Thailand 2024
Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel
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
The Legal 500 was proud to host the third edition of the GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 at the Capitol Hotel Tokyu, honouring the top General Counsel, Chief Legal Officers, Legal Directors, and senior in-house legal professionals operating at the highest level of Japan’s corporate legal landscape. Held in Tokyo, this year’s reception welcomed around 100 of the most respected and senior corporate counsel from across Japan. It was an unrivalled success, and cements Legal 500’s status as the leading force in legal media supporting the achievements of in-house counsel in Japan. The GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 marks the continuation of our commitment to recognising excellence in-house, and this year’s edition represents the most competitive and selective list to date.
Joe Boswell, lead editor of the GC powerlist publication at The Legal 500, opened the evening with an introduction that reflected on the growing prestige of the Japan list. He emphasised how the Powerlist has grown stronger each year, both in scope and quality, making the task of selection more difficult. This year’s honourees emerged from a deeply competitive field, making their recognition even more meaningful.
Boswell extended heartfelt congratulations to all honourees and acknowledged the critical support of key partners and sponsors who made the evening possible. Special thanks were given to Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Morrison Foerster, iManage, JustLegal, and SS&C Intralinks for their generous sponsorship and ongoing collaboration.
In a moment of reflection, Joe paid tribute to Tim Mackey, chief legal officer at SoftBank, who sadly passed away unexpectedly earlier this year. Tim had contributed to the Powerlist in each of its three editions and was known not only for his exceptional legal acumen but also for his warmth and generosity.
The evening featured insightful remarks from distinguished speakers representing our partners and the broader legal community: Mischa Mulligan, Japan Director at SS&C Intralinks; Hiroki Kodate, Partner and Management Committee Member at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune; Jeremy White, Global Co-Chair of M&A for Morrison Foerster; and, representing those awarded in the Powerlist, Naoki Hamada, General Counsel for Japan at HSBC.
Each speaker provided reflections on legal innovation, leadership, and the evolving role of in-house counsel in Japan’s corporate landscape. Their remarks added valuable context to the achievements celebrated throughout the evening.
The formal awards segment celebrated this year’s GC Powerlist honourees. With assistance from long-time collaborator Isaac Uchiyama who read out awardees’ names, recipients were invited to collect their certificates, pose for photographs, and be formally recognised by their peers.
Certificates were presented on stage by Hiroki Kodate or Anderson Mori & Tomotsune and Jeremy White of Morrison Foerster, whose participation further underlined the deep support of the Japanese and international legal communities.
The GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 reception reaffirmed Legal 500’s commitment to spotlighting the very best of in-house legal talent. With record levels of interest and unmatched quality among candidates, the Japan edition continues to solidify its place as one of the most respected publications in the global GC Powerlist series.
We extend our sincere congratulations to all honourees and thank our partners, sponsors, and speakers for making the evening a success.
We look forward to returning to Tokyo again next year. As a parting gift, you can view Naoki Hamada’s excellent keynote address below, where he touches on a lot of issues and themes that many other GC, whatever country they operate in, will recognise:
‘Good evening, everyone. I am Naoki Hamada of HSBC. I am very pleased to be here speaking to you today. It is a great pleasure and honor, and at the same time, I feel a bit overwhelmed being surrounded by the busiest and most expensive lawyers in the industry—even if I know that nobody will be charging us for their time. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Legal 500 for organizing such a great event, and Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Morrison Foerster, iManage, SS&C Intralinks, and Just Legal for sponsoring and supporting it. And, huge congratulations on the recognition each of you is receiving, which is truly a great accomplishment and the result of your hard work and the accumulated trust the entire industry has placed in you.
It must be emphasized that this award is given only to general counsels. Being a general counsel means a lot more than just being a subject matter expert. You are a most reliable strategic partner for the business, and I am sure that you have distinguished yourself from the crowd by your ability to identify underlying risks, devise legal solutions, ensure the right processes and governance for corporate decisions, influence others, and educate the next generation of lawyers. This is what you are being recognized for.
Looking back on my career, I have been hugely helped by lawyers in other companies through various industry communities. When I joined the in-house world 12 years ago from a Japanese law firm, large international banks were all struggling with a huge wave of regulatory reform. Back then, I was relatively new to that particular area of finance, and my hiring was somewhat potential-based. Nonetheless, I was assigned to lead the regulatory reform efforts locally. My predecessor had left the bank before I joined, there was no sufficient handover, and I was completely lost as to what to do. What helped me most were the industry peer group discussions, where in-house counsels from major banks would get together to discuss common issues. I learned so much from what was discussed there and absorbed as much as I could. Without that network, I am sure that I wouldn’t have survived that time.
However, our situation today is far more difficult. The changes in the landscape we face today are unprecedented. Technological developments and the corresponding shifts in geopolitical and industrial landscapes are completely unpredictable, and the speed at which they happen is far faster than before. We might face a time that requires us to pivot, forcing us to redefine how we add value and rebuild the way we work. That is somewhat intimidating. But, I am confident that a way forward will be found through the collective wisdom and effort of the people in this room. I would like to be a part of that, and this network of people is enormously valuable and truly priceless.
Finally, let’s have a drink and celebrate our achievements for now – before your CEO calls asking you to join a call! Thank you so much.’
