Taking management to another level

Taking management to another level

Ms Suphajee is Dusit Thani Group’s first chief executive from outside of the founding family.
Ms Suphajee is Dusit Thani Group’s first chief executive from outside of the founding family.

‘Gender is not an issue. When you get to a certain level, everything is gender neutral. It’s about your professionalism in approaching challenges, how you respect individuals, share your vision and objectives ...”

Those remarks once made by Suphajee Suthumpun seem to truly reflect her personality and professional management style, which she pledges to bring to the table in ushering the global hospitality firm, Dusit International, into long-term sustainable growth and status as a truly global brand.

After holding posts such as general manager of global technology services at IBM’s Asean headquarters in Singapore, country manager of IBM Thailand and chief executive of satellite operator Thaicom Plc, Ms Suphajee, 53, joined Dusit International in January 2016. She is the third chief executive in the group’s storied 67-year history, after founder Thanphuying Chanut Piyaoui and her son Chanin Donavanik, and the first from outside of the founding family.

Ms Suphajee in front of the Dusit Thani Hotel.

Ms Suphajee is hailed as one of the women who hold 37% of the senior management positions in Thailand. She is also a board member at various institutions, including Kasikornbank.

Founded in 1949 by Thanpuying Chanut Piyaoui, Dusit International has 29 hotels and resorts in 18 countries.

Dusit International also owns and operates Dusit Thani College, a private educational institution offering culinary and hospitality management programmes in partnership with the Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne; the Le Cordon Bleu Dusit Culinary School, a joint venture partnership with the renowned Paris-based institute; and the recently launched Dusit Thani Hotel School, Thailand’s first “paperless” hospitality school based on Asean Common Competency Standards for Tourism Professionals.

At a time when Dusit International was looking for someone to introduce new management systems and build a solid corporate structure to enable the company to grow as a hotel chain and in hospitality education, Ms Suphajee succeeded Mr Chanin, who is now chairman of the group’s executive committee.

The founding family realised that technology would play a key role going forward and that technology would let the company respond dynamically to changes in the tourism industry.

Ms Suphajee’s track record of success at IBM and Thaicom helped establish initial trust. But what really sealed the deal was her sharing the family’s vision of bringing the grace of Thai hospitality to the world. She also strongly believes in promoting education.

“If we do well in education, I believe it will strengthen the quality of the industry in general, which is significant for Thailand and the region,” she says.

Ms Suphajee with her family.

Although her experience has been largely in technology, which seems distant from hospitality, Ms Suphajee sees nothing distinctly different.

“Any business, at its core, is about serving customers," she says. "So whether you work in hospitality or technology, you should always aim to meet the requirements and expectations of your customers while serving them to the best of your ability.

“Thanks to working with multinational companies, I have a unique perspective, while working overseas forced me to learn how to juggle several problems at the same time — and dealing with critical problems has made me wiser.”

According to Ms Suphajee, balancing life and business are much alike: you need preparation, awareness and planning. Before any journey, you must be fully aware of yourself. You must be able to identify your strengths, weaknesses and preferences. You must also be able to analyse your work environment and all stakeholders involved.

‘‘Changing from technology to hospitality may sound like a giant leap, but the shift really isn’t that great," she says. "The biggest advantage, of course, is that I bring to this role a fresh pair of eyes and a novel perspective, yet still the same service-minded attitude. This has allowed me to embrace Dusit’s long-standing traditions while also ushering in a new chapter of change. The fact that technology has become a big part of everything, of course, is another advantage.”

To cope with Dusit International’s new chapter, Ms Suphajee has established five major pillars: people, work process, technology, property and financial capability.

Starting with people, Ms Suphajee has introduced a new vision and mission that highlights human resource competency in three core areas: caring, commitment and can-do attitude. This corporate philosophy has already been put in place.

Ms Suphajee says life and business are much alike in terms of striking a balance.

Secondly, process: Ms Suphajee believes that Dusit International needs greater operational efficiency, a higher speed of services, streamlined workflow and better internal and external communication.

Third is technology, which is closest to her expertise. How can the group use technology to create an integrated gateway to cater to the needs of modern travellers, plus increase direct bookings of all services and rooms on the website, all while providing convenient and relevant information to customers? This is the key question that must be answered to keep Dusit International moving forward in the digital age.

Fourth, property and branding. Plans are afoot for Dusit International to make inroads to the property development business. Dusit International recently announced that it would demolish its flagship hotel in Bangkok. Dusit, in partnership with Central Pattana Plc, will develop a landmark mixed-use real estate project. The project in Sala Daeng will feature a hotel, residences, retail areas and offices with large green spaces.

The estimated project investment is 36.7 billion baht, 60% of which will come from Dusit Thani and the rest from Central Pattana. The new project will be built with the aim of combining Thailand’s unique heritage with international standards, while fully utilising space in the area to maximise potential.

The two companies hope the project will exemplify the talents of Thai people and the strengths of Thailand’s hospitality, real estate and retail sectors.

They further seek to make Bangkok a hub for high-end tourism and shopping, thereby enhancing the country’s reputation worldwide. Construction of the new mixed-use project will start in July 2018 and is set to conclude in 2021.

According to Ms Suphajee, Dusit International is pursuing an aggressive diversification strategy that will strengthen the traditional hotel chain’s portfolio with the addition of properties that range from the luxurious to the trendy.

Ms Suphajee and her sons.

Dusit plans to launch a new hotel brand by 2019. The hotels under the label will cater to “millennial travellers” — regardless of their age group — by offering exquisite Asian decor, smaller rooms and larger communal spaces.

The first hotel under the new brand will be located at Chatuchak Weekend Market.

The company is also planning to strengthen its presence in the restaurant and food market by introducing Dusit Gourmet and The Lobby by Dusit. These two brands will join the existing line-up of the group's restaurants, which include Benjarong, May Flower and Thien Dong.

The company is in the process of finding suitable locations in two or three community areas for new restaurants by year-end.

In June, Ms Suphajee said Dusit expected non-hotel businesses (including wellness ventures, restaurants, condominiums and mixed-use projects) to contribute 10% of total revenue in the next five years.

While diversification is essential to Dusit’s growth strategy, balance and expansion are also necessary for the company’s growth.

Within the next 3-5 years, the company’s ambitions include doubling revenue, doubling hotels under management to 58 and increasing the number of students who have graduated from Dusit hospitality schools to 6,000.

Ms Suphajee’s last goal is financial stability. Maintaining a strong balance sheet for the group is important. Despite the above-mentioned investment and expansion plans, Dusit will tend towards cautiousness in any investment — and splurge money only on projects that are assured to maximise returns to the group.

The storied Dusit Thani Hotel will continue to operate as usual until next June, when the site will be turned over to the mixed-use development.

An artist’s depiction of Dusit Thani’s mixed-use project, featuring several towers and the new Dusit Thani Hotel on the left.

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