Some extracts from our discussion:

• Q:

  Please tell us about how your career began.

• A:

  I wanted to study management, but if you study full time straight from school you graduate without any experience. I wanted work experience that I could discuss in my management class, so I decided to work and study at the same time. Working at Seagate as a quality audit supervisor was remarkable experience.

• Q:

  What happened then?

• A:

  My brother, Khun Vikrom Kromadit, offered me a job in sales at his new company, Bangpakong Industrial Park, which later became Amata Corp. I ran the zone for Japanese companies and learned about systems. After that, I moved to public relations and then became marketing manager. I was also executive director of Amata’s property joint venture with Koll Co., which was a big company in the US at the time. After hours, I completed my masters. I gained a lot of experience, grooming myself for the future.

• Q:

  But then you took a career break?

• A:

  I was married. We had two sons and then a daughter. I decided to stay at home to look after them until my sons were in school and my daughter entered nursery school.

• Q:

  On your return to Amata, what was your next step up the ladder, and what did you learn?

• A:

  I became business development manager, which included facilities development, then chief business officer, taking care of expansion outside Thailand. I learned a lot about partnerships and how to smell something that is not right. So many companies approach us, but you have to avoid the ones who just want to reap the benefits without putting in the work. When you hold hands together at the beginning, you have to hold hands to the end. Once we get that kind of partner, Amata will never leave them.

• Q:

  You have been CEO of Amata VN for 13 years and the unit will soon celebrate its 30th anniversary. Tell us about the transformation that has taken place?

• A:

  Over the past 10 years we have made really big expansion and today we have 3,000 hectares of land by license in the south, north and center of Vietnam. Today we have five companies, including a joint venture with VSIP of Singapore and Sumitomo of Japan. I am very happy with the way we have introduced the concept of ESG into our eco-industrial parks. The innovation inside Amata is amazing. The transformation also extends to the Vietnamese staff we employ. Instead of taking instructions, they can now give instructions. They have become confident enough to be brave and think outside the box.

• Q:

  How are you adjusting to the global uncertainties sparked by Trumps’s tariffs and geopolitical tensions?

• A:

  Amata is Sanskrit for eternity. That means we dream forever. As we celebrate our 30th anniversary in Vietnam, I am thinking ahead to the 40th anniversary and I am planning to expand three times in the next 10 years. Yes, triple growth. The achievement I am sure will not be easy. My customers are already impacted by Trump’s policies. They are hesitating to move forward and, of course, we cannot depend on the U.S. market. But when we have this kind of impact, you have to see there is opportunity.

• Q:

  What opportunities?

• A:

  We can develop new industrial parks in other areas. Competition will be reduced, giving us the chance to grow. Many provinces continue to approach us, especially now Vietnam has announced it will merge provinces, reducing the number from 63 to 34 by the end of this year. That administrative reform will make provinces more powerful and efficient, and we will be able to partner with the best. In crisis there is opportunity always.

• Q:

  The Prime Ministers of Vietnam and Thailand recently witnessed you signing an MOU to develop industrial parks in Phu Tho, a province near the capital, Hanoi, very close to the China border. Is this an example of what you have in mind?

• A:

  Exactly. Phu Tho is next to Hanoi, and there is a train from China that passes through Phu Tho, going to Hanoi and the port of Haiphong. It has hydro dams that provide green energy – very important for our new customers. There are also rare earths and a large population that provides plenty of labor. Once the provincial mergers go through, Phu Tho will absorb two adjoining provinces, and its capital, Viet Tri City, will be the administrative center. Semiconductors, electronics, and other green, environmentally friendly manufacturers will be in our eyesight.

• Q:

  So you remain confident in Vietnam’s growth potential?

• A:

  Definitely! I always tell people that Vietnam is my home. I was in there so early that I understand the legal system, land compensation, construction rules, and regulations very well. I am very close to my team, and they are very capable people. I have made sure all our main people speak English, which they can use globally. At meetings, everyone has to present in English.

• Q:

  Will your children follow you into the business?

• A:

  Not in Amata. Instead, my sons will work in another business that we have created over the past decades. My eldest son will maintain the business, and the other one will oversee business development. My daughter will do something completely different. She has a master’s with honours in science from the University of Melbourne and will now study for a PhD in stem cell development at the University of Cambridge for the next three or four years.

• Q:

  With all that’s happening in the company and the world, how much time do you get for relaxation?

• A:

  I am Generation X. I have a work-life balance. I expect my people to have work-life balance as well. I need to spend time with my kids and support them. Everyone has to love themselves. If you get sick, the company cannot grow. To work so hard and not take care of yourself is not the right answer.

• Q:

  So, how important is golf in your life?

• A:

  I play at least twice a week. It is the top sport in the world in terms of mentality. You have to manage your temper. In other sports like badminton or tennis, you have only one racket. In golf, you have 14 clubs, and once you have decided which one to use you are committed. Business is the same. If you get tired, you have to focus more, and if you can still can win, you feel you have achieved more. Playing other sports is exactly the same all over the world. But with golf, the scenario totally changes, such as when you go to Japan with the weather, mountain view, sand, water, rain, so many factors. That’s what I love. There are so many ways to learn and improve myself, and if I lose I cannot blame others.

• Q:

  Do you play with other family members?

• A:

  I am lucky my two sons play golf. At Royal Bangkok sports club, there is a mixed competition, boys and girls, and I select my two sons to be my partner. We also go to the driving range together. I enjoy it so much with them. It is a moment that is very beautiful and meaningful.