Knowing the SET so intimately could help her when she faces intense external pressure, and the new president is ready to overcome any challenge.

Patareeya, 54, appointed president on June 1, is the first veteran of the SET to be promoted to the top job as all her predecessors over the past three decades were selected from outside the organisation. She replaces Kittiratt Na-Ranong.

She says she never had high ambitions at the SET, as she was happy with her previous jobs there.

Neither has she ever been pressured by shareholders, because the SET's independence serves a mutual interest, she says.

"I had to make myself useful, and I never thought about being number one. I was ready to serve whoever became the president, and so being number one myself was not my career target. I always worked hard and was happy in my job," she says.

At first, she was concerned about doing the job, and because of the pressures involved, her family did not want her selected for the position.

But she soon became determined to overcome the challenges.

She knows the importance of being decisive and that any decision may affect the financial sector.

An outsider might see Patareeya as a compromise candidate who could struggle to convince a board of directors on crucial decisions. Others suspect she is too indecisive. Patareeya says she knows about these perceptions, explaining that each manager has his or her own style.

"My idea of management is unchanged, but now I need to be more decisive. If I'm not, the work will stop. We must be accountable to the board and the organisation," Patareeya says.

As president, Patareeya would like businesses to see the SET as the place they need to look for funding. Those who need to expand their business can turn to the SET as the mechanism to boost their liquidity, and for investors the SET is an option for saving and investing in companies' debt.

Patareeya has a mission to make the SET known worldwide and comparable to other regional stock markets.

The SET must be competitive in global markets and become an alternative for foreign investors, she says. Thus the SET index must be known and recognised by international media organisations, like CNN, which should boost the Thai stock market. Developments must be made in new directions to achieve wider goals, Patareeya says.

The new president adds that once she completes the four-year term, she would like to work in the social and environmental sectors.

Siriporn Chanjindamanee

The Nation