The Alumni Magazine for Worcester Polytechnic Institute. (WPI)
Issue link: http://wpialumnimag.epubxp.com/i/277771
36 Spring 2014 You're the CEO of a global company, a talk show host, a race car driver, a golf course owner. How do you juggle it all? Well, it is demanding to run all these ventures, but I am fortunate to have great teams and team leaders who are highly responsible and devote themselves to the success of the enterprise. I no longer host the talk show, as Boon Rawd is expanding aggressively and that's where my focus lies right now. The fun projects always end too soon! But, yes, I am fortunate to have a strong team, which allows me to juggle many projects. At Boon Rawd, we treat all our professionals as if they are family and we treat our family mem- bers as professionals. How essential are family values to your business? They are very essential. We recently cel- ebrated our 80th anniversary. Only a few privately owned companies in Thai- land have lasted this long, and we are very proud of that. Family values are the connective tissue and the source of our success. They represent com- mitment, which has created longevity. These family values bring energy to the business, helping assure cohesion, resolving conficts, and strengthening operations. It means more than pass- ing down a legacy, though; that's important, too. We are expand- ing our values by benefting others—especially the community in which we operate. Singha market share fell from 80% to 19% in 2004, yet now it's back up to 78%. How did that happen? What did you do to reverse the trend? The lack of competitors in Thailand made us complacent, so when a real competitor did arrive, we had some challenges. Fortunately, my father, Santi Bhirom Bhakdi, was quick to embark upon a series of changes that were painful to implement but benefcial to the company. This is where family values become important. We were strong, but we also had our faults. We did a lot of soul-searching. We became more innovative. We developed new products. We paid more attention to our distributors and customers. Today, we are back on top with nearly 78 percent market share, while our main competitor sits at 15 percent and is in decline. Our production is more effcient. Our distribution networks are much stronger. We know exactly where our products are being placed and we are able to track their depletion in real time. It's been nearly a decade since we made these changes, and the results are impressive. The mar- keting knowledge we gained from this work has been tremendous. Have your marketing efforts changed since the economic crisis of 2009? We responded by establishing a stronger brand platform. I was the one who initiated this project a few years after I left WPI. A healthy brand begins with a clear struc- ture. I brought in a well-known company from the U.S. who did re-branding for Citibank, Nikon, McDonald's, and 3M to help with the restructuring. As you can imagine, consolidating 72 years worth of marketing knowledge from a broad range of departments was a daunting task. However, a few years later, we were able to create value by making the brand central to our business aims. We now have a branding department, which acts as our in-house "Brand Police" to make sure our strategic aims are in focus. Tell us about the partnership developed between Singha and the Premier League, particularly Manchester United and the Chelsea Football Clubs. What's better than having the two best soccer teams in the world as our partners? Many people asked me whether it is worth sponsoring these world-class teams when our product is not readily available everywhere in the world. But I look at it as a valuable long-term relationship and a great way to introduce our brand to UK consumers. Can you imagine how many people are watching each match, and how many matches they play throughout the year? It is not permissible to advertise alcohol products in Thailand, so those pitch-side billboards carry our name and image to hundreds of countries around the globe, including Thailand. These partnerships help us reach millions of households. We also recently partnered with the History Channel for a one- hour documentary titled "The Making of the Lion." This was broad- cast regionally in September 2013 and it was an honor to have been the frst Thai brand to be featured on this world-famous channel. What was it like being an international student at WPI? Like most international students, it took me a while to get used to the system and the U.S. environment. I was pretty young when I left My engineering education helps me think more clearly, see things more vividly, and process them more constructively. WPI_spring14_features1.indd 36 3/9/14 12:12 PM