Dusit International announces Dusit Thani College’s key leadership succession as its College Council Committee recently appointed Dr. Sarote Phornprapha (PhD) President of Dusit Thani College, effective 1 July 2016. His appointment follows the resignation of Mrs. Veera Pardpattanapanich, Rector who left on 30 June 2016.
Dr. Sarote holds a doctorate in Management Studies (Organisational Behaviour) from The School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, the University of Surrey, UK. He is well regarded as an education management specialist covering Thailand and ASEAN. Prior to joining Dusit, Dr. Sarote held many roles at Chulalongkorn University including that of Assistant Professor, Management Studies; Executive Director – Head of Executive MBA Program at Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration; and the principle lecturer in managing for productivity and organizational behaviour. He brings with him 20 years of extensive international teaching and research experience in organization behaviour, especially focussing on the tourism and hospitality industry, as well as business consultancy experience, for both private and public organizations.
Mrs. Suphajee Suthumpun, Group CEO, Dusit International said, “We welcome Dr. Sarote as the President of Dusit Thani College. His teaching and research capabilities, as well as education management experiences with leading local and international universities, will add new dimensions to the College leadership. His international experiences will leverage the strong foundation that Ajarn Veera has laid for the College in propelling the College into a leading ASEAN hospitality educational institution.”
Mrs. Veera was the founding rector of Dusit Thani College. She joined the Dusit Group in 1988 as Sales Director, Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket. Prior to founding the College, she was Dusit’s Senior Director of Sales & Marketing, overseeing all properties within the Group. Given her strong leadership capabilities and outstanding performance, she was asked to head the new education business – the Dusit Thani College, the first of its kind in Thailand, in 1993. She has successfully built and developed the College from its inception into a leading private hospitality education institute as originally envisaged, through her strong dedication and commitment, coupled with extensive experiences in hotel industry. Today, Dusit Thani College has produced over 4,750 top quality graduates to support the growth in the travel and tourism industry in Thailand.
“On behalf of the Board of Director of Dusit International and Dusit Thani College Council Committee, I would like to thank Ajarn Veera for her tremendous dedication and contribution to the College and wish her all the best in her future endeavours,” said Mrs. Suphajee. “She has worked tirelessly, throughout her tenure, towards establishing the College as Thailand’s leading hospitality institution. The high quality graduates equipped with professional knowledge and skills currently working in the industry are testaments to her formidable efforts. Her achievements are truly amazing and will always remain in our memory.”
Established in 1993, Dusit Thani College was the first of its kind in offering an education in hospitality with the aim to producing top quality graduates to support the growth in the travel and tourism industry in Thailand. All College programmes are fully accredited by the Office of the Higher Education Commission, Ministry of Education of Thailand and the International Center of Excellence in Tourism and Hospitality Education (THE-ICE). Developing and enhancing its programs to meet international standard, the College has extended its collaborative partnerships to design the hospitality curriculum for Lyceum Philippines University, Philippines and Bali International Training and Development Center, Indonesia.
