Filipino, 14, with parents' care, realises his 'CEO' aspiration

In a world where some desperately decimate each and one another, comes a story from the United Arab Emirates that bespeaks otherwise.

- Mariecar Jara-Puyod, Senior Reporter

It begins with a boy who wants to be the “CEO.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Amir Javaid, whose astonishment on the human behaviour-emotions-brain nexus led him to specialise in Psychiatry, said that indeed, he has seen in his over a dozen years of work, “remarkable talents and unique abilities” among the young and once young. Gulf Today reached out to the Burjeel Medical City Abu Dhabi Paediatric Psychiatry Services and Intellectual Disorders director because seven years onwards, after the boy, at age seven, repeatedly stated that he wanted to be the chief executive officer (CEO), is now the brains behind three startups, which, had also given birth to a project, that extends assistance to others.

The boy is Tatum Lafuente, born and raised in the UAE. His parents are photojournalist Mosh and Maggie Lafuente, from the Philippines.

Recalled Maggie, whom he stunned of the “CEO”: "At first, I didn't take him seriously. He was seven. But, he said it every single day." "Many years" as Dubai residents, there was that time they had to separate. That happened after a usual break back home when Maggie saw it “more clearly. Picture frames have to be perfectly aligned. Toys couldn't be moved even slightly. His fussiness felt deeper than typical childhood behaviour."