Returning as the first female chief to the organisation that jump-started her career could be a nerve-racking experience, and high expectations are in the air, but Ruenvadee Suwanmongkol looks set to meet those lofty hopes with prepared strategies and a forward-looking perspective.
Ms Ruenvadee worked at the SEC for 11 years during her previous stint at the agency.
Nominated for the top job at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) before the application period closed on Sept 21, 2018, Ms Ruenvadee was appointed as secretary-general on May 1, succeeding Rapee Sucharitakul.
According to a well-placed source, Ms Ruenvadee was more qualified than the three other candidates, given her previous work experience at the securities watchdog and her time in executive-level posts at other state agencies related to legal affairs.
With a mission of spearheading digital transformation and providing access to the capital market for small and medium-sized enterprises in mind, the new SEC chief is determined to beef up Thailand's capital market competitiveness while providing a level playing field and supporting wealth advisory services for all.
AGENT OF CHANGE
Her placement in the top executive position at the SEC is something new, but Ms Ruenvadee is no stranger to the agency: she worked there for 11 years before leaving to join the Justice Ministry. Her last post at the SEC during the previous period was as the regulator's spokeswoman.
"I left the SEC at that time to work with another legal organisation because I wanted to learn and obtain a new set of skills," Ms Ruenvadee, 55, tells the Bangkok Post in an exclusive interview.
"I did not plan to come back to be in the top position at the SEC. Working outside the SEC for more than 10 years allowed me to learn how to manage an organisation and deal with people. I also was able to use my legal skill to successfully develop the organisation, especially in creating an efficient work process and integrating a digital platform at the Legal Execution Department for people to search for data easier."
Ms Ruenvadee's reputation as an agent of change was well known when she headed the Legal Execution Department, her last job before rejoining the SEC.
She managed to modernise a department notorious for archaic and bureaucratic characteristics, introducing a paperless, digitised database system in September 2017 -- the first government agency to do so in Thailand.
Ms Ruenvadee shows her football skills. She reckons the sport is a good way to strengthen teamwork.
The department managed to put all the financial data of those ordered to repay debts by courts nationwide into the database. Information related to civil and bankruptcy cases has also been incorporated into the system.
Now that Ms Ruenvadee is back at the organisation where she started her career, she hopes to muster her professional experience, legal skills and connections to bring the SEC's competitiveness up to par with global peers.
"I am proud to see that the SEC has developed well since I left," she says. "The gratitude goes to all executives, management team and staff who have dedicated themselves in building up the organisation, as the capital market supervisor, to be stronger and well-respected by all market participants."
During her first five months at the SEC's helm, Ms Ruenvadee was active in getting things going operation-wise. She set up a "war room" to monitor and check irregularities in securities trade, produce reports on the whereabouts of offenders and cooperate with other organisations at the local and international levels.
Her objective is to enhance the SEC's workflow and development in concert with other domestic organisations.
DIGITAL OPERATIONS
Because the borderless world and cutting-edge technology have had a disruptive effect on financial markets and regulators worldwide, undergoing digital transformation is one of the urgent tasks Ms Ruenvadee has made a priority during her second stint at the SEC.
The regulator aims to build up distributed ledger technology (DLT) as the main IT infrastructure platform linking all members and products in the capital market. The plan is among the core development policies in 2020 for the SEC.
DLT is a digital system that records asset transactions and their details in multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, distributed ledgers have no centralised data storage or administration functionality.
Ms Ruenvadee with SEC staff on the football pitch.
Similar to blockchain technology, DLT refers to information that is distributed across a network and fosters a degree of transparency and openness of digital records, according to Cointelegraph.com.
The main difference between blockchain and DLT lies in how the latter restricts those who can use it and depends on permission for access, with a series of time-stamped "blocks" not always necessary for DLT.
The SEC expects to select corporate bonds as the initial securities under a pilot project involving DLT in 2020.
Blockchain technology will be used for trading in the regulatory sandbox, followed by an evaluation of results before moving on to other securities products, Ms Ruenvadee says.
There will be an "end to end" system that enables linkages with the technological systems of other financial regulators, such as the Finance Ministry and the Bank of Thailand, she says. Other securities, such as equities, derivatives and investment funds, will follow suit under the three-year roadmap running through 2022.
The SEC appointed Accenture as technology consultant and Baker & McKenzie as legal adviser for the DLT development plan. The agency plans to present its development plan on DLT in the coming week, then convey information to the Capital Market Development Fund board to seek project financing.
Artificial intelligence will be incorporated in the e-enforcement process, enabling greater efficiency in the investigation of cases that breach securities regulations, such as fraud and insider trading.
TEAMWORK AND TRAVEL
With a career spanning the capital market environment and legal affairs, success is not merely down to one's ability; it also depends on good teamwork, Ms Ruenvadee says: "I cannot work alone without support from my team."
Teamwork and good cooperation between colleagues are her mantras for completing objectives and enhancing the growth of an organisation.
"I have never had any hesitance to support staff in growing in their positions at work because they are an important force driving organisational growth in the long run," she says.
Because it's one of the sports that brings out the best in teamwork, Ms Ruenvadee uses football as a medium to invite all SEC executives and staff to take part in matches on holidays.
"Football is a good sport for teamwork and respecting the rules of the game," she says.
Outside of her rigorous work routine, Ms Ruenvadee finds solace in travel, even if some of her trips are still work-related.
"I like travelling," she says. "Whether it's going abroad to attend global meetings and establishing mutual cooperation with other global organisations, or simply travelling in Thailand's rural areas to see how people go about their daily lives."
Life, in her own words, is a travelling journey: "This is because travelling tells us about trust, the actual situation happening on the ground and real conditions more than reading books and newspapers.
"I have learned from my parents to be accessible with people. This will give us more things to learn from, and it's better than reading from books or watching from a screen."
BIO DATA
Ruenvadee Suwanmongkol
Age: 55
EDUCATION
- LLB, first-class honours and gold medal, Chulalongkorn University
- Barrister-at-law, Legal Training Institute, Thai Bar Association
- LLM, international business law, Harvard Law School
- Master of Business Administration, Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley
CAREER
- 2019-present: Secretary-general, Securities and Exchange Commission
- 2019-present: Member, Law Development Committee, Council of State
- 2019-present: Director, Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives
- 2019-present: Director, Dhanarak Asset Development Co Ltd
- 2014-19: Director-general, Legal Execution Department, Justice Ministry
- 2012-14: Director-general, Probation Department, Justice Ministry
- 2010-12: Inspector, Justice Ministry
- 2008-10: Deputy director-general, Justice Aairs Oce, and deputy director-general, Rights and Liberties Protection Department, Justice Ministry
- 2006-08: Director, legal division, Permanent Secretary's Oce, Justice Ministry
- 2004-06: Legal adviser, Permanent Secretary's Oce, Justice Ministry
- 1992-2004: Various posts, Securities and Exchange Commission
HOBBIES
Travel, football