THAI President Piyasvasti Gets Golden Handshake

[webfact]

THAI

THAI president Piyasvasti gets golden handshake

The Nation

Piyasvasti

BANGKOK: -- Thai Airways International's board of directors today announced the termination of the employment contract of Piyasvasti Amranand, who has been serving as president since October, 2009.

As the termination will come to an before the end of his term next year, the board also approved a compensation package worth 6 months of his salary or about Bt5.4 billion. The package for premature termination is part of the contract.

THAI Chairman Ampon Kittiampon said at the press conference that Piyasvasti was notified of the termination a month in advance.

"It is not that he is an incapable president. But unity in terms of communications between him and the board of directors has been poor. If THAI is to achieve its earning goal this year, the contract must be terminated. This is a golden handshake," he said.

The board today also approved the appointment of executive vice president Chokchai Panyayong as acting president, with immediate effect.

The selection committee, chaired by Finance Permanent Secretary Areepong Bhoochaoom, will start the process immediately.

-- The Nation 2012-05-21

[Payboy]

worth 6 months of his salary or about Bt5.4 billion

Something wrong with that figure?

[Boater]

So his salary is 10.8 billion thb a year ?

[midas]

worth 6 months of his salary or about Bt5.4 billion

Something wrong with that figure?

Wille Walsh at BA gets £1.2 million pa

Edited May 21, 2012 by midas

[steveromagnino]

nice guy, if he wanted to stay in power he needed to be a bit more Peua Thai orientated, competency is irrelevant in this post.

[thaikahuna]

Look for fares to go up soon.......

[webfact]

THAI board sacks airline's head Piyasvasti

BANGKOK, May 21 - The board of directors of Thailand’s national flag carrier Thai Airways International (THAI) on Monday terminated the employment contract of President Piyasavasti Amranand, a decision which stirred outrage among the company's labour union members.

The THAI board resolved with 12 out of 13 members voting to end the employment contract of Mr Piyasvasti, effective next month and that he will be compensated with six months of his current salary, altogether estimated at Bt6 million.

Citing communication problems as the main reason to sack Mr Piyasvasti, board chairman Ampon Kittiampon explained that the panel made its decision although Mr Piyasvasti had passed his performance assessment with a high score.

"The communications problem between the board and the president could result in failure to achieve the company's target of Bt7 billion profit as earlier announced to shareholders,” Mr Ampon said.

Board chairman Ampon reasserted that the contract termination is not politically motivated as seven of 12 board members who voted to end the employment contract were appointed by the previous government.

The board named Executive Vice President Strategy & Business Development Chokchai Panyayong acting president, replacing Mr Piyasvasti, and quickly established a committee to select a new president, headed by Ministry of Finance Permanent Secretary Areepong Poocha-um, within three months.

Monday’s board decision reportedly sparked dissatisfaction among the airline’s labour union members. When the decision was announced, union members quickly asked for the reasons of such a decision. Security was tightened during the board's news conference.

Mr Piyasvasti, 59, began his term as Thai Airways International president in October 2009.

After graduating from England’s Oxford University, Mr Piyasvasti headed Thailand’s National Energy Policy Office in the 1990s and was minister of energy during 2006-2008.

Mr Piyasvati earlier announced the airline’s first quarter operating results with profit before income tax of Bt3,341 million and net profit of Bt3,645 million, after ending 2011 with a Bt10 billion loss.

He attributed operating profits to cost reductions, operations changes and rising passenger load as Thailand returned to normal after last year's severe flooding.

Shortly after the announcement, THAI labour union president Jamsri Sukchotrat said the union did not accept the board's decision, arguing that the outgoing president is a person of integrity with no tainted record and working for the company's benefits with proven performance.

"Once again, political interference has become involved in THAI internal affairs," she said.

Meanwhile, Mr Piyasavasti urged the board to clarify its decision, saying he wanted to know the 'real' reasons behind his replacement. If the decision happens to damage his reputation, he might consider filing a lawsuit against the board.

He commented that his replacement might have stemmed from various factors including political interference as well as internal graft probe.

The outgoing president said he has dedicated his work with outstanding performance by turning around the company’s economic performance from an accumulated loss of Bt20 billion to a position of profitability.

He warned that THAI could experience troubles as in the past if the board fails to keep its hands off management. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-05-21

[steelepulse]

Ah, it's all clear now.He got a 10.8 Billion salary ( 320 million USD) and the company lost 10 Billion last year. That's where the money went!

Seriously it sounds like he doesn't want to play ball with the board so they sack him.

[samran]

Pure payback from the PT party.

Board are saving their own butts, so they sack him.

[ppam888]

its 5.4 MILLION baht (not billion)

also did the articles mention about his recent KPI rating of 86%??

[webfact]

THAI

Sacking of Piyasvasti stirs doubt, criticism

Bamrung Amnatcharoenrit

The Nation

Piyasvasti

BANGKOK: -- THAI president turned national carrier's finances around; dismissal doesn't make sense, union says

The move by the board of Thai Airways International Plc (THAI) to fire Piyasvasti Amranand as president of the national carrier was greeted with scepticism by the executive, who was appointed to his post during the Democrat government.

"I feel strange. Personally, I remain doubtful about the board's decision,'' Piyasvasti said. He has asked for the board to clarify its reasons.

The THAI board's 15-12 vote put an end to widespread rumours that Piyasvasti would be removed, which started when Yingluck Shinawatra's coalition government was formed.

The firing is sure to spark controversy in the corporate sector because Piyasvasti had a high key performance indicator (KPI) rating of 4.3 per cent out of 5 per cent for this year, down slightly from last year's score of 4.6 per cent.

Board chairman Ampon Kittiampon said the reason they discharged Piyasvasti was his lack of ''unity in communication'' with the board and failure to push ahead some of the airline's projects. Amphon denied that politics had anything to do with the president's removal, adding that nine members of the board worked with the Democrat-led government.

Ampon said Piyasvasti had been a capable leader, working to keep THAI successfully ''level'' as it survived a financial storm of Bt12 billion in losses in 2011. Piyasvasti also oversaw an improvement of the company's financial structure and launched a fuel-hedging fund to reduce the airline's costs from rising oil prices.

But Ampon said THAI needed more action on marketing strategy and human resource development and a president who would work more closely with the board to achieve its profit goal of Bt6 billion this year. An additional challenge would be THAI's launch of its low-cost carrier THAI Smile.

"We part ways peacefully,'' Ampon said of his company's former president.

Piyasvasti said the airline's business performance had been significantly improved during his two years and seven months of heading THAI.

In the first quarter of this year, net profits increased to Bt3.64 billion, up from Bt618 million year-on-year, while its gain from the fuel-hedging scheme was Bt909 million. Overall outlook for the year remains optimistic, thanks to reduced operating costs and improvements in the fleet over the next seven years.

Piyasvasti said his employment contract allowed the board to remove the president without any reason but that it must inform him one month in advance and pay six month's salary in compensation.

Jamsri Sukchotirat, president of the THAI labour union, said Piyasvasti's removal did not make sense. She questioned what Ampon meant by "unity of communication".

Since Piyasvasti started working with THAI, she said he regularly talked to the company's workers about various issues, especially financial performance and profitability.

"I believe the reason for the removal comes from a conflict between the board's chairman and the president," Jamsri said. "The board's chairman has not cared about the company's staff. He is unreasonable and self-centred,'' she said, adding that Piyasvasti's firing could cause the airline to lose its standing as a listed company.

She said the union would move against the removal, submitting letters today to the ministries of Finance and Transport, and the Office of the Ombudsman to force the board to clarify its reasons. Tomorrow, the union will also submit a petition to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Piyasvasti started working at THAI in October, 2009. He served as Energy minister from 2006 to 2008 and chairman of Kasikorn Asset Management and chairman of the panel of advisers to the CEO of Kasikornbank. Prior to that, he was the secretary-general of the National Energy Policy Council.

In line with employment contract at THAI, he will hold the office of president for one month but without any authority. He will also be paid six months salary of Bt5.94 million plus meeting fees.

Chokchai Panyayong was appointed acting president. He has worked for THAI for 29 years, currently in strategy and business development. Ampon said there would be no disruption of operations because Chokchai was a capable executive. Also, the board would not allow any key person to appoint people to any new positions, including director, vice president and executive vice president, during this transition period.

-- The Nation 2012-05-22

[sparebox9]

Pure payback from the PT party.

Board are saving their own butts, so they sack him.

What pay back.

This guy is taking home 10.8 Billion Baht a year. Would you sack him?

[samran]

Pure payback from the PT party.

Board are saving their own butts, so they sack him.

What pay back.

This guy is taking home 10.8 Billion Baht a year. Would you sack him?

And you believe everything you read in the paper? That number doesn't pass the common sense test. But you need to have common sense first I guess.

10.8 MILLION.

$300,000 odd thousand dollars to head up one of the largest airlines in the region. Whoop de doo.

As said, this is pure political pay back.

Edited May 21, 2012 by samran

[sparebox9]

Pure payback from the PT party.

Board are saving their own butts, so they sack him.

What pay back.

This guy is taking home 10.8 Billion Baht a year. Would you sack him?

And you believe everything you read in the paper? That number doesn't pass the common sense test. But you need to have common sense first I guess.

10.8 MILLION.

$300,000 odd thousand dollars to head up one of the largest airlines in the region. Whoop de doo.

As said, this is pure political pay back.

And you believe everything you read in the paper? That he is a star performer? Those KPI numbers doesn't pass the common sense test. But you need to have common sense first I guess.

His Nok Air is still loosing money.

His Thai Tiger Airways didn't took off.

His THAI SMILE is going nowhere, and taking market share from THAI, rather than AirAsia, JetStar, and ironically TigerAirways.

And worst of all, he let Don Mueng flood (not his fault) with many THAI planes and equipments stand submerged in it (his fault).

Edited May 21, 2012 by sparebox9

[samran]

Pure payback from the PT party.

Board are saving their own butts, so they sack him.

What pay back.

This guy is taking home 10.8 Billion Baht a year. Would you sack him?

And you believe everything you read in the paper? That number doesn't pass the common sense test. But you need to have common sense first I guess.

10.8 MILLION.

$300,000 odd thousand dollars to head up one of the largest airlines in the region. Whoop de doo.

As said, this is pure political pay back.

And you believe everything you read in the paper? That he is a star performer? Those KPI numbers doesn't pass the common sense test. But you need to have common sense first I guess.

His Nok Air is still loosing money.

His Thai Tiger Airways didn't took off.

His THAI SMILE is going nowhere, and taking market share from THAI, rather than AirAsia, JetStar, and ironically TigerAirways.

And worst of all, he let Don Mueng flood (not his fault) with many THAI planes and equipments stand submerged in it (his fault).

He is a star performer. Sharp as a tack. Would wipe the floor with most people intellectually. Including you by the sounds of it. He's more than capable.

His only crime is being married to a Democrat strategist.

Edited May 21, 2012 by samran

[jayboy]

He is a star performer. Sharp as a tack. Would wipe the floor with most people intellectually. Including you by the sounds of it. He's more than capable.

His only crime is being married to a Democrat strategist.

Once again you demonstrate that you know what you are talking about.I know Khun Piyasvasti slightly and have huge admiration for him, though somwhat jealous of his planet sized brain.

As to the reason for his dismissal you could be right though I don't think he is particularly political himself, though I'm guessing has Democrat sympathies.

[webfact]

THAI board sacks Piyasvasti

BANGKOK, 22 May 2012 (NNT) - The Board of Directors of Thai Airways International, on Monday, resolved to terminate the employment contract of the company's President, Mr. Piyasvasti Amranand, who has been in office since October 2009.

THAI Board Chairman Ampon Kittiampon announced the discharge of Mr. Piyasvasti from the position of president, reasoning that his failure to communicate with the board of directors has led to a disunity in carrying out the company's marketing strategies.

In line with the conditions of his employment contract, Mr. Piyasvasti has been informed of his dismissal one month in advance. Given his early termination, he will receive a compensation package amounting to six months' salary.

Believing his dismissal to be related to politics or internal corruption, Mr. Piyasvasti is calling for a clarification from the board. He added that he would take legal action if the cause of his dismissal is found to be damaging to his reputation.

The THAI Board, headed by Mr. Ampon, selected Mr. Piyasvasti as President of Thai Airways International on 18 June 2009. He assumed the post of company President on 19 October 2009, and has been at the company's lead for 2 years 7 months.

Executive Vice President for Strategies and Business Development Chokchai Panyayong has been appointed as acting president. The selection process for a new president is expected to begin within the next 2-3 months.

-- NNT 2012-05-22

[Thai at Heart]

Once again Thai airways descends into a political mess.

When are they going to privatise this dinosaur?

http://www.thaiairways.com/about-thai/company-profile/en/board-of-directors.htm

I couldn't say that they guy they have fired has been wholly successful, but then what is the track record of any of this bunch to show that they have any ability to run an airline anyway? Thai has already slipped down in quality over the years, and until something really CHANGES I doubt anything will change.

National airline. National mess....

[webfact]

Sacked THAI President Deems Board's Decision Political

BANGKOK: -- The sacked Thai Airways President claims that the board's decision to fire him was groundless.

Former Thai Airways President Piyasvasti Amranand has dismissed communication problems and conflicts with the board as the reason for his dismissal, saying that if such problems really existed, he and the board would not have been able to successfully implement policies and helped the airline save 909 million baht on advance fuel purchase and see growth in the number of passengers during his two-year-and-seven-month tenure.

He claimed that he was fired for political reasons related to his stance on employees' wrongdoings and corruption, while calling on Thai Airways to clarify its decision to dismiss him to the public.

Meanwhile, President of the Thai Airways Labor Union, Jamsri Sukchotrat, has called for Thai Airways board chairman Amphon Kittiamphon's clarification on the matter, as she also believes that Piyavasti's removal is politicized, considering that he already passed the company's performance review.

-- Tan Network 2012-05-22

[webfact]

PM Yingluck insists no political interference in THAI president Piyasvasti sacking; decision made by airlines' board /MCOT

[gand]

PM Yingluck insists no political interference in THAI president Piyasvasti sacking; decision made by airlines' board /MCOT

That's her story and she is sticking to it?

[samran]

He is a star performer. Sharp as a tack. Would wipe the floor with most people intellectually. Including you by the sounds of it. He's more than capable.

His only crime is being married to a Democrat strategist.

Once again you demonstrate that you know what you are talking about.I know Khun Piyasvasti slightly and have huge admiration for him, though somwhat jealous of his planet sized brain.

As to the reason for his dismissal you could be right though I don't think he is particularly political himself, though I'm guessing has Democrat sympathies.

Careful Jayboy. The adage 'a little knowledge is dangerous' applies to me as well.

I only know him by reputation, a couple of former collegues have worked for him when he was at Energy. Brilliant and sometimes tempramental...but he's endowed Thailand with a fairly robust energy sector - more, much more than you'd expect of a country like Thailand and leaps and bounds versus other sector (eg Transport). The rest I know is from gossip. A friend knows his son very well, and you are right, he (and his wife) are brain boxes.

While his wife being a Dem is probably an easy reason, the truth is control of THAI is essential for any government as it is the ultimate reward for loyalists. A seat on the board and all the free flights that come along with it, or a Presidency perhaps are all very valuable baubles to hand out to any government.

I'm guessing Piyasvasti would have seen this coming, and hopefully he's instilled enough in the way of process, discipline and even non-negotiable agreements to tie the hands of any future board and President so they don't stray from doing the right thing by the airline.

Is there hope for a good replacement? Doubt it...Areepong the MOF perm sec who is heading the selection commmittee is someone I know. He knows how to play the game and won't annoy his political masters on this one, as it is said he is close to Korn.

[webfact]

THAI

No politics involved: Yingluck

Anaphan Deechuay

Nation News Agency

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra flatly denied the government's involvement in the change in Thai Airways International's top management.

Referring to THAI board of directors’ May 21 decision to terminate the employment contract of THAI President Piyasvasti Amranand and appoint Executive Vice President Chokchai Panyayong as acting president, she said that the board acted on its own judgement.

She said that the decisions are unanymous. Moreover, 7 of the 13 directors were appointed by the previous government.

"The decisions were not politically motivated," she said.

Per Piyasvasti’s concern that THAI would return to losses after this, Yingluck said that it is the responsibility of the board.

Against fears that the government would nominate its representative as the next president, she said she has no candidates. The selection committee will work on that, she said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong reportedly denied the rumour that Srettha Thavisin, president and CEO of Sansiri Plc, wanted to become THAI president. He said that Srettha has enormous passion for this property development business.

-- The Nation 2012-05-22

[gand]

"The decisions were not politically motivated," she said.

And politicians never lie?

[Gillespie]

As for likely successors... what are Chalerm's sons doing these days?

[laurentbkk]

For the very poor performance of Thai airways and the service in general , its good that they kick him out with 5.6 MILLIONS THB (typing mistake from the article of course ) .... I just hope the new Chairman will see what other airlines in the area is doing , so they can maybe do the same (singapore air , Cathay pacific) .

[mca]

Maybe he's better off out of it. Unless he's got mega-benefits his salary seems a bit tight arse.

[belg]

for a second, i tought thailand had a president lol

Thai president, they put in the title

wny not put : Thai airways president ?

sensation ?

[Lite Beer]

PM insists no political interference on removal of Piyasvasti

BANGKOK, 22 May 2012 (NNT) – The Prime Minister insisted that the government did not meddle in the Thai Airways Board of Directors’ decision to sack its President Piyasvasti Amranand.

According to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, the government has nothing to do with the decision and no one from the government is going to to take the post of THAI president.

She said the board unanimously voted to remove Mr Piyasvasti from the post, adding that the board members had been appointed by the former government.

As many are concerned that sacking Mr Piyasvasti would lead to more debt burden for the national flag carrier, the Premier believed that the board has considered this as the most appropriate decision. Ms Yingluck also agreed that the board and labor union, which is protesting against the removal of Mr Piyasvasti, should hold discussions to thrash out their differences and come to terms.

-- NNT 2012-05-22

[samran]

Maybe he's better off out of it. Unless he's got mega-benefits his salary seems a bit tight arse.

Believe he made his money as head of Kasikorn funds management after his early career as a senior energy bureaucrat.

My understanding, him taking the job was never abou the dosh.