Hard lessons, bold moves

“It’s not the hardware but sustained thinking, philosophy and a paradigm shift to be service-minded that are the most difficult challenges. Can you change people?” said SCB chairman Anand Panyarachun, who is also a former prime minister.

Such changes, he added, cannot succeed without support from staff. They must be inclusive, and have leadership at all levels.

SCB has undergone organic growth by bringing in new people and doing away with some older staff. “We have retrained, retooled, and today we can say we have blended the old and the new.”

In 2007, the bank boldly appointed Kannikar Chalitaporn from consumer-products giant Unilever as president. And one of the new co-heads of SCB who will take over next year, Yol Phokasub, worked with Unilever and Dutch Mill. He has served as head of SCB’s retail banking and business banking (SME) groups. He was a computer-science graduate from the University of London’s Imperial College.

Anand underscored SCB’s universal banking strategy as a milestone achievement. Forty per cent of the bank’s earnings are from fee income. The synergies between retail and wholesale banking for future growth are evident. 

The other co-head to take over after Kannikar’s retirement next year, Arthid Nanthawithaya, has extensive experience in wholesale and investment banking. He is a graduate of Chulalongkorn University’s Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration.

Dr Vichit Suraphongchai, executive chairman, to whom both new heads will report, said the bank’s success in the past 10 years was not a guarantee for the future given the rapid changes in technology and consumer demands. 

“Mass marketing will give way to segmentation. There will no longer be one-size-fits-all banking services. Big data will give you the answer,” he said.

Arthid said the challenge he would face was business sustainability and not fly-by-night success, while Yol foresaw more shifts in consumer demand accelerated by technology.  

Outgoing president Kannikar underlined her confidence in both of her successors to succeed – otherwise “we would not have appointed them”.