IT WAS an easy, natural shift, by his own account, from being banker to being businessman. And just as easily as shifting his weight from one leg to the other, he has been managing allied interests, the latest of which is a gasoline station at the AVJET Trans-Care Center, seat of the family’s local business, in Guiguilonen, Mangaldan, Pangasinan.

Alberto V. Jimenez, at 58, is sprightly for his age. His secret probably lies in his unending diverse interests, from cars to golf and guns to banking and real estate where he invests more than just money but real time and real effort.to polish his skills and acumen.

Married to the former Eleanor M. Gorrez, his college sweetheart, when she was studying nursing in the University of the Philippines, they have two son. Jet, the youngest is taking up Computer Science at De la Salle University while Ian is enrolled at the City University of Hongkong for his master’s degree, majoring in Digital Fine Arts.

Basically, though, AVJ, is a banker, managing the Rural Bank of Mangaldan which is father, Dr. Vicente B. Jimenez, a cardiologist, founded in 1963. Ironically, he started out in life as an electrical engineer, taking that course in UP. While on his last semester at the Ateneo Graduate School of Business for his MBA, the Department of Education where he was then working sent him on a scholarship grant at the UNESCO Institute of Educational Planning.

Coming back to the Philippines, he was taken in by the Development Bank of the Philippines in 1978, starting as a technical assistant. He rose from the ranks to become Senior Vice President, his technical and practical knowledge honed by the likes of former finance secretaries Jesus Estanislao and Bobby de Ocampo and including former PAGCOR Chairman Alice Reyes.

International trainings followed during his stint at DBP where he headed various departments. At the same time, while working in Manila, Bert joined the DBP Golf Club and was president of the DBP Gun Club, practical shooting being among his hobbies.

He is also an incumbent cluster officer of District 3790 of the Rotary Club, a Paul Harris Fellow and charter member of the Rotary Club of Metro Dagupan.

His love for cars never waning even after leaving the DBP and deciding to help his father run the Rural Bank of Mangaldan, he put up the Trans Care Center, a car accessory and repair shop to “keep him busy while enjoying what he loves to do best.” The shop has grown to become what it is today, a one-stop-shop with its own gasoline station that was inaugurated just last week.

All these while overseeing the Residencia San Jose, a posh subdivision in town that is fast earning a name of its own in housing and settlement, with his siblings and associates. (BFH/ESE)