"People here didn't want to show disagreement with the managing director and other executives. They tended to follow all directions because former executives were very senior. As a newly appointed managing director, I wanted them to see the truth - that I, as the top executive, am also actually an ordinary person," said Dan.

During meetings, Dan might say something that people usually don't expect to hear from a top executive, to make them disagree and encourage them to reveal their opinions. This attempt to eliminate the wall of hierarchy is part of what he calls "matrix management".

He explained matrix management as a strategy for all 235 staff at every level to share their knowledge and ideas between sections without the feeling of being separated.

The management has also tried to reduce office procedures.

Staff can work "cross-function" to reach the appropriate section heads to present their ideas, instead of waiting for approval through many levels until they reach those people.

His aim is to gain more creative ideas than what the company delivered previously, without the need to hire additional people.

Batey l redcell, an advertising agency under the Singapore-based WPP Group, which was his previous workplace before joining Far East, is where he learned matrix management.

He described the company as a school where he learned how to manage businesses that sell creativity.

What makes him appreciate matrix management is that the idea seems to drive growth for both the agency and its corporate customers.

One strong corporate client is Sansiri, a local house developer. He said he had helped their growth, since as customers they were quite new before becoming a popular brand.

However, the company needs six more months to evaluate whether the same mechanism will continue to generate the same successful results.

As a newly appointed managing director who has been in the position for almost one year, his strategy is to make all staff believe in him and happy to work with him. It's not just the way top executives show their ordinary character through simple ideas, but also their simple behaviour.

"I'm happy to take public transport so I arrive at the office on time each morning instead of sitting in my car. I'm okay about not having anyone to open the car door for me. Simple behaviour enables me to get in touch with all staff - even messengers or people in the administrative department," said Dan.

In advertising agencies, he said people often paid attention to building close relationships only with the creative department, but the reality is that everyone contributes to success.

Although Far East is not the biggest company he has ever worked with, it offers a big challenge and is another step to show his potential. He started his career more than a decade ago with the Lintas advertising agency network, moving to BBDO, the World Gold Council and then Batey I redcell.

Far East has 25 corporate customers in Thailand, both local and multinational, including baker Farmhouse, property developer Asian Property, sanitaryware-maker Cotto, and clothing firm Arrow.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation