Piyasak Ukritnukun, the person who gave up the dream of pursuing a master's degree to take on the role of transforming a small credit company to become a financial company worth over 30 billion baht
Tell us a little about yourself
I was born and raised in America, but came back to study for an undergraduate degree in Thailand. I graduated from the Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy at Thammasat University in 1999. After graduation, I worked at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) for 2 years before having the opportunity to join the Asia Pacific M&A team of AIG, responsible for business contacts at the regional level. One of the deals I was able to close for AIG was a small credit company that provides services in provinces of Thailand named "Ngern Tid Lor" (or NTL). After that, I moved to take the marketing executive position at Ngern Tid Lor. At that time, I was 26 years old. Until 2013, I was appointed as Managing Director on my 32nd birthday. From that day, Ngern Tid Lor has grown several times, from having only 9,000 million baht in outstanding credit, increasing to 45,000 million baht. We have developed and transformed the organization to become a standard financial service provider, driving the organization with the goal of creating transparent and fair access to financial services for Thai society. Until now, I still haven't studied for an MBA and still haven't moved back to America according to the original plan I set
What is the most exciting thing in the finance business
The impact from new innovations. Most people may view that the finance business is an outdated player waiting for the day to be disrupted, which mostly is true. Fortunately, in the past 2-3 years, we have invested enormously in Digital Transformation and Analytics systems, and not long ago, we accelerated launching new products, including new sales channels that will make financial access even more convenient. It's very exciting and challenging with the effort to overcome obstacles and present new approaches to accessing financial services in the traditional market that used to belong to local credit providers and insurance brokers, which are small family businesses, lacking transparency, lacking responsible lending approaches. On the other hand, there is still much opportunity to apply governance principles, risk management methods, and technology creatively to build foundations in the market while elevating this business to be fairer and more accessible
What is the connection between you and the Asia region
I spent half my life in America and the other half in Southeast Asia. I love Asia in terms of economic connectivity and cultural diversity. These things help me have a broader perspective compared to when I grew up in suburbs in the United States
In business terms, which city in Asia do you like and why
Bangkok. Because most of my working life is here. Familiarity with customs, legal frameworks, and regulatory systems makes me work much more conveniently. In addition, on holidays, I can easily travel to relax at seaside accommodations or beautiful mountain views near Bangkok
The best advice you have ever received
When I first started working, a CEO of our financial company group once advised to "always choose the harder path". Of course, when I face various challenges, I found this advice very useful. And from experience, it made me understand even more that on paths with only a few obstacles, it would be difficult to lead us to great success
Who is your inspiration
This question is difficult to answer. I spend a lot of time reading, which helps me learn from others' experiences, and I think this kind of learning costs much less compared to learning from trial and error experiences by oneself. I get inspiration from many people at different times, like Barack Obama, Steve Jobs, Jack Welch, Louis Gerstner, Jeff Bezos, Jonathan Ive, Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, Tom Brady, Michael Jordan, Ray Dalio and Simon Sinek. I learn from many great people mentioned, in politics, business, and sports, trying to adapt to both personal and work life
The most recent impressive thing you just learned
I just read the "The Good to Great" book series by Jim Collins and "The Bezos Letters" by Steve Anderson, which discusses the concept called Flywheel, which is new to me. At the same time, I was surprised by the concept that seems simple but great, and I found great challenges in drawing the Flywheel of the company I've been managing for 7 years on paper. But what's amazing is when finding and connecting the Flywheel, I can use it to adjust approaches and create much more clarity within the organization. It's been a long time since I encountered such an exciting business concept that I had to sacrifice sleep to try to find ways to apply it
If you could go back in time, what would you do differently
Up to now, there's nothing important that I regret to the extent that if I could go back in time I wouldn't do it again. I think if there really is, it would be about saving more and partying less during adolescence
What is your stress relief method
I think I'm quite reserved. Therefore, I like to be in quiet places not too crowded. I relax by exercising on a treadmill or going to relax at beachside resorts that are abundant in Thailand, and I choose rooms with sea views every time
A book you think everyone in business should read
Thinking Fast, and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. This book taught me to understand human defects. It's normal that occurs when we have to decide something, because we are all dominated by biases arising from thinking processes and perception. If business success depends on decisions, communication, persuasion, and good leadership, this book will help you be aware and understand not only biases within yourself but also what drives others' decisions as well. If we understand this issue, we may make fewer mistakes and have more compassion for others when we think we see their mistakes
Say something about your business
"Ngern Tid Lor" that outsiders may view as not different from many local credit businesses in Thailand, but behind the scenes is that we have a professional management team full of experience, committed to developing credit services and insurance broker platforms driven by technology and data usage, with the goal to promote access to financial services in the system and provide insurance protection to people in society
As a leader in the car registration credit market, we are committed to creating innovations and elevating the standards of this industry by setting high standards in transparency, technology, organizational culture, and value delivered to customers. Over the past 4 years, we have taken lessons learned from our own credit business and used large amounts of resources to develop platforms to create access to insurance products. We set goals far beyond just transitioning to digital in the near term. Our goal is to be a leader in defining the development format of the industry we are operating in
Source: Empirics Asia