Six years ago, Rathian Srimongkol made a daring promise to the selection committee during his interview for the top job at Krungthai Card Plc (KTC): to bring the flailing company to a profit of 1 billion baht. The physician-turned-financier not only successfully delivered on that vow a couple of years after taking over, but he's also steered the firm towards record profits through innovative credit card issuance and personal lending.
Mr Rathian says he's never regretted his decision to leave the medical profession for the banking and financial industry.
KTC had the highest number of credit card holders in the country before Mr Rathian took over, but the company struggled with poor cost control for years, culminating in a net loss of 1.62 billion baht in 2011.
Slashing costs and bad loans was Mr Rathian's prescription for what ailed KTC.
"I remember telling the committee during the interview that KTC could easily deliver a profit of 1 billion baht. A committee member told me he would applaud for me if I did it," says Mr Rathian, who always wears a shirt with a casual jacket and jeans, attire that is in line with KTC's policy to be a jeans-wearing organisation.
The subsidiary of state-owned Krungthai Bank (KTB) swung back to a net profit of 255 million baht in 2012 and 1.28 billion baht in 2013 before hitting a record of 1.75 billion baht in 2014. For four years running, KTC has continuously hit record highs in net profit of 2.07 billion baht in 2015, 2.49 billion baht in 2016 and 3.3 billion baht last year.
Last year's record net profit came after the Bank of Thailand tightened regulations on unsecured loans. The rules were enforced from September 2017 and have taken a toll on all credit card and personal loan business operators, including KTC.
Under Mr Rathian's six-year reign, KTC's share price not only recovered but performed at a record-breaking streak. KTC's shares have offered up a bumper profit of over 2,000% since he took the helm, hitting an intra-day record high just shy of 300 baht on Feb 19.
At his open-plan office where he works alongside staff, Mr Rathian, who is 58, says cutting operating costs and centralising debt collection were priorities when rescuing the company. At the time, KTC's cost-to-income ratio was well above the credit card industry's average and debt collection management was in jeopardy.
"At the time I looked into every detail to cut costs," he says. "The most difficult task was making employees understood the changes -- they had their own way of thought, as did I. Fortunately, the company's fragility allowed my way of thought to become established here."
Mr Rathian at the Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona.
Mr Rathian came to KTC after building a career at several financial institutions. Before that he graduated from Mahidol University's medical school and worked as a physician at Siriraj Hospital, where he stayed for 18 months.
Most of his career, however, has been in banking and finance.
He started his financial career at Tisco Finance and Securities as an investment banker and moved to head the treasury department at Bank of Ayudhya and the now-defunct Thana One Finance and Securities before taking a short break one year after the Asian financial crisis erupted in 1997.
Before joining KTC he worked at Siam City Bank (later integrated into Thanachart Bank) and ended his stint as chief financial officer. At Siam City Bank, he worked alongside Apisak Tantivorawong, the incumbent finance minister and former KTB chief executive.
"At Tisco, I learned that I enjoy the challenge of learning new things," Mr Rathian says. "I've never regretted my decision to leave the medical profession for the banking and financial industry. I never thought I made the wrong decision. Otherwise, during the financial crisis, I would have been in despair. When we've already made a decision, we must stay the course and do our best."
After the economic meltdown in 1997, he lost his job and all of his wealth. He was also heavily indebted. Before the financial crisis, he had lived his life and spent his money carelessly.
"I have high confidence -- I've never felt unable to learn anything," Mr Rathian says. "Someone warned me there were signs of crisis looming, but still, I was still confident that I would not be affected. But when the crisis happened, I realised I knew very little. The crisis was like a tsunami, and there was no way we could swim to survive. I understood life from that day."
Once the economic malaise decimated his wealth, he put a halt to his excessive wine habit. He felt the need to maintain the health of his brain, so that he would be better able to think his way out of misfortunes. He was determined to turn a corner in a short period.
He decided to sell everything to service his debt and crafted his own turnaround plan.
There is always opportunity to be found amid crises, and Mr Rathian eventually found that buying and selling assets was a promising venture. By building that business, he managed to pay off his debt within four years.
"My life has been like that of a phoenix, reborn from the ashes," he says. "I'm grateful for the financial crisis, as it taught me to live moderately. Greed is more difficult, because that's what put me in trouble before. Happiness doesn't always vary with changes in money."
KTC has tightened its purse strings, but it has never limited the budget for training and rewards to staff, Mr Rathian says, vowing to maintain the company's 1,800 employees.
"As our high-ranking executives hardly ever move to other firms, those who are in the lower ranks and want to move up the career ladder must work at other companies if they wish to be promoted," he says. "However, we have low turnover. Staff are satisfied to stay in this environment, as challenges are always available and we always lead the market in innovation."
KTC was the first credit card issuer to roll out Samsung Pay, a card-free mobile payment app. It is testing credit-card-based QR code payment in the central bank's sandbox.
Making a robust profit is Mr Rathian's priority for the remaining two years before he retires. He has no plan for what comes after that, but he says he expects to work until he dies.
Mr Rathian's casual attire is in line with KTC's policy to be a jeans-wearing organisation.
Mr Rathian says he enjoys the challenge of learning new things.
Mr Rathian joins a party with KTC employees.