MBMG's Macdonald receives MBE

When the honour was announced late last year, Macdonald expressed “pride and satisfaction”, but was quick to thank the “colleagues, friends and vast legion of people” who he said had provided “outstanding support” for his efforts on behalf of the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand (BCCT) and at MBMG Group in particular.

The award was presented at Buckingham Palace last Friday.

Macdonald’s MBE was announced in the Queen’s New Year Honours list, published at the end of December.

Apart from driving MBMG’s successful operations in Asia, he worked for years on behalf of the British and South African chambers of commerce, the Royal Thai Board of Trade and a number of charitable causes.

 “I like to think that my nomination reflects a job well done not so much by Graham Macdonald, but by the dedicated, hard-working and highly capable exceptional individuals at the BCCT and MBMG Group,” he said.

Paul Gambles, managing partner of MBMG International, said Macdonald’s award was rightful recognition of someone whose first reaction to any challenge is always the six words that have become his catchphrase: “We must do the right thing.” Whether referring to clients, colleagues or business partners, this has always been a shibboleth on which Macdonald has never brooked any compromise, setting a standard and an expectation of behaviour that everyone associated with him is expected to live up to, Gambles said. 

Educated in England at Repton School and the University of Bradford, since 1994 he has been based in Thailand. He co-founded MBMG in 1995.

During his 18 years in Thailand, he has been active in a variety of charitable and business activities, including the BCCT Eastern Seaboard, of which he was the founding chairman in 1997. He served on the main BCCT board from 1998 to 2012, latterly as chairman, in addition to heading up its charity group for three of those years.

He is currently president of the South African Thai Chamber of Commerce and remains a director of the Board of Trade of Thailand.

Charitable interests include Care for Kids, the Lighthouse Club, a wine-distribution business called World of Wine that gives its profits to charities, and the Royal British Legion Thailand.