The founder of Richprime Global Inc, leading distributor of branded children’s products in the country, says she never imagined she would eventually fall in love with fashion and all things pretty. “I never felt like I was a girl,” says Myrna Yao. “I fought with boys in my school, and even challenged them to boxing matches. I never even had girl friends,” she adds. It wasn’t until she became a teenager that she finally rediscovered her feminine side and developed a sense of style. Now in her sixties, Yao remains impeccably dressed, and with her company being responsible for introducing Barbie to Filipino girls for the first time in 1982, you wouldn’t wonder why. 

Growing up like she did, Yao never felt that she was any less capable than men, and although her passions are very feminine, she has always asserted herself against her male counterparts, triumphing in the male-dominated world of business.

Having reached the peak of her business in the ‘80s, she realised she could finally do something she loved. “I wanted to finally go after my passion. I’ve always loved children, and that is why I ventured into toys.” At the time, toy importation was banned and even when the government later on allowed it, they were still taxed tremendously high. Mattel, the creator of Barbie, was the only company that had a factory in the Philippines, and Yao knocked on its doors and expressed her interest in locally distributing their products. It took her two years to finally be granted the distribution rights, but not without tight competition, as much bigger companies had their eyes on the distributorship, too. In the end, her natural instincts for business and her gift for effective leadership drove Richprime to over three decades of success. Foresight, vision, direction, and confidence, she says, were her most important instruments in achieving her goals, proving that winning didn’t have anything to do with gender.

Combining her personal advocacy to empower and uplift Filipino women with her passion for fashion, Yao partnered with Mattel in the 1990s to produce a Filipina Barbie, dressed in traditional Filipino costumes designed by one of the most iconic names in Philippine fashion, Patis Tesoro. “When I travelled abroad during the ‘80s and ‘90s, I was bothered by how Filipinas were scrutinised and discriminated when they would go through immigration,” she recalls “I wanted to show the world the beauty of Filipinas, and that was how the idea of creating Filipiniana Barbie was born.” The collection showcased the rich culture of our country and reshaped and uplifted the image of Filipinas all over the world.

Learn more about Myrna Yao and her struggles and triumphs in a male-dominated business world in the latest edition of Philippine Tatler (June 2015 issue). Available in any leading newsstands and bookstores; downloadable via Zinio and Magzter.