Thailand’s new commerce minister Suphajee Suthumpun: 5 things to know about the PM prospect

[SINGAPORE] Thailand’s new commerce minister Suphajee Suthumpun, 61, has been drawing fresh attention – not just for her corporate pedigree, but for being among Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s headline picks in his new Cabinet line-up.

The premier formally introduced her at a press briefing in the Bhumjaithai Party headquarters in September, and expressed confidence that the former business leader would help drive Thailand’s economic goals.

The buzz has even cast her as a possible party pick for the prime ministerial post – speculation she has consistently brushed aside.

Suthumpun takes on her new role in government to manage the country’s economic development at a time the nation is facing the latest US tariffs and high levels of household debt.

Local Thai media have kept the chatter going. Suthumpun stands out as a prime example of Charnvirakul’s push for heavyweight technocrats in key ministries, a non-political appointee chosen for competence.

So who is Suthumpun, and what is behind her sudden rise in public stature?

1. Rare technocrat handpicked to join Thai politics

The Thai media has reported that Charnvirakul sought Suthumpun for the commerce portfolio. He later told reporters that he had not approached her directly, and that her nomination was “effectively required” to complete the party’s slate.

The Thai leader has acknowledged that the choice has generated “good perceptions” of the new government.

2. Risk taker

Suthumpun’s 36-year career spans tourism, satellite communications and information technology.

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Her most recent role was as group chief executive of Dusit International, the Thai hotel-and-property conglomerate she led for nearly a decade.

After she took the helm of the hospitality group in 2016, the business expanded its operations to include Dusit Foods, property development and hospitality-related services, on top of its existing hotels and resorts, and hospitality education units.

To date, the hospitality group has more than 300 hotels, resorts and luxury villas in countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Singapore and China, besides Thailand.

Her most consequential move at Dusit was overseeing the demolition and redevelopment of the landmark Dusit Thani Bangkok into a multi-billion-baht mixed-use complex. It was a symbolic bet on reinvention that cemented her reputation for strategic risk-taking.

Before her time at Dusit International, she was chief executive officer of satellite company Thaicom.

She reportedly turned the company around to become highly profitable; she also positioned it as an international player after it struggled financially for an extended period.

She was also non-executive director for Thai banking group Kasikornbank, though she resigned from the post, effective Sep 12, 2025, to take on the ministerial role.

3. Caught in the middle of a family feud

Although Suthumpun was not part of the founding family behind the Dusit conglomerate, she inevitably found herself caught in the long-running tensions among the company’s heirs.

The conflict surfaced publicly in February 2025, when Chanin Donavanik – the eldest son of the founder of the business – was stripped of his position at Chanat and Sons Company, a major shareholder of Dusit Thani.

The conflict culminated in a high-profile extraordinary general meeting in September this year that sought – unsuccessfully – to remove the founder’s son from the board.

4. IBM Thailand’s first female boss

The new commerce minister previously spent more than 20 years at IBM, and was the first woman to be appointed general manager of the group in Thailand.

She served in this role from 2003 to 2007 in her home country, where she also made her mark as the firm’s youngest and first female managing director during that period.

Suthumpun began her career at the IT company in 1989, and served in a variety of roles in different locations worldwide, based on information from LinkedIn.

She served as general manager and vice-president for General Business at IBM from 2007 to 2009 in Singapore, the company’s Asean headquarters. She later returned as regional general manager and vice-president for Global Technology Operations from 2010 to 2011.

Between these two roles, she was a client-advocacy executive in the IBM chairman’s office in New York, reportedly becoming the first Thai national in this position.

5. Champion of education, women’s leadership

Suthumpun has received numerous awards for her work as a female business leader in recent years.

She made it to the Forbes “50 Over 50” list in 2023, the same year she was named to the Forbes’ Asia’s Power Businesswoman list.

In March 2021, she was among Bangkok Post’s “Women of the Year”, and won the “Best CEO in Strategic Agility” title in December that year.

The businesswoman has also sat on a number of boards of directors during her time in leadership, particularly for a number of Thai universities. These include that of Thammasat University, her alma mater. She later graduated with a Master’s degree in International Finance and International Accounting from Northrop University in the US.

On the international front, she is also a member of the international advisory board for EHL Group in Lausanne, Switzerland.

“As a mother, group CEO, and a member of various boards of directors, I wear many hats. I choose to deal with all my roles with clear expectations and commitment, and I plan and prioritise with clear objectives,” she said in a 2022 interview with Prestige magazine.