Suphachai Chearavanont

After graduating from Boston University, Chearavanont spent time as an intern at a petrochemical factory in Houston, Texas. On his return to Thailand, in 1989 he worked at Siam Makro (now known as CP Axtra), a C.P. Group subsidiary. Chearavanont in 1990 worked at Soltext Federal Credit Union in the United States, and in 1991 and 1992 he was employed at Vinylthai,[19] a Thai petrochemical company.[20]

In 1992 he joined TelecomAsia Corporation, Thailand's largest telecommunication company[20] and a subsidiary of C.P. Group.[21] Initially a senior officer in the president's office, he was named VP of the Operation Room in 1993 and senior VP of Planning and Project Coordination & Support in 1994.[19] After becoming a managing director of TelecomAsia in 1995,[17] that year TelecomAsia named him general manager of its eastern region.[19] Also in 1995 he was chief operations officer (COO) of UTV Cable Network, becoming the subsidiary's president in 1996 when it was renamed Asia Multimedia. TelecomAsia appointed him executive VP of business operations in 1996,[17] then senior executive VP in 1997.[17][19] TelecomAsia was negatively affected by the 1997 Asian financial crisis,[22] with its debt reaching record levels after the depreciation of the Thai baht by 50% that year. Seeking to avoid bankruptcy, Chearavanont is credited with[17] pitching TelecomAsia's growing fixed-line phone business and future prospects to investors,[18] securing a debt restructuring plan.[23]

Chearvanont was named president and CEO of TelecomAsia in 1999,[2] also becoming chairman of the subsidiary Wire & Wireless.[17] He became an executive director of CP Lotus, a subsidiary of C.P. Group, in 2000,[10] and 2001 he became chairman of Pantavanij Company.[17] In May 2002 Chearavanont was also appointed the co-CEO of TA Orange, a wireless joint venture between TelecomAsia and France Télécom. After managerial disagreements on marketing for the Thai market, in May 2003 France Telecom began divesting of its foreign ventures, including TA Orange.[22] Chearavanont "staged a buyback,"[18] with France Telecom ultimately selling all but 10% of its stake back to TelecomAsia in March 2004. Afterwards Chearavanont continued to invest in TA Orange to increase its network size,[24] renaming TA Orange TrueMove.[25] As part of the buyback, Chearavanont also rebranded TelecomAsia as True Corporation,[18] expanding into "mobile, fixed-line phones, broadband and pay TV services."[2]

While remaining CEO of True Corporation, in 2006 Chearavanont also became CEO of TrueVisions,[19] a pay-TV subsidiary formed out of UBC. By 2007 he was overseeing four True Corporation subsidiaries beyond TrueVisions:[25] TrueMove operated a mobile phone business, TrueOnline provided data and fixed-line phone services, TrueMoney focused on digital commerce, and TrueLife focused on digital content.[25] In 2007[2] he established True Plookpanya, a CSR initiative by True Corporation that sought to use communications to "enhance education for underprivileged children"[18][26] in 6000 schools in rural Thailand.[2][27] In 2013 Chearavanont helped launch the Digital Infrastructure Fund, considered "Thailand’s first telecommunications infrastructure fund,"[2] and also became a director of the C.P. Group subsidiary Siam Makro Public Company Limited.[10] In September 2014, Chearavanont sold 18% of True Corporation to China Mobile,[18] a move that according to the Bangkok Post "managed to stem the bleeding at True" concerning accrued long-term debt.[28]

After becoming an executive director of True's parent organization C.P. Group in 2008,[10] in 2015 Chearavanont was named C.P. Group's vice chairman and president[15] while remaining the president and CEO of True. In 2016 he was announced as the successor to Dhanin Chearavanont as C.P. Group's chief executive,[6] officially becoming CEO on January 9, 2017.[1] On February 21, 2017, he was appointed chairman of True's executive committee, stepping down as True's CEO and president.[3] He remained director of various True subsidiaries, as well as CEO of TrueVisions[10] and TrueMove.[9] On February 24, 2017, Chearavanont announced that True Corporation would invest in expanding TrueMove's 4G networks that year.[4]

In May 2017, Chearavanont stated that C.P. Group would focus on digitizing operations as part of a five-year business plan[29] for the "4.0 era," pushing C.P. Group to become a "technology-led company, spanning food, retail and telecom businesses." He did note the company would avoid complete automation in subsidiaries such as 7-Eleven stores, stating that it was "unproven that unmanned retail operations [would result in greater efficiency]" and "we also have a social responsibility to create jobs."[30] He also outlined expanding logistics for supply chains and distribution systems.[31] Chearavanont announced in 2018 that the new healthcare subsidiary CP Medical Centre Company would construct and operate a Bangkok medical center.[32]

In June 2019, he succeeded Dhanin Chearavanont as True Corporation's chairman.[7] In 2019, Chearavanont announced that CP Group was working with the Thai government to build a $7.4 billion rail network, as well as a train station, mall, hotel, convention center, and rail research center in Bangkok.[33] At C.P. Group he currently oversees "group-wide strategies on sustainability policies and corporate communications,"[27][2] heading several social responsibility and sustainability-related committees.[15][2] In September 2019, he led the CP Group team that launched an artificial reef project in Thailand.[34] Among other projects, in 2020 he formed a CP Group program to limit deforestation in the Pua District by helping farmers replace maize with crops such as coffee.[35]

In May 2020, Chearavanont announced C. Group would not be laying off[36] any of its 400,000 employees due to COVID-19,[37] and that it had hired 20,000 delivery workers since the start of the pandemic.[36] Also in 2020, he oversaw CP Group's acquisition of Chilindo for $18 million, with the company to "complement" CP Group's WeMall shopping platform and enter the international market.[38] He described buying Chilindo as a "pilot project" to establish a Thai e-commerce platform.[39] Also in 2020, as chairman of the company Eastern High-Speed Rail Linking Three Airports he was overseeing the construction of a high-speed railway project in Thailand.[40]