Someone once said that if you love what you do or do what you love, you are such a lucky person. Vachara Phanchet is lucky in both respects.

Apart from being chairman of his family's automotive ventures and his own fashion business, he is also remarkable for being a board member of some global organisations.

He is honorary chairman of the Young Presidents' Organisation, chairman of the Thai-Hong Kong Business Council and a newly appointed board member of the Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC). Moreover, he is also a member of the National Legislative Assembly and its secretary for foreign affairs.

After this interview, he was due to attend a luncheon with the Thai-Hong Kong Business Council, followed by a meeting in the afternoon with his friend, Matteo Marzotto, an executive of the Italian fashion firm, the Valentino Fashion Group.

The following day, he flew to California to attend an annual meeting of the PBEC after recently being appointed its ninth board member.

The PBEC is a network of 300 members from leading industrial firms in 30 nations around the world. At a dinner held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, former World Trade Organisation secretary-general Mike Moore made a welcoming speech before opening the meeting.

Vachara seized an opportunity to explain to the PBEC members about His Majesty the King's sufficiency-economy philosophy, which the government has adopted as its economic policy.

The sufficiency economy, he explained, entails a balance of three things - knowledge, transparency and human-resource development - to direct Thailand's economy. He received good feedback from members, who were grateful to be given an insight.

Some doubt whether 45-year-old Vachara has time to take a breath. But he does know how to manage his time.

On a routine day, he wakes up in the early morning and exercises on a running machine until he's worked up a decent sweat. Then he drives his 8-year-old daughter to school in his BMW sedan before going to his workplace. He wears either Hermes branded clothes or other brands sold by his fashion firms. After work, he spends a little time sipping a glass of wine - distributed by his firm, of course.

Vachara is proud to use any product brands sold by his family or his own businesses. "I'm royalty," he admits.

He loves what he does. And now he's doing what he loves. He loves engineering, having graduated with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. He indulges that love in his family's automotive business.

"My work-life balance remains unchanged, as I just shift from an administrative to a legislative role," says Vachara.

With his posts in the family businesses, he does not have a hands-on role in day-to-day operations but rather sets out policies and monitors whether they are being followed.

The three main businesses under his supervision involve automotive products, luxury fashion brands and wine, all of which are run by different companies. The luxury-fashion brands include Hermes, Chloe, Giorgio Armani and Tod's. He admires top-quality design.

In his opinion, Thais who travel to Hong Kong or Singapore are prone to buy global brands. By the same token, foreign tourists visiting Thailand also want to shop for global brands. Thai brands are not yet well known among shoppers. That's why shopping plazas like Siam Paragon have global brands on at least half their shelves.

"This is an attraction that can help bring international tourists to Thailand. Then there will be income distribution to other tourism-related sectors," says Vachara.

"Know who" is as important as "know-how", he believes. Each organisation he represents is sometimes more powerful in bringing benefits to the country than expected. He gives an example: if Thailand has any problems regarding exports to the European Union, he can make a call to Marzotto and ask him to take care of the matter.

With his good business links, Vachara has been trying to persuade the PBEC to arrange a meeting in Bangkok this year. If he is successful, this will be the first time that Thailand has hosted the international meeting, implying that the country's political situation is acceptable in foreign investors' eyes.

Over the past five years, he was busy working with the previous government led by deposed PM Thaksin Shinawatra. Now he works just as hard but in a new role involving legislation instead of administration.

After more than 20 years in business, Vachara wants to return something to society in line with his family's doctrine. This is the reason he has joined legislative organisations under the direction of the current government. "Anything that is beneficial to society or the country is our priority," says Vachara.

Sasithorn Ongdee

The Nation