On January 25, business leaders convened to set the 2023 strategic goals and direction for the American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (AMCHAM Thailand) at Topgolf Megacity attended by AMCHAM’s Board of Governors and Committee and Council Leaders, the Strategy Session is an opportunity for leadership to collaborate on the upcoming year’s programming and policy priorities.
Industries represented at the meeting included tech companies, healthcare, finance, manufacturing, tourism, education, and other key sectors for Thailand’s economy, with over 70 top executives representing decision makers from major US and Thai companies as well as innovative social enterprises and digital startups.
Two new AMCHAM working groups were introduced in 2023, in line with Royal Thai government priorities for sustainable development of the Thai economy and people: the Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) Council and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, to expand member collaboration and impact throughout different industries.
“After a successful 2022 with over 200 new and innovative event formats both in-person and online, strong membership growth, expanded government engagement with 40 meetings, and increased media presence, AMCHAM’s 2023 strategy includes keeping this momentum up in member engagement and membership services. We have also seen a surge in leadership volunteerism this year, and we aim to build on this to drive our advocacy and programming,”- said AMCHAM President, Ornkanya (Mook) Pibuldham, Chief Country Officer, Bank of America.
AMCHAM will continue to work together with the Royal Thai Government to engage private sector expertise and know-how with the mutual goal of a thriving business environment. Policy priorities include championing the Ten for Thailand initiatives from previous years to improve ease of doing business in the Kingdom and enhance Thailand’s competitiveness. AMCHAM will offer members virtual and in-person opportunities to meet the Royal Thai Government and to hear their priorities directly, such as the January 26 meeting with the BOI Secretary-General, Narit Therdsteerasukdi. Another key focus for the year is sustainability. In addition to the regular working group meetings of the newly formed ESG Council, AMCHAM will continue its focus on recognizing member CSR contributions through the prestigious AMCHAM CSR Excellence Awards and sharing best practices throughout the year with capacity building events. The AMCHAM Thailand Foundation (ATF) will continue to expand its scholarship program, which annually sends 85 disadvantaged Thai scholarship students through university and vocational school and is funded entirely by member contributions and proceeds from AMCHAM social events.
In partnership with the US Embassy, AMCHAM and AmChams of the Asia Pacific (AAP) will host a three-day AAP Business Summit 2023 / Trade Winds ASEAN from March 13 – 15 to help companies achieve growth and exposure in Asian markets with opportunities to meet and network with leading US and multinational companies and senior US commercial diplomats from over 20 Asian countries. In 2023, AMCHAM will host more than 200 events featuring speaker presentations, networking opportunities, capacity and team building events as well as over 50 working group meetings focusing on customs and excise updates, tourism, healthcare, aerospace, sustainability, and general government affairs for members to collaborate on key issues affecting the business community and to prioritize policy recommendations in these fields.
The AMCHAM Board of Governors include AMCHAM President Ornkanya (Mook) Pibuldham of Bank of America; AMCHAM Vice President Jeff Nygaard of Seagate Technology; AMCHAM Vice President Arpaporn (Gift) Samabhandhu of Johnson & Johnson; AMCHAM Vice President Deborah Seifert of Pfizer Thailand; AMCHAM Vice President John Evans of Tractus Asia; AMCHAM Treasurer Kaveepan Eiamsakulrat of The K.E. Group; AMCHAM Secretary Eliot Delunas of Nitro Labs; Board Governors Wiyada Srinaganand of 3M Thailand; Jamie Brennan of Amazon Global Selling; Chatit Huayhongtong of Chevron; Tanapot Parksuwan of Citibank; Simon Denye of Harmless Harvest; Rachel Davidson of Hilton & DoubleTree Sukhumvit Bangkok; Charles Blocker of IC Partners; and Aileen Chew of Mastercard; Committee and Council Co-Chairs are 87 business leaders from companies such as Agoda, Amazon, BorgWarner, Citibank, Chevron, Dow Thailand Group, Ford Motor Company, International School Bangkok, Johnson & Johnson, Netflix, NIST International School, Seagate Technology, Tyson International APAC, and Western Digital.
About AMCHAM
The American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (AMCHAM) is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization. With 3,000 members representing over 600 American, Thai, and other international companies, AMCHAM is the leading international business association in Thailand. Member companies have cumulatively invested over 50 billion US dollars in Thailand and provide more than 200,000 local jobs.
If you would like to learn more about AMCHAM, please visit: www.amthamthailand.com or contact Varsha Wadhwani, AMCHAM Communications Officer, at e-mail [email protected]
