From juggling numbers to selling them

"I was hesitant initially - whether I would be able to speak the same language as the people there. I heard it was so difficult [to work at Grammy]. Would I be patient enough to sit down and listen, as there are a lot of emotional matters in the workplace," he said.

Having worked in the investment-banking industry for 14 years - the first seven at UBS and the next seven at ABN Amro - Sirichai never thought he would ever be working in the entertainment industry.

But do not get him wrong, Sirichai - though he looks a typical finance executive - used to call Hollywood his home and has sat next to Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in a movie theatre. "I've been familiar with Hollywood. I had been in Los Angeles for four years, studying for two master's degrees," he said.

After finishing high school in Singapore, Sirichai moved to the United States to do a pre-medical course at Boston University. After two-and-a-half years, he realised being a doctor was not his goal and so, shifted to economics. He then received a bachelor's degree in economics with first-class honours, with a minor in biology.

Then he worked for a Japanese trading company in San Francisco for eight months. But as his visa was going to expire, Sirichai returned to studying. He took four years to finish a master of arts in economics from the University of Southern California and an MBA from the same university.

Sirichai said he decided to take on the Grammy challenge because he felt it was time to change his career as he was entering middle age. He also felt he was through with investment banking. He said he came to work at Grammy when it was at a low point and was struggling with piracy. It was a good learning experience to see the company find its way out of the crisis, he said.

Thanks to his love for music and movies, it did not take Sirichai long to understand the new industry. "Everything [at Grammy] isn't archived just by [financial] figures. There are human, artistic and creative [aspects]. There is no fixed formula [for working].

Sirichai said, "In some cases, we have to invest even though the first time we would incur a loss."

During his two years at Grammy, Sirichai has proved he can get along well within the culture of an artists-based company. Many people have been surprised to see the chief financial officer watching almost every concert and even the rehearsals. Sirichai does not go to the shows to monitor the costs; it is just that he loves them.