Modesty gets the highest returns

Ten years ago, Pornpan was working with a leading French financial services company when she was approached by entertainment major RS with a view to helping it become listed on the stock market. As she knew nothing about the business and felt she would be unable to do a good job, her immediate reaction was to say no.

She did however agree to meet with RS boss Surachai Chetchotisak, or Hia Hor as he’s known to family and friends, and by the time she emerged from the interview, she’d agreed to join the firm.

“I was very impressed with Hia Hor. He’s such a humble and simple guy, so straightforward too,” says Pornpan.

The main reason for her decisive reaction, she adds, was Hia Hor’s promise: “I will fully support you”. She took him at his word and he has never let her down. 

“What business people fear most about working in a family-run business is not being supported by the chief,” she says.

Starting as the company’s head of investor relations, Pornpan was promoted to RS’s chief operating officer five years ago. While initially nervous at her lack of industry experience, she says she continues to enjoy the work and is always learning something new.

“Working here is like an upward spiral. The more I work the more I enjoy it. The more I succeed, the greater the amount of trust placed in me,” she smiles.

Having a visionary for a boss could be a headache, but Pornpan sees it as a bonus, welcoming the new challenges that come her way including the responsibility for RS’s sport content business management.

“People always think of sports as being in the male domain but that’s stupid. The most important aspects are right broadcast fees, language and contracts. I think I was the most appropriate person in RS to take the job because of my experience as a financial analyst,” she says.

Regarded as Hia Hor’s right hand, Pornpan was involved in RS’s deals for the broadcast rights of the Euro 2008, the World Cup 2010 and 2014, and Spanish La Liga, contracts that have an estimated worth of more than Bt1 billion. Ensuring the rights rules are not violated in any way is the hardest part, says Pornpan, as the penalties are extremely harsh.

“To follow the contracts, we need to create a bible for our teams,” she says. 

While TV audiences were furious at rights holder Grammy for the “blank screen” phenomenon during Euro 2012, Pornpan considers it served as a valuable lesson.

Back in 2010, the World Cup right holder RS was informed by FIFA after the opening match that its broadcast signal had managed to spill over out of Thailand. RS was forced to encrypt the signal, leading to blank screens for many viewers.

“The blank screen was new for us too. We had very little experience. But it was a priceless lesson. If you can understand and survive that, you can overcome everything,” she says. 

While Pornpan is not a hardcore football fan, she does watch the big matches and has followed the World Cup since studying in high school. Her favourite teams are Manchester United and Barcelona and unsurprisingly, she prefers her players humble, naming Barcelona striker Lionel Messi and Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs as her preferred players.

“They are both talented but down-to-earth. I hate players who show off. And Messi has faced so several obstacles but still wins,” she says.

Pornpan, who keeps fit by running and doing yoga, with games of tennis and golf when she has the time, is herself on the humble side, making her an ideal fit for RS, a company that supports modest culture, style and values in work. 

“We don’t support staff with a ‘one man show’ style,” she says firmly.

Perhaps it’s those values that are allowing RS not to fret about whether they will or will not acquire the right to broadcast the English Premier League for 2013-2015 seasons. The result of the bid is expected in November.

“The English league content would be nice to have but it’s not essential. It’s all money talk in the end. For us, it is not necessary to win the rights if it’s going to cause us to become too exhausted,” she says.

“If the return on investment for this deal is lower than 30 per cent, we will fold,” the former financial analyst adds. “The target may sound high but RS has to explain to its shareholders why it needs to invest a huge of money in a deal that lasts only three years,” she says.

“Everything in this world is high risk and high return.”