ML Laksasubha, better known as Khun Lak, is a stalwart in the Australian business community in Thailand and remains committed to fostering and promoting Thai-Australian ties through the alumni and is a firm believer in the Australian education system.

Since her father was a career diplomat, Khun Lak has lived and studied in many countries namely, Paris (France), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Canberra (Australia), Budapest (Hungary). Upon returning to Thailand in 1980, it was no surprise that she worked for seven years as a research assistant at the Population Division, Social Development Division, (Women and Youth programme) at the United Nations ESCAP. She later spent three years as the wife of the first Thai ambassador to Prague, Czech Republic before returning to Thailand once again in 1993.

Khun Lak believes growing up overseas shaped her approach to business, making her an entrepreneur with a penchant for detail that focuses on niche markets catering to a Thai and expatriate clientele. In 1993, she started her journey as an entrepreneur by opening up Krystalina, a shop at Peninsula Plaza which specialized in excusive and hand cut crystals and decorative items. 

Her life experiences of East and West, and her firm belief in the benefits of a multi-cultural environment, influenced her next initiative – the launching of First Steps International Preschool a tri-lingual, pre-school with a curriculum that merges Thai culture classes with French and German languages into the main stream of the British national curriculum. 

First Steps took in young children from 18 months to six years. The school, which had 140 children from 21 nationalities, was a feeder to prominent international schools such as Bangkok Patana, NIST, Shrewsbury, Harrow, the Lycee Francais and the Swiss section of RIS.

The same motivation was behind her current business venture – Laksasubha Resort in Hua Hin –  a 65-room beach front resort located on the same grounds of her family beach house, handed down by her great grandfather His Royal Highness Prince Nares Kridakon. Now in its 10 year of operation, Laksasubha resort has received a TripAdvisor Awards for six straight years. 

Khun Lak has served as Vice President, AustCham Thailand since 2011 to the present and plays a key role in promoting Australian alumni. Khun Lak believes that her previous business experiences in education has brought her to see the potential of working with the Alumni and linking them AustCham in areas training, employment and business opportunities. 

She was involved I was in the merging of the TAA (Thai-Australian Association) with AustCham in rebranding and organizing various events, panel discussions, mentoring and networking amongst different universities Alumni, AustCham members, Austrade and the Australian Embassy which we had always received their support.

The main objectives are to enhance and foster the Thai and Australian relationships through their educational experiences which will lead to greater business opportunities. Her role with AustCham’s Tourism and Hospitality Committee since 2015 aims to promote business and enhance the connection between AustCham members in hotels, and hospitality/tourism sectors and the tourism authority sectors of the Thai government and maximize the tourism business benefits.

Jak Leelathayphawan currently wear three hats – the result of extensive experience in working in Australia and Thailand.

He is currently the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Evermore Company Limited which sells confectionary products under brand “Playmore”, Executive Director and Wealth Strategist at Wealth Creation International Company which is the leading boutique independent wealth management company in Thailand, as well as the Advisor to the Office of the Chief and Board of Directors at Union Mall. 

He spent almost 10 years in Sydney, Australia, studying and working. Throughout his time in Australia, he has started off his career by working with the governmental body as the Consul General Assistant at the Royal Thai Consulate General Sydney right after he graduated, from 2000 to 2004. In early 2004, he joined the tourism industry at the Tourism Authority of Thailand in Sydney, promoting Thailand as a travel destination especially during the challenging time of the post Tsunami and SARS outbreak. 

Upon his return to Bangkok in 2006, he started his career in Bangkok as the youngest Business Development Manager at the Australian Trade Commission, Australian Embassy Bangkok. He then broadened his corporate skills by joining the CP ALL Group from 2006 to 2013, working in various departments. 

First, he was Secretary General to CP ALL Education and HRD Executive Committee which developed the restructuring approach for CP ALL’s education framework as well as the strategic planning of CP ALL HRD entities. He was later appointed as the Department Manager for Education and Human Resources Development. 

Between 2010 to 2013, he was the Assistant General Manager/Project Expert/Strategist at the Office of Business Policy and Strategy Management at CP ALL which was heavily engaged in the company’s sustainable growth and cost strategies when CP ALL (7 Eleven) Thailand became the third largest 7 Eleven in the world after Japan and the US. 

In 2009, he was selected as the Australian Young Alumni Ambassador by the Australian-Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Australian Embassy. In 2010, he was also awarded the Australian Young Alumni of the year. 

Assistant Professor Dr. Linchong Chorrojprasert currently serves as a lecturer in the MA and PhD in ELT programs at the Graduate School of Human Sciences at Assumption University of Thailand where she has been teaching since 1989. 

In her career as an educator for the past 31 years, she has served as a lecturer, advisor, editor, committee member, trainer, speaker and guest lecturer for numerous universities and institutions in Thailand and overseas; namely, Mahidol University, Thammasat University, the Office of the Civil Service Commission of Thailand, the Foundation of the Brothers of Saint Gabriel’s schools, the University of Wollongong, Sheffield Hallam University, and Northern Consortium (NCUK).

Her first degree in English is from Chulalongkorn University. She went on to finish her MA in 20^th Century American Literature at Pittsburg State University in Kansas in the US and then the Specialist Degree (EdS) in Higher Education and Community College from the same university with the scholarship granted by PSU. 

Her postgraduate study at KU Leuven in Belgium earned her an Advanced Certificate in Educational Sciences. She completed her PhD in Education at the University of Wollongong in 2005 and was elected the Chair of the UOW Alumni Network Thailand Chapter from 2007 to 2013. 

Assistant Professor Linchong is recognized for her key role in promoting ties between the University of Woolongong and Thai academic institutions. When she was introduced as Fellow of the University of Wollongong in October 2014, the citation described her as follows:

“In 1997, Associate Professor Linchong received a special award from Assumption University. The St. Bernard’s Award recognises commitment and performance “beyond the normal calls of duty”, innovation, commitment to improvement and participation in other activities “for the welfare of society”. 

“These are the noble and inspiring qualities that Linchong brought to the University of Wollongong. Today, we acknowledge the value of her special contribution and pride in our shared relationship.

“Associate Professor Linchong and Assumption University have important roles in the development of UOW’s identity as an international institution. Our connection with Thailand is one of the University’s earliest and strongest ties. We have welcomed Thai students for over three decades and built important collaborative partnerships.

“Another special bond was quietly forged in 2003, when Linchong enrolled at UOW as a doctoral student. She brought with her an impressive record of qualifications from Thailand and Belgium and from the United States where she graduated with a Master of Arts in English, specialising in 20th Century American Literature. By this time, she had also built a promising academic career, moving seamlessly from lecturer to Associate Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at Assumption University and later the Associate Dean of the Faculty of Arts.

“After receiving her PhD in Education from UOW in 2005, Linchong returned to Thailand and was soon appointed as Dean of the Faculty of Arts. She now holds the position of Dean of the Institute for English Language Education at Assumption University. Given her demanding career, Linchong’s path could have diverged from ours. Instead, she has maintained a continuing and generous friendship. Linchong takes her role as a member of UOW’s Alumni seriously; it accords with her personal goal to provide “quality academic services to the communities” to which she belongs.

“The University is indebted to Linchong’s skills as a diplomatic intermediary between two institutions, two countries and two languages. She actively promotes the strong academic links between UOW and Assumption, particularly in her field of education training. In 2009, she became a Visiting Principal Fellow with our former Faculty of Education and she has collaborated in several joint academic initiatives.

“Associate Professor Linchong has also been an outstanding President of the University of Wollongong’s Alumni Network Thailand Chapter since 2007 and deserves much of the credit for its success. She has often organised media opportunities for visiting UOW Vice-Chancellors and has spoken positively about UOW in her own media work. 

“We witnessed Linchong’s skill as a public speaker at a UOW Graduation ceremony in 2011 and we are very thankful that she has represented this University at Alumni group functions, including those hosted by Australian Ambassadors to Thailand. Her seminars on behalf of UOW and, more recently the Thai Office of the Civil Service Commission, about undertaking higher degree studies in Australia have included persuasive references to her UOW experience.

“Associate Professor Linchong has been a steadfast friend and advocate for the University of Wollongong and one of the most committed members of our Alumni community. Today, we are proud to acknowledge her achievements and confirm a lifelong relationship. She is an exceptional person who exemplifies the University’s values. She promotes goodwill, mutual respect and integrity. She is, at heart, devoted to service to her community in Thailand and to education internationally.

Prom Sirisant is a passionate and result-driven individual with proven successes in both the business sector as well as non-profit initiatives. His strategic thinking ability combined with relentless determination to execute led him to deliver outstanding results for the organizations and entities he works with. He is a people-person with high integrity who demonstrates leadership and strong communication skills able to influence, inspire, and encourage others.

Prom was appointed by Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs as one of twelve Global Alumni Ambassadors. Under this role he joined AAA (Thailand). He works with Australian Embassy and other entities in growing Australia’s global alumni community, raising the profile of Australia’s world class education system, and strengthening ties between Australia and Thailand.   

He was also appointed by UNWOMEN as one of Thailand’s HeForShe Campaign Ambassador. He pursues his passion to make a difference in the society and drives the agendas that he sees are important. Under this role, he works closely with various Embassies as well as private and public sectors in the effort to narrow the gender equality gap in Thailand.  

In his professional career, Prom joined Asia Plus Group Holdings Public Company Limited in 2014. A well-respected financial services company and public listed on Stock Exchange of Thailand. He joined as Head of Strategy and Business Development and within 2 years he was appointed as Chief Strategy Officer and group’s Senior Vice President. 

His main responsibility is to ensure that the group’s strategic direction is sound, bringing structure into alignment with strategy, and developing the processes and skill bases necessary to realize the strategic intent. Prior to joining Asia Plus, he spent seven years with the world leading packaging company, Tetra Pak. His latest position oversees the Portfolio Strategy team. He travelled extensively and led crossed regional teams. He was responsible for nine countries, covering both South Asia and Southeast Asian markets. 

Prom spent a majority of his growing up years in Australia. He graduated with a Master of Business in International Marketing from UTS, and Bachelor of Business Administration from Macquarie University. He is an outspoken advocate of Australian education as he believes that not only it equipped him with strong foundation of knowledge and academics but being a part of the modern Australian society also taught him tremendously about life. 

Being in Australia gave him the opportunity to experience life to the fullest and gave him a great mind-set on how he sees the world. As he said, “With a society that is down to earth, multi- cultural, and hardworking, it gives any individual the absolute right mix of lifelong lessons”.

Dr. Permyos, a cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon at Bangkok Heart Hospital, received an MD from the Prince of Songkhla University, Hat Yai, Songkla, Thailand in 1990. He was then appointed as a lecturer at the university’s Department of Surgery. He received a Diploma of General Surgery in 1994 before undergoing cardiovascular and thoracic training at the Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University. During the final year of his training, he received a fellowship position at the Austin & Repatriation Medical Center, Heidelberg, Australia. He received a Diploma of Thoracic Surgery in 1996.

His clinical studies on “Radial Artery as a Conduit for Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting” led to his PhD studies. Dr Permyos then obtained his PhD from Melbourne University in June 2001. On his return to Bangkok later that year, he started work as a consultant surgeon at Saint Louis Hospital. 

While at Saint Louis Hospital, Dr Permyos was involved in community projects. In the first project, he was a director of Cardiac Mercy Project which provides heart surgeries to a number of patients who have severe heart disease but cannot afford the cost of an operation. He was also involved in a Health Developing Voluntary Camp – a project aimed at providing health services and education to the remote areas of Thailand. 

In 2002, he received the Royal Golden Jubilee PhD Scholarship for study in Mathematics at the Mahidol University in 2002. In 2003, he studied blood flow simulation in mouse aortic arch at the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto, Canada. At the same time, he did the second cardiac surgical fellowship training at the university’s Sunnybrook & Women’s Health Science Centre where he obtained further experience in radial artery graft for coronary artery surgery, aortic surgery and minimally invasive cardiac surgery. 

Dr Permyos returned to Bangkok in 2004 and started work as a cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon at the Bangkok Heart Hospital. He also served as a director of cardiovascular research, a committee member for institutional review board and a committee member of infectious control committee of Bangkok Hospital Headquarters. He completed his second PhD in Mathematics from the Mahidol University in 2007. He continued his studies in various fields of cardiovascular surgery including the intramyocardial angiogenic cell precursors injection for cardiomyopathy which was completed in 2011, off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting, carotid endarterectomy and also ethical studies for research. 

He did his third Fellowship in Research Ethics in 2018 for 4 months which is the collaboration training of Middleton Foundation for Ethical Studies (USA), the Strategic Initiative for Developing Capacity in Ethical Review (SIDCER, WHO), Chulalongkorn University, Mahidol University and Khon Kaen University. He is now active in cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon at the Bangkok Heart Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand and an ethical reviewer for Bangkok Hospital Headquarters and Central Research Ethics Committee, Thailand.

Wutinon has more than 15 years of experience in accounting and taxation in Thailand. He is currently a Certified Public Auditor (CPA) of the Federation of Accounting Professions of Thailand and a Certified Tax Auditor of the Revenue Department of Thailand. 

He started his education in accounting at Assumption University, Bangkok in 1995. After graduating in 1999, he went to Macquarie University in Sydney to obtain his Master Degree in Commerce in Accounting & Finance. After graduating from Macquarie University, he moved back and started his career in Thailand as tax advisor in Arthur Andersen Legal & Tax Consultant Ltd. which was one of the Big 5 Global Accounting Firms at that time.

As a result of the merger between Arthur Andersen and KPMG in Thailand due to the collapse of Andersen Network Worldwide, he become a part of KPMG’s tax team and gained in-depth accounting and taxation experiences by giving advices to various multinational enterprises, particularly in the area of personal income tax and corporate income tax matters.

In 2005, he decided to come out of the professional firms to work for his clients (i.e. IBM and a year later at Tesco Lotus) as in-house tax specialist. He helped them deal with tax cases and issues as well as setting up tax planning and tax operations for the companies. At the time, he felt that he should expand his knowledge and continue his studies. He enrolled for Bachelor of Law degree at Ramkhamhaeng University. He believed that by having the law degree, it would sharpen his skill in interpretation of the laws, especially tax law.  

In 2007, he decided to join PricewaterhouseCoopers Thailand (PwC). During his five working years in PwC, he was a part of M&A tax advisory team advising a lot of his local and international clients about tax implication for making investment in Thailand and setting up tax structuring plan for their investment in Thailand.

He also helped his clients in deal with the revenue officers and closing various tax disputes and issues with tax authorities. During this period, he went through extensive tax training especially in international taxation for the cross-border transactions.  

In 2010, after graduating with a Bachelor of Law from Ramkhamhaeng University, he joined Total Access Communication Plc. (DTAC)’s Tax Strategy Department. At that time, he also enrolled to study for a Masters Degree in Finance and Tax Law at Chulalongkorn University, graduating a few years later. He is currently Vice President in DTAC’s Tax Strategy Department. 

Wutinon is married and his wife is also a taxation professional. He loves listening to music especially the classical music and Jazz. He used to play trumpet for his high school band (Assumption College) when he was a kid and that brought him to know the world of music. If he had not been a tax professional, he might wish to try to become a musician. During weekends, he loves to play tennis and badminton with his brother and watching football matches. His favorite team is Manchester United which he has been a fan for more than 20 years.

Subhorn (Mindy) Limthongkul credits her parents – who were in the foreign service – for her exposure and continuing interest in international affairs. No doubt, living in the United States and later in Australia, exposed Mindy to a broader world view. However her current role and contribution to Australian alumni stems from her activism and involvement in student activities when she was studying.

From the halls of Chitralada School in Bangkok, Mindy then moved to live and study in Pennsylvania from 2005 to 2008. She graduated from Pleasant Valley High School, Pennsylvania in 2008 before returning home to Thailand. 

Two years later she started her Australian experience. While in Australia, she enrolled as an Associate of Arts (International Studies) at RMIT University, then the Diploma of Management at the University of Ballarat and Certificate of Marketing at Swinburne University.

Mindy was very active in Thai student activities in Melbourne, serving in a number of positions over the years, namely:

• Student Ambassador,
  Thai Students Association of Victoria (2010-2011) 
• President,
  Thai Students Association of Victoria (2011-2014) 
• Deputy Chairperson and CO-Founder,
  ASEAN Students’ Council Australia (2012-2014) 
• Young ASEAN Representative, UN Women of Australia (2014) 

Mindy returned home in 2015 and was a started working as a guest professor (English for Industrial Technology) at Chitralada School / Chitralada Technology Institute in 2015, a role she currently maintains. But in 2016, she continued working and assisting in Australian alumni activities by joining the Australian Alumni Association (Thailand) committee as Offshore Partnership Director. 

Since returning from Australia Mindy has assumed a number of managing roles. Currently she is running the Bangkok office of Crimson Education Co Ltd. This involves  

maintaining office services, supervising staff by organizing office operations and procedures; learning and development, culture and performance management as well as controlling correspondence, designing filing systems, payroll, reviewing and approving supply requisitions, assigning and monitoring clerical functions. 

Ekjaree recently joined the Australian Alumni Association (Thailand) as a committee member responsible for Corporate Social Responsibility and supports the Board Members to promote and manage the CSR projects, seeking partnerships with and sponsorship from other organisations to develop CSR Projects. 

Ekjaree graduated from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, Queensland in 1995.  She completed Post Graduate Diploma in Communication and Graduate Certificate of Management, awarded by Faculty of Business.

Prior to studying in Australia, Ekjaree received Bachelor of Arts from Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University, and Graduate Diploma in Translation from Faculty of Liberal Arts, Thammasat University.  She gained some years of work experience at Interlanguage Translation Centre, and Business Information Division at German-Thai Chamber of Commerce, respectively, before leaving for Australia.

Her new life chapter began when she graduated from QUT in 1995.  She first started working for Education Resource Centre at the Australian Embassy Bangkok where the HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presided the grand opening ceremony.  It was first officially launched centre to provide information for prospective students to study in Australia, and to support both Thai and Australian universities to further develop some academic projects and degree programmes in collaboration with AUSAID. 

This centre was managed under contract between Australian International Education Foundation (AIEF) of Australia Ministry of Education and IDP Education Australia, a non-profit organisation founded by Australian universities to promote education of Australia and to develop academic programmes.  It was a good opportunity for her to spend a few years working in such great work environment and learned more about education system of Australia and of other countries like UK, US, Canada, etc.

She then worked for the prominent property firm CB Richard Ellis before joining the Secretariat of International Chamber of Commerce (Thailand) – an organisation whose role aims to promote international trade and develop the private sector in Thailand.  For the next four years, this role enabled her to forge connections with the Ministry of Commerce and Foreign Affairs as well as international organisations like UNESCAP, diplomatic missions, academic, politic, businesspeople, and professional bodies. 

From ICC (Thailand), Ekjaree then joined Dataconsult, a business consulting firm organising seminars and conferences, including publishing business reports and monthly publications.  Working at Dataconsult allowed her to learn about business practices and connect with top level managers of international business organisations, government bodies as well as diplomats.

After nearly 10 years at Dataconsult, she then worked for BRS (Business Research Specialist) – a market research company in the role of Business Development; an Executive Director of New Zealand Thai Chamber of Commerce; and as a business development role at Arcadia Engineering – an engineering design and consulting company.  During these times, she also studied law at Thammasat University.

After completing her Bachelor of Law at Thammasat University, she joined British Chamber of Commerce Thailand in the role of Business Services Manager and was primarily responsible for the Export Opportunities project initiated by the British government – an online business platform for business matching between UK suppliers and Thai companies.  Currently, she works as the Manager of EIS (Economic Intelligence Services) at TDRI (Thailand Development Research Institute).  

Ekjaree hopes that her past work experience, her connections with professional networks in the private and public sectors will contribute the help her to the AAA’s CSR initiatives as well as promote better trade ties between Thailand and Australia.

After 34 years in journalism – 22 years as an editor – Pichai stood down as Editor-in-Chief of Post Publishing and Editor of the Bangkok Post, Thailand’s leading English-language daily and oldest Thai newspaper, in September 2016.

Before starting his professional career in Bangkok, Pichai spent 10 years (1970-1979) in Australia – four years in a boarding school and six years in two universities. He joined Post in 1980 as a proof reader, working his way up the ranks as a copy and layout editor of the Bangkok World (afternoon tabloid) before moving to the Bangkok Post assuming various positions such as rewriter, feature writer, foreign affairs reporter, Opinion-Editorial sub-editor, Editor of Perspectives before finally becoming News Editor in 1992.

He left journalism briefly to work as special assistant to the Secretary-General of ASEAN in Jakarta, Indonesia in 1993-1994. He returned to Thailand to become Editor of the Bangkok Post for the first time between 1994-2002. In 2002, Pichai was made Editor-in-Chief of Post Publishing after he initiated, planned and helped launch Post Today, the company’s Thai-language business daily. As Editor-in-Chief his primary role was to assist the company’s continued editorial diversification and initiatives.

In May 2010, he also assumed the position of managing director of Post News – a Post affiliate company which co-produced 8 hours of Thai-language television news each day on the government-owned National Broadcasting Services of Thailand or Channel 11. He was also co-anchor on Bangkok Post Morning Focus – a daily news-analysis-commentary programme in English on Channel 11. The programme was discontinued in February 2012.

In October 2011, Post launched its third newspaper called M2F (Monday to Friday) – a free tabloid (Thai language) distributed free at hundreds of spots to in inner Bangkok along the BTS and subway routes. In January 2014, Pichai returned as Editor of the Bangkok Post overseeing its day-to-day news coverage, analysis and commentaries.

Prior to his retirement from Post, Pichai was Chairman of the Bangkok Post Foundation, the Phud Hong Foundation and Post Publishing’s Provident Fund Committee. Internationally, he was a Board and Executive Committee Member of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA). He was also the chairman of WAN-IFRA’s Asia Pacific Committee for over a decade.

WAN-IFRA is the global organisation of the world’s press. It derives its authority from its global network of 3,000 news publishing companies and technology entrepreneurs, and its legitimacy from its 80-member publisher associations representing 18,000 publications in 120 countries. Its mission is to defend and promote press freedom, clear the way to innovation and help independent news publishing companies to succeed in their transformation process, increase their business and perform their crucial role in open societies.

Pichai was selected as Australian Alumni of the Year 2016 by the Australian-Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Australian Embassy. He now works as an independent media consultant. He was involved in the formulation and launch of the ASEAN Media Forum on 4 August 2017 in Manila, Philippines prior to the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting. He is also the Editorial Advisor to Frontier Myanmar, an English-language news weekly magazine in Yangon, Myanmar. He is also a founding committee member of the Foundation for Public Policy and Good Governance which was launched in January 2019.