fly on corporate wall

Amanda Hyndman has taken up her duties as the new general manager of the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok after doing a lot of homework. She’d worked in Hong Kong in 2007-08 but dived into research about Thailand to prepare for the move here, picking up many handy words and phrases along the way. 

Since arriving in mid-July, Hyndman has been exploring the city – and enjoying every minute of it according to her tweets from @Amandahyndman. As well as photos and comments on every little thing that grabs her interest – like “real wild mushrooms for less than $1” in a fresh market – she’s uploaded a report on a colleague’s wedding and views of the Grand Palace from the Chao Phraya River. 

There was also a photo of a monitor lizard she grabbed while jogging at Lumpini Park, but, like the mushrooms (which weren’t wild), Hyndman evidently hasn’t seen one before. She called it an iguana. That’s kind of cute, so let’s not correct her.

Her growing list of fun ways to get around quickly expanded beyond four-wheel drives and cycling to include the formidable taxi motorcycle, alarming safety-minded fans. It was just a one-off, she assured them. We await her first adventure in a tuk-tuk.

 

Learning from kids

Former Sanook Online chief executive Torboon Puangmaha doesn’t have to look further than his four-year-old son to understand that the social media will soon revolutionise the retail industry. 

Like many parents who buy toys for their kids, he doesn’t have to guess or go searching for what the boy truly wants. “He just shows me a YouTube link for his favourite cartoon or shows me the kind of belt the superhero wears and says he’d like to have one like that. It suits me just fine because I learn so quickly and easily what he really wants.” 

Having got into the swing of things with this new generation, Torboon sees it’s just a matter of time before shopping via the social media really takes off. 

“Imagine being able to purchase things online through a video link to the toy retailer – I and many other parents won’t hesitate to click the ‘buy’ button!” 

 

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