Executive and mum

Morragot Kulatumyotin

Each day, Morragot Kulatumyotin, senior executive vice president and chief operations officer at Internet Thailand (Inet), puts in a full day's work as a company executive. Then, when she gets home, she becomes a housewife and mother, caring for her family.

"I have two sons aged 11 and 7. They are in Prathom 5 and Prathom 2," she says. "I always help them with their homework and take care of them until they go to sleep. I also talk to them as a friend, so that my sons will feel good and confident about talking with their parents."

Morragot says that after dinner at night, she and her sons spend time together reading before going to bed. She also makes sure she spends weekend time with her family.

"My family and I stay at home on weekends, and I cook for them. Cooking relaxes me, and I always feel good about cooking for them."

She says her family is an important part of her life, and if there are no problems at home, then she has more energy for the business part. Her family also helps her achieve a balance between work and leisure.

Morragot, who is also chairperson of the Thai Internet Service Providers' Association, earned a bachelor of science in mathematics from Prince of Songkhla University and received a master's degree in computer science from the University of Missouri at Columbia. She later gained a master's degree in business administration from Thammasat University.

When she first entered the information-technology industry, she was project manager for the Thai Social/Scientific, Academic and Research Network (ThaiSarn), the country's pioneering research network project. Funded by the National Electronic and Computer Technology Centre (Nectec), it was set up as a connection between Thailand's academic research communities and to link up all of the country's education and research institutions.

Morragot's role 15 years ago was to coordinate ThaiSarn's links with universities and provide Internet access for researchers and teachers to transfer foreign technology and knowledge.

"In the past, ThaiSarn had an important role in the education sector. It gave researchers the opportunity to transfer knowledge and work together via the Internet gateways of Chulalongkorn University and Nectec," she says.

These days she is more than ever convinced that the growing world of the Internet is capable of boosting the competitiveness and potential of Thai industries. Creating an Internet infrastructure is a new way for businesses to improve their performance and productivity, she says. In many cases, this has proven to be a turning point in company performance.

From her position as project manager at ThaiSarn, Morragot moved in 1997 to work for Internet Thailand (Inet). It was the first organisation split off by Nectec to become a commercial operator, an Internet service provider offering Internet access and services to the public.

As well as her role in Inet's management, Morragot is responsible for developing the company's directions, based on the principle of offering high quality and affordable services. Inet administers Thailand's largest information and communications-technology network and offers e-commerce and highly secured on-line electronic payment systems to businesses and other Internet users throughout the Kingdom.

"The Internet world is dynamic, and the firm is looking for new opportunities to support business operators with services like online payments by facilitating infrastructure and providing content for customers and businesses. Inet now provides a one-stop service for companies wanting to expand into online marketing," Morragot says.

She says use of the Thai language and broadband-Internet networks play important roles in encouraging businesses to become Internet users, because they are able to gain easier access and gather experience in providing products and services online.

Morragot says the attitude towards doing business over the Internet is changing rapidly, and e-commerce transactions are increasing in frequency as the number of Internet users increases among both businesses and consumers.

Inet has continuously developed and improved its services, so that currently its customers include very large organisations with combined annual sales of more than Bt1.5 trillion.

Jirapan Boonnoon

The Nation