Department head - international legal and intellectual property | Boon Rawd Brewery Company
Director in Legal Affairs, Company Secretary and Director | Tao Kae Noi Food and Marketing
Senior director – legal, compliance and quality | Ek-Chai Distribution Systems (Lotus)
Assistant general counsel APAC | McKinsey & Company
General counsel Thailand and general counsel for homecare Southeast Asia | Unilever Thai Trading
Vice president, legal affairs and compliance | Berli Jucker
Senior specialist counsel | Agoda
Rising Star
Head of legal compliance strategic initiatives, legal, compliance and risk | Token X
Executive vice president, head of compliance | Siam Commercial Bank
Vice president and head of legal | TCC Assets Thailand
Executive vice president, legal and international projects | Thoresen Group
Head of business laws counselling | Asset World Corporation
General counsel | HSBC Thailand
Currently serving as HSBC’s country general counsel for Thailand, John Cordova is passionate about serving HSBC’s clients. He brings them a breadth of banking and financial solutions, helping them connect...
Regional legal manager | Dole Food and Beverages Group
Head of legal compliance and risk management APAC | Limagrain
Senior Legal Director | Bitkub Capital Group Holdings
Director, global legal and compliance | Pandora Productions
Senior Legal Counsel, South East Asia | Align Technology Thailand
Rising Star
Deputy head of legal and compliance group | Kiatnakin Phatra Financial Group
General manager, legal department | CG Corporation
Rising Star
General manager compliance management and legal | Mercedes-Benz
Legal Lead of Corporate and Content | LINE Company
Rising Star
Legal and compliance deputy division manager, company secretary | AGC Vinythai
Senior Executive Vice President, Office of General Counsel | PTT Public Company
Chief legal compliance and financial crime officer | KrungThai Bank
Vice president, legal and compliance, company secretary | Major Development
Company secretary and head of legal, compliance and international tax | Thai Union Group
Group head of legal and corporate affairs and company secretary | aCommerce Group
Executive vice president, head of legal affairs division and company secretary | The Stock Exchange of Thailand
General counsel, Thailand and Mekong region | PwC
Chief commercial officer and general counsel | Minor International
Vice president – legal and compliance | Country Group Development
Counsel – utilities, infrastructure, technology contract, labour, general procurement law division | Siam Commercial Bank
Rising Star
Chief Legal Officer and company secretary | Bangkok Glass
Assistant vice president, legal and compliance | Shera
Senior vice president , legal department | The Erawan Group
First vice president, legal | Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC)
Country Head of Legal & Secretariat Data Protection Officer | UOB United Overseas Bank (Thai)
Legal director, head of litigation and regulation department | True Corporation
Company secretary and legal director | Carabao Group
Legal senior manager, dispute resolution and litigation legal department | Delta Electronics (Thailand)
Senior vice president – general counsel and data protection officer | Thai Group Holdings
Vice president, senior lawyer, utilities and infrastructure law division | Siam Commercial Bank
Rising Star
It is with the warmest of congratulations to all the successful GCs featured from everyone at The Legal 500 that I welcome you to the second edition of The Thailand GC Powerlist: 2024.
This year, we have built on the success of 2023’s opening publication by creating an even more exclusive grouping of top GCs in Thailand, with the absolute cream of the crop featured within the 2024 edition. Some lucky people are featured for a second time, but there are plenty of new faces this year too. We have also added some particularly precocious rising stars into the mix, people who will be the business leaders of the future and help steer the Thai economy as it continues to grow.
As always, the interviews we did were particularly illuminating. One of the topics we consistently see as being important for the GCs we speak to around the world is getting the most out of the other members of the legal team; in short, how to motivate each individual in the team in order to foster excellent team work. Akarin Aganidad of Boon Rawd Brewery gave a particularly well thought out answer to this question which bears highlighting:
“I keep my legal team motivated and manage their morale in many ways.
Share as much information as possible: during times of disruption and transition, as has been the case recently, communication is king. Hold virtual meetings or send email updates more frequently, share useful information as much as you can about what is happening and what will happen next.
Set clear goals and expectations: legal team members are less likely to feel unsettled by disruption if they have tangible goals to work towards. Set these goals carefully — they should be challenging but realistic. Escalating workloads can place considerable strain on team members, so meet regularly with your team to evaluate workloads, set priorities and rebalance responsibilities. Encourage teamwork, as change or challenge is less intimidating when teams confront it together. By giving individuals opportunities to contribute their skills and ideas in a positive way, you can encourage team members to feel a sense of accomplishment in everyday tasks.
Show appreciation: adapting to change is never easy, so it’s important to give kudos to teams who rise to the challenge. Show appreciation for outstanding work during the most crucial weeks and months by recognizing achievements or providing appropriate rewards — thank-you notes, gift cards, or public recognition during meetings or company events, for example.
Set clear performance standards: hold regular staff meetings to discuss what went right and what went wrong in specific instances, stressing that these meetings are not about assigning blame but resolving problems. Approaching these instances in a positive, proactive, and collaborative manner can leave the team feeling involved in the process. Having a role in establishing these performance standards will leave them feeling invested in meeting them.”
None of the research for this year’s edition could have been possible without the four excellent Law Firms who sponsored the 2024 edition. Thank you to Chandler MHM, Herbert Smith Freehills, Kudun & Partners and Tilleke & Gibbins for all their hard work in helping to put the GC Powerlist Thailand together – many of those featured here have them to thank for the accolade. Thank you also to the Thai-CCA for providing a number of key names and support along the way too.
Finally, a huge congratulations once again to everyone featured, and we look forward to the next edition!
Joe Boswell
Global Editor: The Legal 500 GC Powerlist
We are delighted to launch our first China GC Powerlist since the pandemic. It has been far too long since we could celebrate the best in-house lawyers in this remarkable country, but it has certainly been worth the wait. We thoroughly enjoyed researching this edition and are immensely grateful to the many lawyers and GCs who supported us over the past few months to bring this publication to fruition. The launch event was a huge success, with over 120 key legal professionals who make up the elite of the Chinese legal scene attending to hear speeches from leading partners at sponsor firm Tian Yuan and the in-house lawyers who made it on to this exclusive list.
In particular, the excellent team at Tian Yuan Law Firm played a pivotal role in providing insights into key market changes and introducing some of the most innovative GCs for consideration in this publication.
As expected for legal and business leaders in such a powerhouse economy, we had an abundance of outstanding candidates to choose from. Narrowing it down to the final 100 names was no easy task. Congratulations to everyone included—earning a place on this prestigious list was a significant achievement.
