BPP boss enjoys the privilege of pressure

BPP boss enjoys the privilege of pressure

Sutee Sukruan is making the most of his opportunity to lead Banpu's power generation arm.

While many of his classmates studied engineering or medicine, Mr Sutee was interested in business from the start.
While many of his classmates studied engineering or medicine, Mr Sutee was interested in business from the start.

Sutee Sukruan ascended to the helm of Banpu Power Plc (BPP) in early 2018, but the top post has yet to give him any serious stress.

"I always think that every working day is my vacation time, so my current duty comes with happiness," he says.

Mr Sutee, 54, is now chief executive of BPP, the power generation arm of Banpu Plc, Thailand's largest coal miner.

Most of his work experience is in numerical analysis and accounting, fields that could be taxing for anyone, but he insists that having the right mindset is key.

"Whenever I'm on an assignment, I never think it's stressful, but I think about what I should do to prepare and get ready," Mr Sutee says.

Before joining Banpu, he worked as an accounting officer at the state-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand after graduating from Chulalongkorn University.

As one of the top students at his high school, Mr Sutee was steered towards two choices for undergraduate studies: engineering or medicine.

"But I chose to study accounting because I wanted to be an entrepreneur some day," he says. "So I knew that the career I chose was the right decision, and I also had my goal to get a master's degree in business management."

These interests set him apart from other classmates: "I loved accounting study and paid close attention in class to absorb as many business views as I could."

With his intention to become an entrepreneur, Mr Sutee passed the national university exam and entered Chulalongkorn University. During an internship, he had a chance to manage a mock company; from that he gained a better understanding of overall business management.

"I would say management of numeric and finance staff is a fundamental part of doing business, and what I have learned can be applied to my actual duties," Mr Sutee says.

His mindset suits the concept of administration at Banpu Group, also called the Banpu Heart, which includes the three pillars of passion, innovation and commitment.

The concept underscores the importance of working as a whole team, not making a hero of any one person, and fostering sustainable growth.

One of the strong points of Banpu as a group is development of human resources and maintaining a consistent management direction. This means melding different cultures into a single mindset. Teamwork is a priority.

"Most of our staff will remain in high capacities when they change their jobs," Mr Sutee says. "We set up the Partner of Choice scheme, which means that whenever we go, local people or consumers will think of us as the priority."

BPP was founded in 1996 under the former name of Cogeneration Plc, a subsidiary of Banpu.

It was one of the first generation of private power producers in Thailand. The segment has grown from a few projects generating 770 megawatts to 24 projects across Thailand, China, Japan, Laos and Vietnam.

Mr Sutee's mindset concurs with Banpu's pillars of passion, innovation and commitment.

BPP has set a goal of expanding capacity to 4,300MW by 2025, up from 2,140MW in operation now.

Mr Sutee says BPP has a further 700MW under development for 2019-23. Of the total, renewable power projects are to account for 20% of BPP's capacity portfolio, up from 16% now.

The main focus of BPP's overseas investment is Vietnam, where the economy is growing at a brisk 6-7% annually, creating huge demand for electricity.

Vietnamese policymakers plan to expand renewable power projects from less than 1% of power generation in 2018 to 13% in 2025.

Mr Sutee says BPP is seeking business opportunities across Asia because the region supports renewable power and demand in various countries is up sharply.

With its strong points in human resources, liquidity and long-time experience in development and operation of power plants, BPP can enhance plant efficiency to more than 80%, such as 86% at the coal-fired Hongsa plant in Laos and 99% at the coal-fired BLCP in Map Ta Phut, Rayong.

"We integrate work within our group," Mr Sutee says. "For instance, when the parent firm sets its footprint anywhere, it will study other potential business, not just in coal trading and mining, so we deeply understand each country where we go.

"In human resources development, BPP has an internal plan that aims to develop staff skills so they can be rotated to locations in other countries. Banpu Group is an institution that can produce human resources with plenty of capabilities and efficiencies, and they can work with other companies, adding to Banpu's reputation."

One of the more interesting situations to have an impact on the business was the political battle between red- and yellow-shirt groups during 2009-10. Travel to Thailand was discouraged by many countries, but BPP needed to sign syndicated loans to finance the Hongsa project.

To get around the unrest, BPP set up a corporation in Singapore to close the deal and receive the loans on behalf of the local company.

For the nuts-and-bolts business concept, BPP set up the HELE (high efficiency, low emission) unit to develop each project with high efficiency. Mr Sutee says the company is highly concerned about the local environment of every project and in every country where it has a presence.

The contribution of local people is one of the most salient points, and not only for doing business.

"Thai energy firms are competing in a fierce market, so we have to be prepared for every detail," Mr Sutee says.

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