By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

THIS week will see the Asian premiere of The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition, which its makers tout as a unique iteration of the popular reality television program.

In the show, which premieres on March 18, 16 contestants vie for a chance to work under ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong through a series of business competitions and physical challenges.

But more than just “filling up a position,” through the show, ONE hopes to find a “warrior” to join its team who embodies what the organization is all about and can help it grow moving forward.

“We are looking for the next warrior to join our team. He or she must exemplify ONE Championship’s values of integrity, humility, honor, respect, courage, discipline, and compassion,” shared Mr. Sityadtong to BusinessWorld. 

 “He or she must also be unbreakable mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. He or she must have a kind heart, IQ, EQ, creativity, street hustle, resilience, and much more. Suffice to say, we are looking for the total package,” added the ONE executive, who is now one of the leading entrepreneurs in Asia with an estimated net worth of $350 million.

Mr. Sityodtong went on to say that given what they wanted to accomplish with the project, their team, including himself, were very invested in the making of the television show.

“Viewers will see the real Chatri in this show. Fans around the world will see the real me: the good, the bad, and the ugly!” he said.

Apart from Mr. Sityodtong, 12 of his CEO friends will serve as guest judges and mentors for this season. They include Zoom CEO Eric Yuan, Grab CEO Anthony Tan, Zilingo CEO Ankiti Bose, Catcha Group CEO Patrick Grove, Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson, and Everise CEO Sudhir Agarwal.

Meanwhile, mixed martial arts legends Georges St-Pierre and Renzo Gracie, former ONE Welterweight World Champion Ben “Funky” Askren, ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon Vera, ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion Angela Lee, ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix Champion Demetrious Johnson, and ONE Women’s Strawweight World Champion Xiong Jing Nan are among the special guest star athletes who will help the contestants in the boardroom and in the athletic challenges.

While the journey of the contestants is tough, Mr. Sityodtong admitted, he assured that lessons from it go beyond the show for all participants, underscoring that through it one realizes not only their strengths, but also their weaknesses and how to conquer them.

The same goes for the viewers.

“We are not on Earth to succumb to our fears, doubts, and insecurities. We are here on Earth to overcome them so that we can unleash our greatness in life,” Mr. Sityodtong said.

Of the 16 contestants in the show, two are representing the Philippines in Lara Pearl Alvarez and Louie Sangalang.

In store for the winner is a $250,000 job offer to work as Mr. Sityodtong’s protégé at the ONE Championship Global Headquarters in Singapore for a year.

The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition will premiere across Asia on Thursday on AXN, the show’s official Asian broadcast partner.

It will also be shown over TV5 on March 20 at 11 p.m. and every Monday starting March 22 at 9 p.m. on One Sports.

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