The Board of Directors of Central Plaza Hotel Public Company Limited has announced the appointment of Thirayuth Chirathivat as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Centara Hotels & Resorts, effective from April 2, 2012.
Thirayuth holds a bachelor degree from the Faculty of Political Science of Chulalongkorn University and a master degree in Food, Hotel and Tourism Management from the Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, USA. He also attended the Program of Management Development and Executive Education at Harvard Business School and has undertaken management programs at other well-known universities and institutes.
Thirayuth Chirathivat has been appointed CEO of Centara Hotels & Resorts.
Thirayuth has more than 21 years of experience in hotel business management. He started working in 1990 at Hyatt Central Plaza, Bangkok, which is now Centara Grand at Central Plaza Ladprao Bangkok, as F&B Coordinator. He was subsequently promoted to F&B Promotions Manager, and then to Project Development Manager. In this latter role he was directly responsible for supervising the successful completion of two new projects, namely Central Samui Beach Resort and Central Sukhontha Hotel, Hat Yai. These two properties are now named Centara Grand Beach Resort Samui and Centara Hotel Hat Yai respectively.
He was appointed Director of Project Management and Procurement in 1999, and subsequently Vice President of Project Management and Procurement in 2011. He was also director of company subsidiaries Central Hua Hin Beach Resort Co., Ltd., Central Samui Beach Resort Co., Ltd., and Central Sukhontha Hotel Co., Ltd.
Prior to being appointed CEO of Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thirayuth was Senior Vice President for Project Management, directly responsible for overseeing construction and renovation projects for the entire group of hotels.
Centara Hotels & Resorts is Thailand’s leading operator of hotels, with 37 deluxe and first-class properties covering all the major tourist destinations in the Kingdom. A further 17 resorts in the Maldives, Philippines, Vietnam, Bali Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Mauritius Indian Ocean, brings the present total to 54 properties. Brands and properties within Centara ensure that specific categories such as couples, families, individuals, and meetings and incentives groups will all find a hotel or resort that is appropriate to their needs. Centara operates 25 branches of Spa Cenvaree, one of Thailand’s most luxurious and innovative spa brands, and the company’s Kids’ Club is available at all the family-friendly resorts to ensure that the youngsters and teens are taken care of. Centara Hotels & Resorts also operates two state-of-the-art convention centers in Bangkok, and one in Udon Thani in northeastern Thailand.
