It is not uncommon for academic and career interests to change over time. Take Chad Ruenthongchai for example, an SMU MBA alumnus from the Class of 2014. A Thai national, Chad came to Singapore in 2002 and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 2006. After working at Continental (a German multinational automotive parts manufacturing company) for five years, Chad decided to further his studies.
Instead of choosing a Master of Science programme that is related to his Bachelor’s degree, Chad chose the SMU MBA programme. He wanted to be immersed in a peer-learning environment that would shape him into a versatile and dynamic leader. Chad shares, “At SMU, I’ve learnt to view things with an open and curious mind, and consider diverse approaches to resolving problems. Engaging with my classmates from diverse backgrounds also gave me a broader perspective of the world and humbled my approach to success.”
In 2017, Chad left his job in Singapore and returned to Thailand where he made a career switch and joined McKinsey & Company as an associate consultant. During his 2-year stint, he worked with clients in a wide range of sectors and industries, helping them transform their marketing strategies and operations to achieve growth through digital solutions.
During that period, the world was abuzz with ‘Industry 4.0’, a term that described industry transformation through the networking of intelligent machines and processes, enabled by information and communication technology (ICT).
Fascinated by the competitive advantage and opportunities that businesses could gain in a digital business environment, Chad moved to Shopee Thailand as the Head of Business Transformation in 2019.
“You need to be highly adaptable. Be part of the change, or be changed,” Chad reflects.
As the world reels from the global pandemic that sent businesses scrambling to adapt to unprecedented circumstances, Chad envisions two key trends that will bring significant impact to the supply chain networks - supply chain optimisation and value chain integration.
“Firstly, growth of D2C (Direct-to-Consumer) e-commerce platforms will continue due to changing consumer habits, posing challenges to traditional online B2B and B2C companies. Secondly, the creation of more integrated value chains is required, as consumers demand for better quality products, faster service and efficient after-sales services.”
“For instance, we recently forged partnerships with financial institutions in Thailand and launched digital loans services to enable our sellers to scale their businesses; and offered credit loan facilities for our consumers to ‘buy now, pay later’.”
As Head of Business Transformation, Chad is adept at spotting consumer trends and adopts a hyper-localised approach in every market that Shopee operates, so as to bring the most relevant, unique online shopping experiences to their retailers, sellers and customers.
“Thai consumers are generally influenced by a strong social media culture, as well as a flea market offline experience where you can haggle and pay by cash. We learnt and created the same experience, by offering sweets while they haggle and chat with sellers before buying. Furthermore, in the Thai market we have focused on our Cash-on-Delivery payment platform, offering special deals when payment is made by cash - whereas in Singapore we put much less emphasis on this as credit card and other digital payments are well-trusted.”
Despite the rapid changes in digital trends and changing consumer behaviour, Chad enjoys keeping up with the market trends and shifts in the digital era. He shares that digitalisation is not only about going online, but a mind-set that embraces change and technology. He adds, “New hires who have skills in digitalisation are increasingly in demand across most, if not all industries, as companies race to jump start their online strategy. As they explore these relatively unknown territories, they will need people who are daring to challenge the status quo, yet willing to learn and adapt to change with agility.”
As the world continues to evolve around digitalisation, Chad shares this humble piece of advice -
“Don’t be afraid to fail. It’s about building hypotheses and experimenting them in the real world, gathering feedback and making adjustments. And though you may lose a few battles every now and then, it is that responsive and agility that will stand you in good stead.”
Connect with Chad at: https://th.linkedin.com/in/chadrue
