Having started her career as a civil servant in Australia before moving on to multinational companies across Asia, Amy Kunrojpanya has worked in the tech industry for nearly a decade. She spoke to the Bangkok Post about her latest job as ride-sharing giant Uber's director of policy and communications in Asia-Pacific.
Q: You are one of the pioneers who worked at Google Thailand for many years. What did you learn there, and how has it contributed to your present job?
A key learning of mine comes down to the idea of how to look at things that people say can't be done, it's too hard, it's impossible, doesn't make sense, and see something different. I see the potential, the possibility, and figure out how we make it possible.
One of the wonderful things that Google really instils in people who work there is that belief in your ability to bring about positive change. How to disregard the impossible.
Working in a startup environment that goes from quite small to a mature business in several years, it stretches you in a way that you to step out of your comfort zone and get comfortable with the uncomfortable. The reality in technology is that it changes quickly. Every day you wake up, you have to be adaptable, flexible. Generally, it builds a sense of braveness or fearlessness with people.
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Q: What are the key differences in Google and Uber from your perspective?
It's a different stage of business at Uber, compared with Google several years ago when I joined the company.
The first thing for me, which is personal, and it's very deep in Uber's DNA, is that I love building and we have a cultural value of "let builders build". For me, the idea of building is about being first, doing things from scratch, taking risks, looking at limitless possibility even when there are obstacles, and you always see the potential. When you are building, you are also investing positive energy.
Second, and it's kind of a key thing for me, is being motivated by challenges. If there's a problem to solve, it's an opportunity to get creative. Problem-solving is not just being creative, but being collaborative. Getting a lot of people in the room, talking about the problem, thinking about how to solve it. I talk about leveraging collective genius, because everybody has to contribute when you are solving problems, and I really like the way that even though you know there is not one single right answer, you will make a decision together and make it move forward.
The last thing, which is not necessarily a point of differentiation, but I think that what both Uber and Google have in common is that I'm going to work on something that matters, something that is more than just in a frame in the office in terms of mission and vision statement. I really want to believe when I get up in the morning that the work I'm doing is really good. That kind of work really motivates people to do amazing things, and to make the impossible possible.
Uber has lobbied public officials in Thailand to embrace the ride-sharing concept, but legal obstacles remain.
Q: Uber is now one of the most recognised startups in the world. How will you help Thailand make use of Uber technology?
Uber has been operating in Thailand for three years. We think about how we can help Thailand really leverage technology. One piece that is ongoing is the political side, that we have engaged with the Land Transport Department, the Transport Ministry, the Prime Minister's Office, the Digital Economy Ministry. There are so many different organisations within the Thai government that can benefit from utilising the technology that we have.
The benefit we see is already tremendous and exciting in Thailand. The number of drivers and riders who download the app and take that first ride is increasing every day. There is high demand for the technology because there's really a problem to be solved, and the only way to solve it is by technology. To me, it's very clear that it's worth doing.
Q: What is the most challenging of your tasks at Uber?
I think it's actually how you look at it. One of the big motivations for me being at Uber is that I love problem-solving. I look at the opportunity to think about problems and challenges and try to figure out a way around it, a way over it.
When I think of about the hard work that I do every day, in conversation with people, the government, academics, stakeholders, influencers, members of the press, non-traditional media, social media personalities, online media -- all of these people have their opinions, they are interested in engaging, they have questions, and we have the opportunity to educate people.
I look at these less as obstacles and more as opportunity, because the more conversations we have, the more people who try Uber, and the more who advocate for change.
Q: You've worked at several global tech companies. Have you always been interested in technology?
I kind of stumbled into technology by accident. Actually, I started my career as a civil servant, working in the Australian government and several governments across Asia. I worked at non-profit organisations. I worked at multinational companies, across FMCG [fast-moving consumer goods]. I've worked for technology companies, a big tech in Google before joining a startup company.
What kind of interested me about technology is that tech companies take a different approach to the kind of impact that one person can make.
Technology as an industry offers the ability of each individual person at the company to be an entrepreneur in your own way. You are kind of making business, building business, you are developing opportunity for the company to grow, and to be experienced in different ways.
I love the idea of being an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are very special, and the kind of things that I talked about earlier in terms of being brave, trying new things, taking risks -- all of these things for me are quite unique to the technology space. I've been working in this now for almost 10 years, and it's hard to imagine working in any other industry.
Q: You've worked in many different countries. What is your most or least favourite and why?
I don't have a most or least favourite, because I think every country has something different. I've learned so much from different cultures. Different countries have different working and social environments, and all of those things help me to better understand how to be a good listener in a number of different languages, how to be thoughtful in approaching media in countries where they have different norms and social practices, and how to interact with government in different countries.
The differences between North Asia and Southeast Asia are very significant. They have very different practices and ways of doing business. All of these countries, to me, I feel like it's a gift to have the opportunity to be exposed to them, because each of them taught me something about myself, as much as about those countries.
I always say to people, whenever you have an opportunity to explore other places, whether for travel or work, always say yes, because it's a rich experience.
Q: You can speak eight languages fluently. Is it a gift or does it come from dedication?
That's a hard one. I don't know. Sometimes when I talk to people about things, I find it comes naturally, I think words or language seems to be more intuitive to me.
When it comes to language, I think if you don't use it, you're the loser.
I've been very fortunate certainly from my career. I've been working for almost 21 years in Asia, and I've looked at the experience and I think to myself, each country has a different type of learning experience, each language provide different kinds of opportunity to express myself and better understand how other people express themselves.
And I think I've been very fortunate to be able to work at companies and in roles that give me a chance to practise multiple languages in my day-to-day works. I feel that's quite unique and quite special to have that kind of opportunity every day.
Q: What is your philosophy towards work and life?
The idea of work-life balance, in my mind I see a picture of someone holding up two sides of the scale. When you are in a perfect position, you can't move if you want to maintain that perfect balance, but I don't think that reflects real life.
Real life is full of movement, sometimes unexpected things. When I think about work and life, I want the passion and the energy that I bring to come through because I believe in what I do and I love what I do.