Change of CEO at Dusit Thani
DUSIT THANI, a listed operator of several hotel brands, has appointed Thaicom's outgoing chief executive officer Suphajee Suthumpun as its new group CEO to enhance the development of its human resources and technology.
Arsa Sarasin, chairman of the board, yesterday said the company had notified the Stock Exchange of Thailand of the appointment of Suphajee.
Managing director and incumbent CEO Chanin Donavanik will become company vice chairman and chairman of the executive committee.
The appointments, which were approved during a board meeting on Tuesday, will take effect from January 1, 2016.
Suphajee, who has been CEO of Thaicom since 2011, also served as general manager of Global Technology Services at IBM’s Asean headquarters in Singapore, and country general manager at IBM Thailand.
Dusit Thani is undergoing a significant transformation to support its vision of sustained international growth in various business sectors, including hospitality, education and property development, and it is therefore the opportune time to bring in new leadership, the company said.
Suphajee is expected to help drive business forward as she comes to the group with a distinguished career background and extensive experience in both domestic and international corporations.
As one of the most respected business leaders in the country, she has set a long-term vision with focuses on human-capital development, technological advancement and strategic management of the company.
“The company has been growing rapidly in the last five years on a global scale, having signed nearly 40 new deals in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, the United States of America, South Africa, China, and many more in Southeast Asia. The hotel portfolio will double in size in the next two to three years,” Chanin said.
Besides international hotel development, the company sees unprecedented growth potential in the education sector.
Dusit Thani was the first hotel company fully to own and operate a leading hospitality college.
Dusit Thani College was founded in 1993 and has since developed into a premier academic institution in the field, collaborating with some of the world’s leading hospitality institutes, such as the Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne in Switzerland.
In partnership with a famed French culinary institute, the company has also established Le Cordon Bleu Dusit Culinary School, setting the benchmark for the finest culinary production.
With the vision and commitment to providing educational opportunities across a wider spectrum, the new Dusit Thani Hotel School will open in September next year to offer flexible vocational programmes, and will be the first school to follow the Asean Common Competency Standards for Tourism Professionals, Chanin said.
