How a Kid Whose First Words Were ‘Vroom Vroom’ Grew Up to Be the CEO of the AAP
The first car that got Mark Desales hooked on cars was a rusty 1976 Toyota Corolla KE30.
by Alvin Uy
Published on May 26, 2026
Meet the guy steering the Automobile Association of the Philippines (AAP) and the thoughtful cars in his garage.
When Mark Desales was 10 years old, he sat behind the wheel of his father’s car for the first time. At 12, he started a car himself. Even his mother says that one of the earliest sounds he ever muttered was the universal language of car enthusiasts: “Vroom vroom." These moments all signaled a future that revolved around motoring.
Today, Desales is the CEO of the AAP, or Automobile Association of the Philippines, an institution whose own history stretches back nearly a century. Founded in 1931 as the Philippine Motor Association (PMA), AAP was established by some of the country's most influential personalities including Jorge Vargas, Carlos P. Romulo and Albino SyCip, long before the Philippines developed the road systems motorists know today. It later became affiliated with global organizations, including the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), connecting Philippine motoring to an international network of mobility, safety, and motorsports governance. Today it remains the country's oldest and largest automobile club and continues its work in road safety advocacy, mobility initiatives, and motorsport development.
Looking back on his life today, Desales feels how his life turned out feels inevitable, considering how his father was already known among enthusiasts as a collector and restorer of cars.
"It was really in the genes," he says. “It was a father and son thing. Our family revolved around cars. My dad was a car collector and restorer. I inherited it through my father, and until now, I still enjoy driving fast cars and restoring old ones.
Like father, like son
Before he became the chief of the AAP, Desales spent about 13 years climbing through the institution's ranks, starting as Operations Manager in 2006, later becoming COO in 2016, until he took on the top spot as CEO in 2019. The years spent in an environment he truly loves translate into the way he talks about leadership and accountability and how he relates it to another of his passions: rally racing, which he describes as “controlled chaos.” Just as in racing, speed exists within structure, and confidence is built around trust.
"Just like in leadership, I should trust my team," he says. "I should give my 100 percent trust."
As a collector, Desales’s taste varies wildly: there's a car for daily driving, another for adventure, and another for family experiences. Clearly, he doesn’t see cars as trophies but as companions for different aspects of his life.
He says the first car that gave him that realization was a rusty 1976 Toyota Corolla KE30, which was a gift from his father while he was in high school. His classmates joked that the car looked ready to be sold for scrap and turned into bottle caps. But for Desales, it represented freedom.
Many car enthusiasts can definitely relate. A first car is rarely ever the fastest or most beautiful; it’s simply the first one that's yours.
There is perhaps no better way to understand a car enthusiast than to look at what occupies the spaces inside his garage. Cars, after all, are rarely random purchases. They become reflections of personality, priorities, and even different chapters of life. In Mark Desales' case, the collection feels less like a display of trophies and more like a map of who he is beyond the CEO title.
This is what freedom looks like for Desales
Take his 1994 Mercedes-Benz E220 W124. He jokes that his garage would be incomplete without a classic European car, but there is likely something deeper behind that choice. Among enthusiasts, the W124 has long represented durability, understated engineering excellence, and timelessness over trends. After all, it was one of the last overbuilt and overengineered Mercedes-Benzes. It feels fitting for someone who now leads an institution approaching a century in existence. Much like AAP itself, the W124 belongs to an era where things were built to last. Then there is the 2015 Ferrari F12, housing one of Ferrari's most celebrated naturally aspirated V12 engines; it’s a machine driven as much by emotion as engineering. It reflects the same boyhood fascination that started with "vroom-vroom," reminding us that even the most measured leaders still preserve space for excitement.
The 1994 Mercedez-Benz in question
The other half of the garage reveals another side of Desales altogether. His 2008 Nissan Patrol Super Safari serves as his all-purpose adventure and rescue vehicle, perhaps the clearest reflection of someone whose world extends beyond paved roads and boardrooms. It mirrors the rally driver in him, the person comfortable with unpredictability and willing to take the difficult route if it leads somewhere worthwhile. Sitting beside it is his 2005 Corolla AE111 rally car, his dedicated race machine and perhaps the purest expression of his "controlled chaos" philosophy. There is an interesting symmetry in that choice too. Years ago, his father handed him a modest Toyota Corolla KE30 that became his first real taste of ownership and freedom. Today, another Corolla sits in his garage, this time transformed into a race car. Different purpose, different era, but perhaps carrying the same spirit. Sometimes enthusiasts never really move away from where they started. They simply take the long road back.
This writer personally knew Desales’ father, Bong Desales, years ago and remembers him as more than simply a car collector. He was one of those enthusiasts who understood that restoring a car was not about bringing steel and chrome back to life. He had the patience, eye, and passion of a true craftsman—someone who could see beauty and potential long before others could.
Long before the son would eventually steer one of the country's most influential motoring institutions, the father was already shaping something more important at home. Getting to know Mark today, you begin to realize that the most meaningful inheritance was never the cars themselves, but the passion, values, and love for motoring that a father passes on to a son.
Even now, in the midst of boardroom meetings, road safety initiatives, collaborations with FIA and other organizations, and conversations about electric mobility, Mark makes sure to keep that perspective.
Since becoming CEO in 2019, AAP has expanded its focus beyond traditional motoring services and roadside assistance, taking on a broader role in mobility and public safety advocacy. It has undertaken several notable initiatives ranging from school-based road safety education and helmet programs to cyclist protection campaigns and community-led safety training. Working alongside international partners and local agencies, these projects reflected a growing emphasis on protecting all road users, not just motorists, but also pedestrians, cyclists, and young commuters.
Among its more visible initiatives were the Stay Bright road-safety campaign and the Safety Delivered program, which promoted road awareness, visibility, and safer travel practices in schools and communities.
During the pandemic-era cycling boom, AAP also supported cyclist safety efforts through the distribution of reflective gear and educational campaigns, while reinforcing global advocacy for safer streets and lower-speed community zones.
The direction signaled a broader transformation for AAP: from being known primarily as a motorists’ organization into an institution focused on mobility, education, and road safety. Rather than concentrating solely on physical expansion, the organization increasingly invested in initiatives aimed at creating a safer and more inclusive transportation environment for future generations.
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