Dr. Iain Corness
As 2010 in now in Q4, many members of the British Chamber
of Commerce Thailand (BCCT) were looking forward to 2011 and hopefully some
political stability in this coming year. However, with elections “some time”
in the new year there are still hurdles to cross for the business world.
Dr.
Iain Corness (left) chats with Kelley D. Ritchey (right), Associate Dean of
the Faculty of Business at Asian University.
Chris Thatcher (the Sutlet Group) addressed the crowd at
Shenanigans Avenue and introduced Ian Hamilton, one of the sponsors for the
BCCT networking with Ticon, suppliers of factories and warehousing
logistics. Business Development manager Ian Hamilton spoke briefly on the
position Ticon had taken in Thailand, and their concept was to offer much
more than just warehouse buildings, but purpose built warehousing designed
to cope with the type of logistics the company used, and the size and number
of items to be held there.
(L to
R) John Howarth, senior consultant for Montpelier, and Shaun Burke, branch
manager Thailand of Cromwell-Tools (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
With Graham Macdonald, the chairman of the BCCT being in
the UK, it was left to the executive director, Greg Watkins, to move around
the room and ensure everyone was able to find the kind of business
representatives they needed to network with, and in this he was aided by
Simon Matthews of Manpower and the strange shirts.
(L to
R) Kelley D. Ritchey, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Business at Asian
University; and Dr. Salam Amir Hoshang, Associate Dean of the Faculty of
Business and Head of the MIS Department at Asian University.
One man with the product all the Brits love was Paul
Markham, one of the partners in the Village Chippy, purveyors of genuine
British fish and chunky chips. The Chippy is soon to branch out with another
cuisine concept, as yet highly secret, but will be called the Village Chinky.
Kylie
and Rosanne brighten the evening.
In an exclusive interview with Pattaya Mail TV,
Peter Smith from AA Insurance Brokers said that the economic downturn had
altered the profile of his customers, with now more Thais realizing the
advantages of insurance, and not just waiting for the next life for things
to be better. There had also been a down-scaling of insurance portfolios
with many looking for cheaper plans until the economy really picked up.
With many of the Automotive Focus Group coming to the
BCCT function after their own meeting, the Shenanigans venue was quite
packed, with the archetypal British brand of Rolls-Royce represented by MD
Ewen McDonald (Glasgow) and Kari Williams (Nottingham).
The next BCCT networking evening will be November 19 at
Horseshoe Point and is one function not to be missed.
(L to R)
Renita Bromley, committee member and treasurer of the Chiang Mai
International Cricket Sixes; Dr. Valerie McKenzie, managing director of
Thana Burin Asia Pacific Ltd.; Kylie; and Kari Williams, business
development manager for Thailand, Laos & Cambodia of Rolls-Royce (Thailand)
Limited.
(L to R)
Mike Diamente, George T. Strampp and Peera Thaweechart.
(L to R)
Richard Bunch, Nick Halliwell,
Dr. Iain Corness, and Simon Matthews.
(L to R)
Nattawan Tamsittipol from Thana Burin Asia Pacific; Dr. Valerie McKenzie,
managing director of Thana Burin Asia Pacific Ltd.; Alan S. Verstein; and
Kasemsri K Eufemio, Public Affairs Director for Thana Burin Asia Pacific
Ltd.
(L to R)
Simon Dutton, publican at Shenanigans; Ann;
and Louis J. Van den Bergh, CEO of 4A Properties.
(L to R)
Joe Barker-Bennett, managing director of JMBB Consulting Co. Ltd.; Andrew
Davis; and Randy Simmons, director of CHS-Asia Co., Ltd.
(L to R)
Chris Thatcher, Richard Bunch, Nick Halliwell, and Greg Watkins.
(L to R)
Peter Smith, director of AA Insurance Brokers Co., Ltd.;
Nam; and Dr. Iain Corness.
