The students came to Bangkok recently for a one-week study trip, which was part of

their two-year Executive BMA Programme.

Other local and international organisations on their itinerary were Toyota, Bank of Thailand, Asia Plus Securities, Pathways Software, Johnson & Johnson, GE Consumer, Abbott Labs and Siam Cement.

Matthew Chapple, general manager of Mead Johnson Nutritionals (Thailand), said last week that all the presentations on the day the Wharton students visited its factory in Chon Buri went well.

Howard Kaufold, director of the programme, said each year the school would choose a different country in the world to visit for one full week.

The class votes on the destination based on criteria including business potential and cultural interests.

"This year, the class voted for Bangkok, beating the other candidates, Northern Europe and Shanghai," he said.

The main reason was that Bangkok has diversity and environmental changes, which are good for management study. "This is the first time for the programme to visit Bangkok."

Jon Silvon, director of marketing at Tasty Baking Co and one of the executive students, said after touring the facility that he was impressed with the company's presentations and facility as well as its staff.

"The culture and environment in Thailand are different from those in the US, but the strategies are the same," he said. "If I get the chance, I would like to operate a business here".

Mead Johnson Nutritionals sell more than 70 products for infants and children in over 60 countries.

Mead Johnson (Thailand) was established in 1972.

It has opened a powdered milk plant in Chon Buri under the supervision of its parent, Bristol-Myers Squibb. The core products from its plant in the Amata Nakorn Industrial Estate are Alacta-NF, Calcibank and Enfagrow.

The new plant was awarded a Good Manufacturing Practice certificate from the Public Health Ministry only two months after it started trial production.

Chapple arrived in Thailand nine months ago after spending 17 years in seven countries.

"I'm familiar with Asian people. Thailand is considered a good country with good people. And we can do business here with no difficulty compared to some other countries," he said.

The company also has a stronger team than he expected.

Chapple was born and raised in Sydney. After graduating in business from the University of Technology, Sydney, in 1991, he worked at Arnott's Biscuits, a division of Campbell's Soup, for one year.

Over the next 16 years, Chapple worked his way across six countries with Campbell's Soup, including Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan and the US. Before joining Mead Johnson Thailand in January, he was the general manager for Campbell's in Malaysia and Singapore.

"Growing the business and people are the two things that I will achieve," he said about his main goals in his new job.

Sasithorn Ongdee

The Nation