Finance takes a back seat to Audi dreams

Finance takes a back seat to Audi dreams

Krisada Lamsam left a promising career at Kasikornbank to chase his passion for German cars.

Mr Krisada with his treasured Audi A5.
Mr Krisada with his treasured Audi A5.

It was a bold step for Krisada Lamsam to resign from his last high-ranking position as vice-chairman and chairman of the corporate governance committee at Kasikornbank (KBank), the country's third-largest lender by assets, in 2014.

From 2010 to 2014, Mr Krisada was one of four senior executives to be appointed as KBank's new presidents, following an internal restructuring plan initiated by KBank chief executive Banthoon Lamsam, Mr Krisada's cousin.

Together with other executives, consisting of Predee Daochai, Teeranun Srihong and Somkiat Sirichatchai, Mr Krisada oversaw KBank's business domain. The other three were in charge of the risk, infrastructure and resource domains, respectively.

Mr Banthoon intended for one of the four domain coordinators to become the bank's next president.

But then Mr Krisada decided to quit the bank. He has declined to say why he resigned after a 25-year relationship with KBank, saying only: "You will know from what I am doing at present."

Entrepreneurial spirit

After turning his back on the ways of the banker, Mr Krisada's name disappeared from the media. But in October 2016 he was talked about once again after gaining the rights as the new authorised importer and distributor of Audi luxury cars, replacing German Motor Work Co, run by the Leenutaphong family.

German Motor Work marketed the Audi brand in Thailand for more than 20 years.

Mr Krisada, 54, founded a new company, Meister Technik, also known as Audi Thailand, and gathered his friends and relatives, including Nualphan Lamsam, chief executive and president of Muang Thai Insurance.

Mr Krisada holds a 30% stake in his company. "I position Audi Thailand as a SME startup," he says. "The car is one of my favourite things, and Audi TT used to be my dreamed-of car when I was a university student in the US, but I couldn't afford it.

"When Audi sought a new Thai dealership, I thought it was an opportunity to give my pitch. I had to present the business plan two times, when Audi officials flew to Thailand and when I went to Ingolstadt, Germany, before winning."

Mr Krisada entered the local car market in March 2017. He announced plans to spend 1.4 billion baht to build two flagship Audi showrooms and service centres on New Phetchaburi Road and Pradit Manutham Road.

Audi Thailand will expand its local dealers to four main provinces in four regions by 2019.

"In over one and a half years of Audi Thailand's operations, I have told my team that we cannot miss our targets, which is my concentration," Mr Krisada says. "Two wholly owned facilities are completed, and we just opened our first dealership in Pattaya last month."

He plans to open a second location in Phuket later this year.

For 2019, Audi Thailand is seeking dealership investors in Chiang Mai and Udon Thani.

"Every milestone has come as planned, and I personally think that we must deliver a successful outcome since we started doing the business," Mr Krisada says. "For Audi in Thailand, the network expansion is part of my plan to increase local motorists' confidence for not only Audi fans, but also other customers who intend to buy this premium brand."

The new showrooms and service centres are aimed at serving both new and existing Audi owners. There are nearly 10,000 Audi cars in Thailand.

Mr Krisada expects the company to achieve sales volume this year of 1,200 cars, or double the number sold in 2017.

In the past, Thailand was a small market for Audi AG when compared with other Southeast Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam.

"But with the 600-car delivery in 2017, it brought Audi Thailand from nobody to somebody in this region," Mr Krisada says. "Currently, Audi cars in Thailand can surpass other markets to rank in second place after Singapore."

Mr Krisada gained the rights to import and distribute Audi in October 2016 and launched the business in March 2017.

Lessons from KBank

Mr Krisada says all his work experience from banking can be applied to his own business.

He started work at the mid-level of KBank, similar to other employees, and took responsibility for foreign exchange until he climbed into KBank's elite club.

"As a banker I met all customer types, from individuals and SMEs to large companies," he says, "and when I shifted to being an entrepreneur, my role changed to that of a bank's customer."

When Mr Krisada founded his business, he was inspired by the many entrepreneurs who built businesses with their own two hands. At the bank, he was an employee; but at Audi Thailand he's the owner, and with that comes a need for self-discipline.

"Discipline is such an important behaviour for both roles, and I try to instil this habit in the core organisational culture in Audi Thailand," he says. "That is what I learned from KBank."

Furthermore, the bank's business strategy is customer-centric. "To put it simply, we have to be considerate about what the customers need or require," Mr Krisada says.

"It seems like KBank's core culture has polished many employees, so I also applied this way of thought to Audi Thailand: what local motorists are requiring, newly launched models and good quality of maintenance services."

Although the luxury car segment in Thailand is dominated by other German brands -- Mercedes-Benz and BMW command a market share in excess of 80% -- Mr Krisada says he believes that Audi can offer a premium alternative for Thai buyers.

"The Audi brand itself is reliable in buyers' perceptions in both Thailand and at a global level," he says. "We will not compete with other giant firms, but there is more room and opportunities for Audi Thailand as one of the world's premium brands."

Thinking in systems

Mr Krisada says he is bringing KBank's systematic way of working to Audi Thailand.

"I always pay attention to human resources, as we cannot achieve or hit any expected goal by working alone," he says. "When we have both a strong human workforce and a system working, every organisational process can move on with fewer obstacles."

When members of the workforce shift to other business units, the company will still exist, he says.

"Turning back to 19 months earlier, Audi Thailand started with only six people on the team, but now we have 170 employees to mobilise the company."

When Mr Krisada pitched his distribution plan to the parent group, he focused on how Audi could create a good brand reputation among Thai motorists and build confidence.

"I did not offer exponential growth, which would have taken a lot of business risks, but I prefer to create organic growth," he says. "Audi Thailand is still an SME startup, with expectations to be a sustainable organisation in the future."

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (2)