Sarinee Achavanuntakul wears many hats — she’s a writer, translator and journalist who has combined her passion for economics, social ventures, business ethics and her green agenda into a career. An economics graduate from Harvard University, Sarinee worked in the well-paid finance industry, moved to sustainable businesses and social ventures, then made a mark in the media and literary fields.
In 2011, she co-founded Thai Publica, an investigative news website, and last year she opened Sala Forest, Thailand’s first sustainable business research and advocacy firm. Sarinee regularly writes a business column about sustainable investment in Krungthep Thurakij, a respected business daily. She’s also a columnist on green business for environmental magazine Green World. In two months she’ll release two books: Roo Laew Plian (Know And Change), a collection of her columns from the Green World Foundation website, and a Thai translation of The Truth About Green Business by Gil Friend.
What are you reading?
I’ve been reading The Bankers’ New Clothes by Anat Admati & Martin Hellwig, a great book that summarises key illusions of many bankers in a succinct and easy-to-understand way. I hope to summarise this book for my readers soon in one of my columns.
Can you recommend one or two books about finance?
The Fortune At The Bottom Of The Pyramid by C.K. Prahalad. Written by a professor of economics at the University of Michigan, the book tells us that the world’s most exciting, fastest-growing new market is where you’d least expect it — at the bottom of the pyramid. The world’s billions of poor people have immense untapped buying power. They represent an enormous opportunity for companies to learn how to serve them. What’s more, companies aren’t just making money — by serving these markets, they’re helping millions of the world’s poorest people escape poverty. Another recommendation is The Bankers’ New Clothes.
Have you ever been let down by critically acclaimed book?
I’ve read many books that are good, but not as good as the hype. The most recent one in memory is David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas. I liked it a lot; I just had much higher expectations for it. The conclusion felt too ‘neat’ and orderly for me.
What is your all-time favourite book? Are there any books that have greatly influenced your life?
I have lots of favourite books. One book that had a huge influence on me is J.D. Salinger’s Franny And Zooey, because I read it when I was in high school and I was a little bit of a smart-ass like Zooey in the book. It made me realise how much of a smart-ass I was.
Paper or e-books?
I now read most English non-fiction on my Kindle Paperwhite because I read these books “functionally” — to quickly glean what they say, not to be absorbed by the story. For fiction and dhamma books, I still prefer physical books, because for some reason the feel of paper feels more appropriate for ‘drawing’ the reader into the pages.
