Primpraporn Held (front),
sales manager for Sheraton Pattaya, with (L to R) Paul Wilkinson,
general manager Eastern Seaboard of Four Winds International Moving
Limited, Mark Thomson, managing director of Merino Co., Ltd., Dr.
Alastair Bacon, general manager of Prodrive Automotive Technology
(Thailand) Ltd. and Dr. Iain Corness.
Peter J. Emblin, principal
of Emcom, Paribhan Vajrabhaya of Panburi Co., Ltd., Malcolm Ferdinands,
director, North Asia Personal & Private Bank of ANZ, Deirdre Vajrabhaya
of Panburi Co., Ltd., Stephen M.M. Darley, and Gary Woollacott,
president of AustCham.
Dr. Iain Corness
The Australian Chamber of Commerce (AustCham) calls its networking
events on the Eastern Seaboard their “Seaboard Sundowners” and this
could not have been more apt than last Friday when the members and
guests gathered in the Sheraton Pattaya Resort to witness the sunset
from the function area directly looking our over the Gulf of Siam. It
was a spectacular start for the evening which had attracted more than 80
people.
Neil
Maniquiz, marketing executive International Marketing & Communication
Division of Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, Monika Rottmann from Bangkok
Pattaya Hospital, and Stuart Saunders from Esdesign (Far East) Co., Ltd.
The Sheraton was ably represented by the GM David Cuddon (who showed he
was not averse to rolling up his sleeves and helping behind the bar when
needed), Prim Held the senior sales manager and newcomer executive chef
Matthew Woolford. It was his creative flair that produced the very
different finger food during the evening - for example, the spicy Miso
soup served in demitasse was truly spectacular (and spicy)!
Som
Corness, Stuart Saunders from Esdesign (Far East) Co., Ltd. and Peter
Mewes, managing director of the London Consultancy Co., Ltd.
Other sponsors of the evening included the world automotive technology
and motorsport company Prodrive, which has its fingers in many pies
worldwide. Prodrive runs the world rally championship, its chairman used
to be the MD at BAR Honda F1, and here the company is involved in
engineering technology with many automakers in Thailand, including the
new Ford Focus. The local GM Dr. Alistair Bacon and the GM for Business
Development Brian Rogers were both in attendance and were happy to be
part of the throng.
Simon
Matthews, general manager of Manpower, Neil M. Russell, Bangkok
operations director of Manpower, and Tony Emmett, RPT Asia Ltd.
There was another sponsor, a company that does help the grass grow under
your feet, and that was Global Turf Consulting
(www.globalturfconsult.com) represented by its MD, the affable Aussie
Gary Chatfield. This company has imported grasses from around the world
and selects the type of grass best suited to your soil, pats it on the
head and tells it to grow! Currently they are re-turfing the Pattaya
Bowling Green amongst other local projects.
Steve
J. Wickboldt, Jr., vice president of International Fabrication Services
Co., Ltd., Stephen C. Johnson, director of operations for Hertel Asia
Ltd. and Mark Thomson, managing director of Merino Co., Ltd.
A regular at these events is Paul Wilkinson, the GM for the Eastern
Seaboard of AGS Four Winds International Movers; however, they do local
and inter-province relocations as well. If you have a query about
moving, be that your house or factory, give Paul a ring (01 903 9477),
but don’t forget to ask about his personal truck!
Dominic
Der-Kevorkian, managing director of K-Tech Construction Public Company
Limited, and Simon Matthews, general manager of Manpower.
These events are put on by the Australian Chamber, and president Gary
Woollacott and executive director Martin Kyle were both present, but the
Brits and others are not slow in cottoning on to the fact that these are
very popular networking events. Peter Mewes from the legal firm of The
London Consultancy was seen shaking many hands, while other
nationalities such as Paulino Mendoza from BMW Thailand and Ramona
Limwattana from Pantip Court in Bangkok were also on hand.
Neil
Pawsey from Touchwood Eurasia Company Limited and Gary Chatfield,
managing director of Global Turf Consulting Co., Ltd.
It was certainly a successful evening for the business card exchanges,
and it was interesting to see Domenik Stamm and Michael Goetz from the
Amari Resort both present, giving the Sheraton a professional looking
over!
The next Seaboard Sundowners will be in two months, but advance notice
will be given in the Pattaya Mail as usual.
Ekjaree Thanasawangkul
from Dataconsult Ltd., Gary Whith, past president of AustCham, Nigel
Taylor, golf course manager of Destination Golf, and Nicki Nelson from
The Regent’s School Music Department.
Paul Whyte, general
manager of Tinfish (Thailand) Ltd., Achara Boonyahansa from AustCham,
Watcharapong Pathompanich, business development manager of Prodrive
Automotive Technology (Thailand) Ltd., Junpen Wannafuk, director of
Global Turf Consulting Co., Ltd. and Robin Hyde, manager Schenker
Removals of Schenker (Thai) Ltd.
Japanese
Rock Star “Makoto” will come to Pattaya for a recording session and a
promotional tour of the city’s new tourist attractions.
