I joined IDRC in !973 as advisor for international affairs, focusing on Asia and Pacific, and moved to Singapore in 1977 as Regional Director for the Asia Regional Office (ASRO). I remained at ASRO for 17 years until 1994, when I moved to Hanoi, Vietnam, to manage the Vietnam Sustainable Economic Development project (VISED), which was developed to assist the country to move from a centralized economy to a liberal economy. In 2000, I moved back to Thailand to help set up the Thailand Development Research Centre based on the IDRC model. I then moved to Loxley Public Company to be in charge of its international program.
During my years at ASRO, my fondest memory and proudest achievement is my work to transfer the concept of Regional Director to that of “Coordinator,“ and the ability to build a ladder for those on the second floor to come down to the first (empathy).
During my time at VISED in Hanoi, I was proud to be able to get the trust of the Vietnamese Minister of Law. In parallel, I have been very active in pushing for Greater Mekong Subregional Economic Cooperation (GMS), comprising six Mekong Riparian countries (China Myanmar Laos Vietnam Cambodia, and Thailand), initiated and supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), with technical input from IDRC . My proudest moment with GMS was the ADB award.
During my active years as a top executive in the private sector at Loxley, I was successful in establishing joint venture projects with North Korea for over 10 years. We have now had to stop these operations due to American sanctions.
I am now 84 years old and the final stage of my professional life has been to assist the King Prachatipok Institute, established under the auspices of the Thai Parliament, to propagate the democratization process in Thailand. I also assist my wife, to whom I have been married for the past 27 years (after my first wife passed away due to leukemia), in her works on palliative care and living wills.
I consider my life full of excitement and fruitful activities thanks to IDRC, the institution that provided me with the basic foundation to carry out my destiny.
Bulletin 78
October 2025