SRIWIPA SIRIPUNYAWIT
It's a pristine morning on the 11th floor of Sathorn City Tower as the tall young executive, dressed in a formal business suit, strides into the meeting room. He smiles and greets his visitor in a casual manner.
On the surface, Chalermpong Mahava? nidvong rriay not look much different from other business high-flyers. But he is one of the rare Thai nationals to have achieved a top position in one of the world's leading multinational corporations and at the tender age of 34.
"Do I really have to put on this suit? It looks pretty formal," he says in a playful tone as he arranges a host of products for the benefit of a photographer. There are packs of blades and razors, Oral-B tooth? brushes and paste, electric shavers, other oral and personal-care items, and Duracell batteries the familiar best-sellers of The Gillette Company.
Selling Gillette products is Mr Chaler-mpong's job. So is running the company, as Gillette's country manager for Thailand.
"I'm quite satisfied now with the sales volumes," he says with a smile after a brief product presentation. "However, re? cords are made to be broken. Achievement is a given, but excelling is a must this is my motto."
The drive to excel was implanted early in life. When he lost his father at age seven, young Chalermpong became con? scious of his responsibility for his three younger siblings. After graduating from Assumption Commercial College , he went straight to work selling tyres. Later he decided to pursue evening studies for a Bachelor of Business Administration at Assumption University of Thailand (Abac).
Three years later, he joined Gillette Thailand in sales administration and moved through the company hierarchy at an incredibly fast pace.
In the early days, he reminisced, he was essentially a clerk responsible an array of detailed tasks spanning counting stock, collecting daily data, handling order pro? cessing, dealing with all departments in? cluding finance, marketing, sales and administration.
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"Achievement is a given, but excelling is a must this is my motto," says Mr Chalermpong, who heads the local operations of Gillette.
There were times he brought along a change of clothes and a sleeping bag so he could work as late as he wanted. His workplace became a temporary shelter.
It was a tough time but the experience paid off. One great benefit of starting out overloaded with ground-level tasks, he realised, was amassing the profound know? ledge and skills that could not be found in business textbooks.
"It's just like being a good mechanic, who needs to learn thoroughly what all the components that make a car function are in order to know why it breaks down and how to fix it," he said, grinning.
A few years later, his outstanding per? formance caught the eyes of management who rewarded him with a six-month train? ing programme in Singapore and a pro? motion to assistant to the product manager of the regional office a year later. At the same time, he was busy pursuing an MBA through the distance-learning programme of the University of Leicester.
The day came in 1996 when he returned to Bangkok as product manager. Three years later, he was a sales director respon? sible for more than 20 people.
At this point even bigger challenges loomed, not least of which was winning over many people who were older than he was. It took about a year to gain accept ? ance and respect, he says.
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"It was quite a painful experience but I learned a lot from it. Mostly, I learned to unlearn. No one knows everything, and so I must be a good listener. I must be able to convince them with logical reasons and performance but not through use of emotion ortemper. As business involves teamwork, I couldn't do without them."
Four years later and, he acknowl? edges, eight years faster than he had ini? tially planned Mr Chalermpong became country director.
When asked about his secret of success, he smiles gently and says, "I'm a mother's child. She's always been my hero and a great teacher."
Now 54 and long accustomed to being a single parent, his mother Sirirat taught her son to let both head and heart rule his life in appropriate balance.
At work, the head rules, she said. me determination never to stop learning and sharpening one's skills is a most-needed quality. Nevertheless, things cannot be done without an understanding mind.
"You must always treat people with respect no matter if they are your subor? dinates or colleagues. That's the quality that makes everyone respect you and invite you into their hearts," he says.
One top of that, he says, always repay gratitude to one's benefactors. "A waterway must never forget its source," he quotes from a Chinese proverb favoured by his mother.
Though he has reached a career peak, Mr Chalermpong believes his work will never end. There is still a long way to go: work can always be improved, last year's sales figures must be beaten.
But amid all the challenges, a leader needs to stay centred, he concludes. "No matter what you do, don't ever lose the concept of yourself."
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