New Bank of Thailand governor ready to serve

By The Nation

 

Bank of Thailand governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput

 

Getting to know Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput, a globe-trotting financial expert fluent in 3 languages – and tennis

 

Born into a diplomat family, Sethaput spent his early childhood being whisked from one country to another thanks to his father’s job at the Foreign Ministry.

 

“When I was just two months old, my parents moved to Australia,” Sethaput said during an interview with BOT Magazine.

 

The family was then posted to India, Poland, France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

 

Sethaput said his favourite place to live was France, where he attended high school and was old enough to appreciate the charming culture and beautiful landscapes. He also became fluent in French and English during his travels.

 

“Moving from one country to another meant I had to make new friends and adapt [to new surroundings],” he said.

 

Asked what inspired him to study economics to PhD level, Sethaput admitted he couldn’t remember where he caught the finance bug.

 

As a boy he preferred sport to academic study, though he was interested in science and mathematics. But he recalled how a teacher at his French school made European history classes fun by encouraging students to analyse the topic for themselves rather than learn by rote.

 

The social sciences caught his interest and, armed with a strong mathematics background, he chose economics when the time came to enrol in university.

 

After graduating, he got a job in New York at prestigious management consultancy McKinsey and Co, where he cultivated the approach and working style that he still uses today.

 

McKinsey is known for its flexible work culture and open debate. Even junior staffers are encouraged to express their views, while inter-departmental collaboration generates a rich cross-fertilisation of ideas.

 

Sethaput gained further experience while working at the World Bank.

 

“Staff at the World Bank and the central bank do similar jobs: we are technocrats, digging deeply into specific issues, but we have limited time and limited information to deliver results, so the work is not 100 per cent perfect,” he said.

 

So the most important thing is “getting the ‘right things’ right”, he added.

 

Sethaput was a member of the Finance Ministry team that dealt with the Asian financial crisis in 1997; he has also served on the central bank’s monetary policy committee and its central board

 

However, the Covid-19 fallout is even more serious than the 1997 crisis since it has affected every economy in the world and hit businesses and ordinary people alike.

 

“While people may have high expectations of the central bank, some issues are beyond our capacity,” said Sethaput, alluding to the virus’s impact.

“There is no formula for solving the current crisis. We need to understand the issues and gain cooperation from many parties. It will take time to overcome this challenge.”

 

Sethaput also revealed his secrets for work success.

 

First, step back and look at the big picture. Before starting on any project, he takes time to think about the desired outcome. He also looks at the work from alternative perspectives to discover how others would tackle it.

 

Second on his list is teamwork. He likes to recall Garry D Brewer’s warning against the fragmentary approach to problem-solving. “The world has problems, but universities have departments,” Brewer wryly observed.

 

In his leisure time, Sethaput likes to read, paint and play sports. He lists his favourite sport as tennis and his favourite player as the Swiss maestro and former No 1 Roger Federer.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/business/30396451

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-10-20

 

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I'm sure that hidden somewhere in some secret facility in Thailand there is a clone machine churning these people out.

Has lead a charmed life compared to many here in Thailand.  Makes me wonder if this guy has even a slight inkling of what the majority have to go through to put a meal on the table.

3 hours ago, webfact said:

New Bank of Thailand governor ready to serve

Yea, but ready to serve who? 

Why not give the guy a chance before the eternal condemnation?

 

This guys job is not to serve the people. His job is strictly to preserve the Thai economy and the value of the baht both on domestic and international levels in the best way possible bases on his capabilities.

 

Not that I am convinced he will be better than anybody else, but we just have to give him time to prove himself.

2 hours ago, Grumpy John said:

Has lead a charmed life compared to many here in Thailand.  Makes me wonder if this guy has even a slight inkling of what the majority have to go through to put a meal on the table.

In the same vein those struggling to put a meal on the table may struggle working at the Bank of Thailand.

Only one red flag in his background—a job at the pro-China McKinsey and Co. in New York.  They advocate outsourcing US manufacturing to China.  How would that play out for Thailand?

7 hours ago, webfact said:

New Bank of Thailand governor ready to serve

and as a sign of good will to us expats, first on the agenda/order of the day would be depreciating the bath to 35 baht = 1 USD

9 hours ago, webfact said:

New Bank of Thailand governor ready to serve

4 hours ago, sungod said:

In the same vein those struggling to put a meal on the table may struggle working at the Bank of Thailand.

Undoubtedly true for the majority but my guess is the minions do all the heavy lifting and the charmed one only just signs off on what he likes. So,  on the law of averages there will be some in the wider community that can do the job....maybe even better! 

please call your fellow Mr Jerome Powell and ask how to run the printing press

2 hours ago, Grumpy John said:

Undoubtedly true for the majority but my guess is the minions do all the heavy lifting and the charmed one only just signs off on what he likes. So,  on the law of averages there will be some in the wider community that can do the job....maybe even better! 

My hope is in the fact this guy has been exposed to the real world outside Thailand.

 

I wonder how much of your soul you need to sell in order to work in a blatantly corrupt and backward country when you have actually seen how it should be done

 

My thought is that it's fully down to multiple zero's on his pay check though I hope I am wrong, if he really is an intelligent worldly wise professional who has recent foreign experience he is in for a world of frustration... 

The baht will surely gain strength as a result. When are we going to see it reach the 27 baht for a dollar level? Tourists would love to visit a country with such strong economy and currency.

7 hours ago, Eddy Ozark said:

The baht will surely gain strength as a result. When are we going to see it reach the 27 baht for a dollar level? Tourists would love to visit a country with such strong economy and currency.

If it got to that I for once would be country shopping!