When Sievert Larsson starts a conversation, his softly-spoken words and kind gestures quickly make a good impression.
But despite his natural charm, the life story of this Swedish businessman who founded a charitable organisation to help impoverished Thai children is even more impressive.
From a young boy from Gothenburg to a successful businessman operating in Cyprus, he saw how "a little money can go a long way" and help lift countless Thai youngsters out of poverty via education.
Born as the only child to a working-class family, Mr Larsson is the son of a pipe-fitter who worked in one of the largest shipyards in the city.
He finished his bachelor's degree in computer programming and was immediately employed as a programmer and IT specialist with a Swedish ball-bearing factory, where he worked for 17 years.
In 1987, he left and joined hands with his business partner to start an insurance company in Cyprus.
He worked relentlessly for the success of his business and eventually it became successful.
His insurance firm was renamed Ancoria Insurance after he acquired his partner's shares in the company.
But after he met Emorn Pathumma, a Thai woman in Sweden, his life forever changed. He later married her and was shocked, while accompanying her home, at the wide inequality gap present in Thai society.
"After many visits to Thailand, I started to realise that a little bit of money can go a very long way in this country," he said.
"It doesn't take a lot of money to get a poor kid to attend a vocational school, for instance. With just a little bit of money, you can change a youngster's life forever," he added, recalling how he was inspired to establish a charitable organisation in the country.
His journey began after he read a book by British Buddhist monk Peter Robinson.
"This guy, he wrote a book called Phra-Farang [Foreign Monk], which I bought while I was on vacation here with my wife. I read it and I was really impressed, so I went to see him at his temple in Nakhon Sawan."
Mr Larsson talked to him and learned the monk had just started a charity called the Students' Education Trust, which has since been shortened to the SET foundation.
"Phra Peter's organisation was very small. He had about 10 students that he supported. As my business was quite successful, and I had enough money for my needs, I decided I would start donating money to the children." he said.
"It started with just a few students at first. You get to know them, and then you realise what a difference a little bit of money can make. So, everything sort of grew from there," Mr Larsson said.
He began collaborating more with other organisations over the years and then founded the Sievert Larsson Scholarship Foundation (SLSF) in 2007.
Its primary aim is to support youngsters whose families are in dire straits financially but who also showed great potential and were committed to making the most of the educational opportunities available to them.
As the SLSF was registered overseas, it faced many obstacles in managing its charity work in Thailand.
As a result, Mr Larsson set up the Create Your Future Foundation (CYF) here two years ago to administer SLSF's activities in the Kingdom.
Currently, the CYF has more than seven partner organisations and has helped more than 3,000 youngsters win scholarships and avail themselves of other forms of higher education they never thought would be possible.
"I'm not really a big spender. I can make do with a Honda. I don't have to drive a Rolls-Royce or a Lamborghini," he said.
"As long as my company still generates a profit, everything will be donated to the foundation and, hopefully, the foundation will be able to strengthen its support for children and increase the number of scholarships they are offered," he added.
Asked why he chose to focus on education, he said it's because education is the foundation on which people can build their own lives.
"You have many years to study when you're young. You can study until you're 23, but you can't when you're 25, by then it's kind of too late," he said.
"So you have this window of opportunity, and if you lose that, it's lost forever. But if you get that opportunity, whatever you learn stays with you for the rest of your life," he added.
"Education is something that no one can ever take away from you."