...the Apprentice Asia finalist

Pinoy in Top 2 of 'Apprentice Asia'

 

ABS-CBNnews.com

07/18/2013

 

 

Jonathan Allen Yabut is one of the two finalists in "The Apprentice Asia." Photo: Handout

MANILA – Jonathan Allen Yabut, a senior product manager of a pharmaceutical company in the Philippines, is only a step away from becoming the first winner of the reality series “The Apprentice Asia.”

Yabut made it to the Top 2 of the regional adaptation of the popular US series, along with lawyer Andrea Loh Ern-Yu of Singapore.

In a two-part finale which will be aired on the cable channel AXN at 9 p.m. on July 24 and 31, AirAsia’s Tony Fernandes will decide who between the two candidates will become his first “apprentice.”




Yabut is one of the two Filipinos who competed in “The Apprentice Asia.” The other is Celina Le Neindre, a food and beverage consultant, who only made it to the final six in the competition.

A University of the Philippines graduate, Yabut said he has been a fan of “The Apprentice” ever since he was in college.

“I was jumping up and down! Sabi ko sa brothers ko, ‘it’s here, may ‘Apprentice Asia!’ I was telling the other contestants [that] if there was a fan club in Asia, I think I would vie for the president. I really watched everything. Like I’ve watched ‘Apprentice US, Spain, Italy, Australia, Ireland, you have it. And I think it’s a good way to prepare because you know how the tasks are done and you’re psychologically and mentally prepared,” he told ABS-CBNnews.com and other members of the media during the premiere screening of “The Apprentice Asia” last May.

Yabut, 27, said he did not feel the pressure of competing with older and more experienced players.

“I didn’t feel it (pressure) at all. There were both immature and mature people in the show. And since you’re from different backgrounds, you really tend to compromise. So I think the age didn’t really matter at all. You wouldn’t even know what the ages of the people are until you ask,” he said of his fellow competitors, which included a business owner, a financial coach and an auditor, among others.
He ended by saying that he hopes to show the rest of the world that Filipinos can do well, particularly in terms of sales and marketing.

“If you watch other ‘Apprentice’ shows or other seasons, it’s all about marketing and sales. So I felt something and I want to prove that the Pinoy can really do well,” Yabut said.