IAC in Thailand

Mr Chartsiri Sophonpanich is President of Bangkok Bank – Thailand’s market leader in corporate and business banking, and a preeminent Southeast Asian bank with a long-standing regional presence that extends into China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, New York and London.

A former Member of Thailand’s National Legislative Assembly and National Economic Reform Committee, Mr Chartsiri is currently a Member of Thailand’s National Strategy Committee as well as a Board Member of Thailand’s National Science and Technology Development Agency.

He was the Chairman of the Thai Bankers’ Association twice – 2002 to 2006, and 2010 to 2014; and a Director of the Electronics Transactions Development Agency from 2014 to 2019. In the education sector, Mr Chartsiri sits on the Board of Trustees at Bangkok University; and is a former Member of the Board of Trustees at Singapore Management University.

Mr Chartsiri holds a Master’s Degree in Management from the Sloan School of Management and a Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the United States.

Mr Tos Chirathivat is the Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Central Group, one of Southeast Asia’s largest retail, real estate and hospitality conglomerates with presence in 18 countries.

In his early career, Mr Chirathivat drove the first wave of Central’s shopping center development and expansion, which he later led into the establishment of “Central Pattana,” Thailand’s largest real estate company. In 1994, Mr Chirathivat founded Thailand’s first hypermarket, BigC Supercenter, that surpassed US$ 1 billion in sales in the first 3 years. He was instrumental in forming Central Retail Corporation (CRC) in 1996 with the merger of Thailand’s two biggest department stores. He successfully conceived and pioneered category killer formats e.g., PowerBuy, Supersports, and created the largest supermarket chain Tops through acquisition. CRC was listed on SET in 2020 as Thailand’s largest IPO at the time.

Internationally, Mr Chirathivat was at the helm of Central Group’s expansion into Vietnam and Europe. Central Group became the largest privately-owned foreign retailer in Vietnam and is recognised as a global leader of luxury department stores with flagship assets including world-renowned Selfridges London, KaDeWe Berlin, and Rinascente Milan.

Mr Chirathivat majored in Economics at Wesleyan and received his Master’s in Business Administration from Columbia University.

Mr Siradej Donavanik is the next gen driving force behind Dusit International’s global business expansion. His track record of success includes identifying investment opportunities in key markets to grow Dusit’s portfolio of hotels and resorts, hospitality education platforms, real estate, and food business.

As a passionate advocate for sustainability, he has been leading Dusit’s group-wide sustainability endeavours to promote eco-friendly practices across Dusit’s entire operations with the aim of having a positive social and environmental impact. Mr Donavanik also leads business transformation initiatives designed to foster innovation and progressive management throughout Dusit International.

Mr Krairit Euchukanonchai has been at the helm of leading companies in Thailand. He was formerly Chairman of PTT PLC, a state-owned energy and petrochemical group of companies, and the largest in Thailand. He is currently Chairman of PTT Exploration and Production PCL, a subsidiary of PTT PLC. He also serves as Vice-Chairman; Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors; and Chairman of the Risk Oversight Committee at Krungthai Bank - the fourth largest commercial bank which is owned by the Government of Thailand. Mr Euchukanonchai is also a Director and Chairman of the Audit and Risk Oversight Committee at Advanced Info Service PLC (AIS), a leading mobile operator and telecommunications services provider in Thailand. He remains involved in his family-owned businesses, namely in real estate development and automobile dealership.

Mr William E. Heinecke came to the Kingdom of Thailand in 1963 and founded the Minor Group in 1968. Almost five decades later, the group has grown substantially into a large company with revenue of over US$5 billion, and market capitalisation of over US$5 billion. Listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand in 1988, Minor International Public Company Limited (MINT) is now a global company focused on three primary businesses - restaurants, hotels and hospitality, and lifestyle brands, all of which are now operate under MINT. The group currently employs more than 85,000 employees. 

Mr Heinecke currently serves as Chairman on the Board of Directors of MINT. He is also the author of 'The Entrepreneur - 25 Golden Rules for Global Business Manager’; and serves as a Director of Indorama Ventures PCL, the largest Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) company in the world. 

Mr Heinecke became a naturalised Thai citizen in 1991.

Mr Ho Ren Hua is currently Chief Executive Officer of Thai Wah Public Company Ltd, and is responsible for developing the company’s long-term vision as a leading starch and consumer foods company in Southeast Asia. Since its founding in 1947, Thai Wah has been a leading pioneer in the starch and food industry and is now expanding its footprint to Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and China. The company currently has over 12 operations across four countries, driven by its commitment to portfolio innovation and operational excellence.

In 2017, in recognition of Thai Wah Group’s sustainability and community efforts across the region, Mr Ho was awarded the “Outstanding Leader in Asia” award at the 4th Asia Corporate Excellence and Sustainability Awards. In 2018, he was selected to be a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.

Dr. Karndee Leopairote is Chief Foresight and Digital Asset Officer at DTGO Group, Executive Vice President on Foresight and Innovation at FutureTales Lab, MQDC, and Chairwoman of the Executive Committee of DigitaLife Corporation Limited. She sits on the Boards of the Creative Economy Agency (Public Organization) and the Supervisory Committee of the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA); and is a Director at the Business Online (BOL) Public Company Limited.

Dr. Leopairote is a professor turned strategic future advisor. At FutureTales Lab by MQDC, Dr. Leopairote leads a foresight team to identify the possible futures for future solution planning and formulate industry collaboration opportunities at the corporate and city levels. At DigitaLife Corporation Limited, Dr. Leopairote oversees the growth of the financial services ecosystem to connect digital assets and the traditional financial world, thus allowing consumers to transact assets in both the real world and the virtual world easily without borders.

Mr Aloke Lohia set up Thailand’s first producer of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) in 1995, growing the business to become the world’s largest, with more than 100 operations in over 31 countries, globally.

Sustainability is his passion and he is now seeking to close the loop of the circular economy by fighting against plastic waste, and using more post-consumer materials in his production through recycling. The company is listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) among the top 10% of Global Chemical Companies and is one of only two companies in the DJSI Emerging Markets Chemical Industry. 

Mr Lohia aims to make Indorama Ventures one of the top 20 chemical companies in the world. In 2019, Indorama Ventures was ranked at number 28 and continues its growth trajectory. 

Mr Lohia was born in India and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Delhi, and an Honorary Doctoral Degree of Business Administration from Rajamangala University of Technology Krungthep. He is married with three children.

Mr Kirit Shah is the Chairman of G.P. Group which recently celebrated its 150th anniversary. G.P. Group is a conglomerate with diverse business interests spanning many geographies. It includes four publicly-listed companies on the Stock Exchange of Thailand - Mega Lifesciences PLC, Precious Shipping PLC, Christiani and Nielsen PLC, and Golden Lime PLC.

Mr Shah sits on the Board of a few of these companies and on most of his family-controlled private companies  He also serves as an Advisor and Mentor to the G.P. Group of companies, where he guides growth and strategic development.

Khunying Jada Wattanasiritham holds a Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Natural Sciences & Economics from the University of Cambridge, U.K., and a Master's degree in Economic Development from Williams College, U.S.A. 

Khunying Jada commenced her career in banking at the Bank of Thailand before joining the Siam Commercial Bank PCL in 1975.  She was appointed the Bank’s first female President and Chief Executive Officer in 1999, and retired from the post in February 2007. She subsequently served as a Member of the Board of Directors of Siam Commercial Bank PCL until September 2018. In May 2000, she was bestowed the royal decoration of Chulachomklao with the title of Khunying. In 2006, Khunying Jada served as Chairperson of the Thai Bankers’ Association and was appointed a member of the National Legislative Assembly.

Khunying Jada currently serves as Chairman of Chubb Samaggi Insurance PCL., and Siam Paragon Development Co. Ltd. She is also an Independent Director with Minor International PCL., and Interlink Communication PCL. She is a Council Member of the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA); and sits on Srinakarinwirot University’s Advisory Council, and on the Advisory Board of Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration of Chulalongkorn University. Currently, she also serves as the Treasurer of the Thai Red Cross Society and lends her expertise to a number of other non-profit organisations.

Mr Satta Chairasmisak is a practicing lawyer at Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow in Singapore. His main practice area is project development and finance in relation to renewable energy, power and infrastructure projects.

Prior to embarking on his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree at Singapore Management University, he worked at the Asian Peace and Reconciliation Council - a non-governmental organisation based in Bangkok that focuses on 'track 1.5' diplomacy and conflict resolution in the region. He also previously worked at the Siam Premier International Law Office Limited.

Mr Chairasmisak obtained his Master of Laws, International & European Law, from Jean Moulin Lyon 3 University (with honours); and a Bachelors of Arts, History & International & Comparative Politics (double major), from the American University of Paris.