CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR AWARDS FROM FINANCEASIA MAGAZINE. HOW SPECIAL THEY ARE?

This year, it’s very special that we received in total five awards, which are almost all of the categories. Besides Best CEO and IR [investor relations], we receives the [awards for] Best Managed Company, Most Committed to Corporate Governance, and Best Corporate Social Responsibility.

If you look back at the last 12-18 months, our industry has [faced] many issues, especially regarding sustainability, labour, human trafficking and illegal fishing practices. We have been addressed in many news [reports], because when NGOs [non-governmen tal organisations] attack Thailand, they also attack Thai Union.

These awards were rated by investors, so that is why we are quite pleased [that] all these awards demon strated confidence and trust that investors see [in] us. If you look at the news, we should not have been rewarded. We were in the wrong industry for the last 18 months.

HOW CLOSE ARE YOU ARE TO BECOMING A TRULY GLOBAL COMPANY?

We need to work more in relation to the organisational structure, the operating model. We will have a clear picture for the next two to three years. And the size of company, I’m still not happy with that right now to be called “global”. If we hit the 2020 target [of US$8 billion in revenue], I’m sure we can become a global company.

If you look at our Bangkok office, the management team now is quite diverse. We have a good number of expatriates. We have been able to attract very high-qualified executives from international firms.

HOW DO YOU MAKE SURE THAT THAI UNION WILL ALWAYS STAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE?

Our job is to look ahead, and we hope we can look three to five years ahead. And the organisation must be willing to take some risks and try new ideas. Our people must always stay curious … try to look for something new. Don’t just sit back and stay in the comfort zone.

CAN YOU GIVE SOME EXAMPLES OF YOUR RISK-TAKING EXERCISES?

[Our investment in] innovation is a financial risk because you invest in something that takes some time to [produce returns], and there is no guarantee. Recruiting expats is also a risk because if you look at the cost, it’s high. If you look at investment, it also carries some risk. But we decided to move on. You can see we did so very quickly, once we decided. The strength of Thai Union is speed.

WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER YOUR BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENTS AND FAILURES OVER THE |PAST YEARS AS CEO?

What I’m proud of the most is the quality of the people we have. We have also demonstrated our leadership in sustainability. And last, I’m very happy about the establishment of our innovation centre.

We failed to manage our pet-foods business early on, but it has now turned around. We failed to manage the fishing fleets because it’s not our [area of] expertise. Quite a few failures, but fortunately, not significant failures. With the growth ambitions that we have, we must admit that we will make some mistakes but we have to make sure they are not big mistakes.

IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT MAKES THE BEST LEADERS?

Leaders must be ambitious, disciplined. A good leader must have a good ability to listen, be willing to learn: Dare to challenge yourself. I like to stretch the boundaries.