opportunity to grow and expand in a competitive market place. It's not free business; you really need to deliver. You need to show that you have the qualifications and expertise for it. Supply diversity is not just good for the community but is an overall good business strategy. We truly believe in our strategy, so we will stay focused and continue what we started."

Anahua faces tough competition even with the boost it gets from companies seeking to diversify their supply chain. Pell notes that it's very difficult for a small operation to conduct business in an atmosphere dominated by multi-billion dollar gas and oil corporations. Nevertheless, Anahau has been able to grow its business "by expertly filling in the niches wherever we can find them," she says.

The sisters have come a long way by any measure. They were both born in the Philippines and came to the U.S. with their parents and three siblings as adolescents.

In honor of the founder's heritage, the name Anahau is derived from the Filipino word "Anahaw," the national leaf of the Philippines .The Anahaw leaf — or Livistonia Rotundifolia, as it is known in Latin — is a very common symbol in the Philippines and is often used in awards and medals to symbolize high achievement, strength, and loyalty.

Pell attended St. Scholastica's Academy and St. Joseph's College in Manila before their migration. In 1989, she graduated from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and eventually completed an Executive Management Business Entrepreneurial Program at the Anderson School at UCLA. Gendron has a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the California State University at Long Beach.

Pell Suyen attributes her business and personal growth to three factors: Education, diligence and dedication.

"I believe these are the key attributes, but it is how we use them that will lead to success," she says. "Also, just as important are the people you surround yourself with. Surrounding yourself with people who share the same goals, beliefs, passion and commitment to success can help propel you to levels of success that are unattainable on your own. In short, innovative business strategies with your heart in the right place."

Gendron says that she believes that education, hard work and perseverance are keys to success.

"Believe in yourself and don't be afraid of failure," she adds. "It's just another step of the learning process."

Pell says that the thing that most fuels her dedication to her work is a desire to be of help to others.

"We want to be able to grow large enough to provide jobs in the community and expand our role philanthropically," she says.

The executive and mother of two young children manages to find time for volunteer work, and makes it a point to enjoy outdoor activities with her husband and kids in her free time.

"My family is very active so we pretty much like to do outdoor activities whenever we can like 5k or 10k runs, swimming, bicycle riding, and rollerblading," Pell says. "I would like to be able to do more surfing, scuba diving, snorkeling, kayaking. I recently just tried paddle boarding and that was fun too. I also try to get at least 30-45 minutes of cardio vascular exercise everyday if I can. This is like coffee to me -- this is where I do my thinking and helps control my stress level and overall health condition."

Gendron concedes that she has a tough time finding a balance between work and family.

"Since owning our own business, it can be a challenge at times, but I balance by making sure I clock out at a certain time everyday and spend quality time with my family," she says. "We are fortunate to have two beautiful girls. Our oldest is 2 years and 8 months old and our youngest just turned a year old last week. We always have play time and dinner together. My husband, Dave, and I also make sure we have date nights. One of the main advantages of working for yourself is having that flexibility and it's great if you can work efficiently."

Suyen said that one goal for the company is to continue its growth by working with a strategic partner with the means of providing credit support that will take them to the next level.

"A strategic partner will have the ability to immediately lever off Anahau's strong physical Natural Gas trading and management expertise and core relationships," she says. "We are excited about this opportunity and we look forward to taking the next step in growth. In five years, I want to see Anahau expand its services. We also have plans in expanding into renewable products such as solar and wind. Long term, I would like to see us doing more business internationally, maybe even in the Philippines."

Cynthia de Castro is a writer for Asian Journal.

Photo courtesy of Suyen Pell