Owner to owner.
I have run businesses myself – five Shell stations for two decades and a coffee chain I founded. I understand the pressures you face because I have faced them.
Meet Rodel Lacorte, CPA
Founder, Chairman & CEO of IPAC – a CPA, advisor and business owner who has built and run businesses himself.
Rodel Lacorte founded International Polaris Alliance Consultancy (IPAC) in 2023 to bring together everything he has learned across more than three decades in business. He has advised companies at PwC Philippines, run his own CPA practice, operated five Shell retail stations for 20 years, founded Taza Mia Coffee, and worked on healthcare, hydropower and power plant projects. Today he helps business owners, executives and investors make sound decisions – and see them through.
My story
I started my career in November 1992 at PwC Philippines as a Business Advisor and Tax Consultant, advising clients across mining, FMCG distribution, software development, semiconductors (mainly Japanese firms in PEZA zones), property management and more. I became a Certified Public Accountant in 1993. Those years taught me that numbers must reconcile and advice must hold up under scrutiny.
In 1996 I opened my own CPA practice, AAA Alliance Consulting International Inc. From 1997 to 2017 I was also a business owner: a Shell Philippines dealer operating five retail stations. Running them day to day sharpened my marketing skills – what makes customers choose you, and come back. Alongside the stations, I took on land development ventures from 2006 to 2008. In 2007 I was the main business consultant and advisor to a Filipino-American orthopedic surgeon and inventor based in the US, for a pioneering multi-specialty clinic in Quezon City offering one-day outpatient (ambulatory) surgery. From 2008 to 2010 I worked in power development: I conducted three hydropower studies and handled project management, financial modeling and capital raising – including a joint venture with the proponent of the Ibulao Mini-Hydropower Plant in Ifugao, plus projects in Nueva Vizcaya and Cagayan de Oro City – and in early 2009 I was instrumental in developing a joint venture agreement for a hybrid diesel-fired power plant in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro.
In 2011 I founded Taza Mia Coffee in Lipa, and we grew it to more than 40 sites. Then COVID came. We weathered it, and today Taza Mia continues with around 12 branches. Growing a business and then steering it through a crisis taught me lessons no textbook can.
In 2023 I founded IPAC to put all of this to work for other business owners. This year, in 2026, I am fully focused on business advisory and consulting work through IPAC. When I work with you, I look at your business the way an owner does, check the numbers the way a CPA does, and stay focused on what can actually be implemented. If you are weighing a new venture, property, growth move or funding plan, let's talk.
Career timeline
- Nov 1992 – 1996 · Business Advisor & Tax Consultant, PwC Philippines – clients across mining, FMCG distribution, software development, semiconductors (mainly Japanese firms in PEZA zones), property management and more
- 1993 · Became a Certified Public Accountant
- 1996 · Founded his own CPA practice, AAA Alliance Consulting International Inc.
- 1997 – 2017 · Shell Philippines dealer – 5 retail stations over 20 years
- 2006 – 2008 · Land development ventures
- 2007 · Main business consultant and advisor for a pioneering multi-specialty outpatient surgery clinic in Quezon City, for a Filipino-American orthopedic surgeon and inventor based in the US
- 2008 – 2010 · Hydropower development: 3 studies; project management, financial modeling and capital raising; incl. a joint venture with the Ibulao Mini-Hydropower Plant proponent in Ifugao, plus projects in Nueva Vizcaya and Cagayan de Oro
- Early 2009 · Instrumental in developing a joint venture agreement with a project proponent for a Hybrid Diesel-Fired Power Plant in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro
- 2011 · Founded Taza Mia Coffee in Lipa – grew to 40+ sites; around 12 branches today after weathering COVID
- 2023 · Founded IPAC – International Polaris Alliance Consultancy; Founder, Chairman & CEO
- 2026 · Fully focused on business advisory and consulting work through IPAC
Why clients work with me
CPA rigor.
A CPA since 1993, trained at PwC Philippines. Every recommendation is grounded in numbers that are checked and assumptions that are tested.
Real operating experience.
Fuel retail, food and beverage, power and energy, healthcare and property – sectors I have actually worked in, not just studied, including hydropower project management, financial modeling and capital raising. At PwC I also advised clients in mining, FMCG distribution, software development, semiconductors and property management.
Implementation, not just reports.
Pricing strategies, rollout priorities, business and marketing plans, investor and lender decks, even names and brands – work built to be acted on.
Recent work
Feasibility and market study – a startup meat distribution company
For a startup meat distribution company owned by established businessmen long involved in logistics, IPAC deployed a team of researchers for extensive field market research across parts of Laguna, the whole of Rizal, Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Baguio City and Tuguegarao City. From that data we established the market gap, the pricing strategy, the rollout priority by location and the growth strategy, wrote the feasibility study, and produced presentation decks for both investors and lenders – equipping the client to approach funders with a researched, credible case.
Highest and Best Use study – a family-owned real estate developer
For a family-owned real estate developer with a property of almost 1 hectare along Maharlika Highway in Cauayan City, Isabela, IPAC conducted a Highest and Best Use study – testing what is legally permissible, physically possible, financially feasible and maximally productive – together with a feasibility study, business plan and marketing plan. We recommended an integrated development with an events center, commercial and retail spaces, office spaces, a landmark cafe, restaurants and more. Beyond the proposal, IPAC developed the project name for the whole development and the cafe brand free of charge. The client was very satisfied and will fully implement IPAC's recommendations.
“I advise as an owner, check the numbers as a CPA, and measure success by what actually gets implemented.”
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Mobile: 0917 823 6858 · Send a text
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Email: lacorte.ipac@gmail.com
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