Marking International Women's Day this month, 10 extraordinary women from a wide range of fields who have empowered, inspired and transformed change in their communities through their pursuit of excellence have been named the Bangkok Post's Women of the Year 2024.
A series of in-depth profiles of these women ends today. The profiles detail their achievements and offer insights into their careers and contributions.
Today, we honour Marisa Chearavanont, Founder of the Chef Cares Foundation, Suchada Ithijarukul, Group Chief Executive Officer, Central Food Wholesale, and Siriwimol Pramongkol, National Team Weightlifter.
'Thai Cuisine Advocate'
Catching fire
Marisa Chearavanont — Founder of the Chef Cares Foundation
For the first time ever, globally popular instant noodle brand Nongshim from South Korea announced its collaboration with legendary Bangkok street food chef Supinya "Jay Fai" Junsuta late last year to create a special ramyeon. Under the project Shin Ramyun x Jayfai, Nongshim launched tom yum goong ramyeon available both in soup and dry versions. The noodles are exclusively available in Thailand with a distribution plan in other countries.
Behind this collaboration of two internationally-renowned names is Marisa Chearavanont.
Obviously, Marisa is more than just a pretty face. Wife of CP Group chairman Soopakij Chearavanont and founder of the Chef Cares Foundation, soft-spoken Marisa is committed to promoting and preserving Thai cuisine despite her experiences and background overseas.
With her long-time dedication to make the art of Thai food known internationally, Marisa is this year selected as one of the Bangkok Post's Women of the Year in the Thai Cuisine Advocate category. This accolade is in celebration of the International Women's Day which falls annually on March 8.
Prior to the Shin Ramyun x Jayfai project, Marisa spearheaded the Chef Cares project which, back in 2020, provided boxes of professionally-prepared meals to medical staff and healthcare workers at many hospitals across the country amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Featuring food from Michelin-starred and chefs, along with artisan kitchen masters of several nationalities, the Chef Cares project aimed to honour frontline medical workers and reciprocate their heroic efforts through gourmet offerings. The project garnered hugely positive feedback from the public.
A couple of years ago, Marisa joined hands with Jay Fai, bringing the street food chef to showcase the art of Thai cooking in an Italian museum. The presentation not only wowed the crowd but also made foreigners realise that there is more to Thai food than just pad thai, som tum and tom yum goong. Thai cuisine is in fact diverse and has long history attached to it.
After that, Marisa also flew Jay Fai to South Korea to cook her famed crab omelette and other Thai dishes at the Korea Furniture Museum in Seoul. Marisa's efforts to underscore Thai cuisine as a form of soft power have resulted in a bridge between the iconic chef and Nongshim.
The Shin Ramyun x Jayfai project has no monetary benefits for the Chef Cares Foundation, but that's not the whole point of Marisa's contribution. For her, she only wishes to make Thai food known to the world. Today, many Thai consumers have shown their interest in tom yum goong ramyeon. Those in South Korea feel likewise.
'Sports Heroine'
Lift strong
Siriwimol Pramongkol — National Team Weightlifter
Competing in the 45kg division at the World Championships in Saudi Arabia, Siriwimol put on a combined effort of 179kg -- 78kg in snatch and 101kg in clean & jerk -- as she topped the podium ahead of Rosina Randafiarison of Madagascar (170kg) and Cansu Bektas of Turkey (162kg).
At the Asian Championships in South Korea, Siriwimol won with a total effort of 177kg -- 77kg in snatch and 100kg in clean & jerk -- as she finished ahead of Rose Jean Ramos of the Philippines and Siti Nafisatul Hariroh of Indonesia.
While Siriwimol is no stranger to success, 2023 has so far been the most fruitful year of her career that began nearly two decades ago.
At 12 years of age, Siriwimol was spotted by Sakchai Thitajaree, a teacher at Chon Buri Sports School, who encouraged her to take up the sport seriously. Siriwimol subsequently enrolled at the school to continue her studies while also developing her skills until she graduated after completing Matayom 6.
Siriwimol was an outstanding talent and became a member of the national youth team when she was 14. Two years later, she competed at the inaugural Youth Olympics in Singapore in 2010 and took home a silver medal.
In 2012, Siriwimol earned a place in the senior national team to compete in her first Olympic Games in London but missed out on a medal after finishing in fourth place.
She did not qualify for Rio 2016 and Thai weightlifters were not allowed to compete at the Covid-delayed Tokyo Games in 2021.
In 2022, Siriwimol came back with a strong performance to win three silver medals at the World Championships in Bogota, Colombia.
As the Paris Olympics beckon, Siriwimol admitted she is hoping to compete at the Games for the second time 12 years after making her debut in the quadrennial tournament.
"It's still a dream to compete at the Olympics. But it's also better to give your best one tournament at a time," she said after returning home from the 2024 Asian Championships in Uzbekistan last month -- this time with three silver medals.
From a humble beginning in her hometown of Chon Buri, Siriwimol is now regarded as one of the most successful Thai weightlifters due to a huge amount of hard work, perseverance and determination.
Currently in the middle of her gruelling training for the upcoming IWF World Cup in Phuket, which is the last major tournament before Paris 2024, Siriwimol is ready to push herself to the limit on the platform again.
'Business Empowerment Leader'
Never too old to learn
Suchada Ithijarukul — Group Chief Executive Officer, Central Food Wholesale
Central Food Wholesale was established in 2022, starting a new journey for Suchada Ithijarukul, a leading figure in Thailand's food wholesale industry for nearly three decades.
Within four months of launching its first Go Wholesale store in Srinakarin, the group opened another four outlets in Bangkok and upcountry, making it a rising player in Thailand's 2.6-trillion-baht food wholesale industry.
At the age of 71, Suchada resumed her leadership role as group chief executive for Thailand and international at Central Food Wholesales, under Central Retail Corporation (CRC), the operator of Go Wholesale, after retiring from Siam Makro, a food wholesale conglomerate, where she was chief executive officer for 21 years.
Barely four months into retirement, she was approached by a top executive of Central Group, persuading her to build up a new business in the wholesale food segment, as it was already a major presence in the premium retail industry.
"I immediately saw this as a new opportunity where I can help fulfill the margin, because being a food wholesaler has been my career for half of my life," she said.
"The charm of food wholesale is the fun and challenge in dealing with numerous clients in the food business supply chain, including professional chefs, restaurants, street food vendors, hotels, canteens and even online food sellers."
Suchada said she loves working with people, from her team at the headquarters, outlet employees, suppliers as well as business customers, as they can celebrate business success together.
"Being a female leader there are concerns about motherhood. I view all employees as my children and siblings, because they have been working for me and the company," she said.
Her career started with a small position as an auditor at the age of 21, after graduating from the Commerce and Accountancy Faculty at Chulalongkorn University.
Suchada later advanced her career path in financial roles in various companies, before joining Makro in 1995 as finance director. After six years there, she became chief executive of Siam Makro in 2001, before Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group acquired the company in 2013.
Leading Siam Makro through numerous crises, including the Tom Yam Kung crisis in 1997, helped prove her expertise in the industry, as she grew the company from 10 stores generating 10 billion baht in sales in 1995 to over 150 stores with 200 billion baht before she left in 2022.
Unlike her past journey with Makro, Suchada had to start from zero with Central Food Wholesales to build up an entirely new company.
Suchada started with seven team members who had experience in the field. The company finally launched its first Go Wholesale store in October 2023, with 180 store staff and another 200 employees at the head office.
"Our key to success is our commitment to the business," said Suchada. "We also outlined our five-year business plan and detailed our strategy in opening new stores from the beginning."
Each outlet is expected to break-even within 1-2 years after opening, while the group should break-even within 3-4 years or by 2027.
She said the company is focusing on dedicated service more than before, not just being a middleman which sells products to customers.
It has also been helping local farmers and producers to develop quality products and help match them up with buyers.
The company plans to operate 45 Go Wholesale stores nationwide within five years, generating 60-70 billion baht revenue.
View the full women of the year 2024 list at https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2755024
