Paitoon Pongkesorn, Tanong-sak Hutanuwat and Rapee Muangnont will aim to improve the company's strengths in order to increase revenue.

After the company's performance did not meet expectations, it restructured its management team two months ago by setting up the executive board.

TPC had earlier reshuffled its board of directors by appointing four outsiders - the three men who have just been promoted to the executive board along with retired lawyer Paitoon Krungwong - to replace members who had ended their term.

Paitoon Pongkesorn is a former deputy director-general of the Revenue Department while Tanongsak Hutanuwat and Rapee Muangnont are former executives of SME Bank.

Caretaker Tourism and Sports Minister Pracha Maleenont said TPC needed to improve its business strategy, especially marketing.

He said the executive board and the board of directors would work together more closely. However, the executive board will become the main body.

"The executive board needed to review its business plan and also needed to re-brand products. And I understand that they are working on that," said Pracha.

TPC now has 1,600 members and about 800 new applications are being processed, he said. Its card costs Bt1 million for lifetime membership and members are required to pay an additional Bt40,000 annually for one of three choices: Elite Connect (designed for business people), Elite Moment (for youngsters) and Elite Living (for senior citizens).

A source at TPC said the company was still losing money but

was expected to be in profit by year-end. The source said the executive board would concentrate on internal accounting and expenditure.

"Some of the wasted spend-

ing will be cut if the company does not see good returns," the source said.

The company has spent a lot of money on overseas road shows. Expenditure will be cut in this area, but overseas promotions are still planned in South Korea, Japan and Australia.

Suchat Sritama

The Nation