Accenture is a leading consulting firm in country technology transformations. As the Country Managing Director for Accenture Thailand, Patama Chantaruck blends technology management experience with a deep commitment to using her skills for the good of the country and its people. - BY Peter Scott

Patama Chantaruck, Country Managing Director for Accenture Thailand, brings a wealth of global business experience to her role. Her commitment to leveraging technology for economic growth is underpinned by a perspective developed through 30 years working for top global consulting firms. Over her career, Patama has established herself as an expert on digital transformation, solving complex business problems and serving as a change agent. In her current role, Patama’s far-reaching goal is to help Thailand optimize its IT investments and become a full player in the fourth industrial revolution. She believes everyone has potential and skills they can use for the betterment of people, and that continual learning is crucial to sustained effectiveness. Looking at the country’s success to date – and the success of Accenture’s customers – there is no doubt that Patama will achieve more in the future. She envisions Accenture Thailand at the forefront of the next wave of digital innovation, particularly in areas like artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and the metaverse. By fostering a culture of continuous learning and adaptability, Patama aims to prepare Thai businesses for the challenges and opportunities of an increasingly digital world, ensuring they remain competitive on the global stage.

I Believe….

DiversityGlobal Magazine had the pleasure of talking to Patama at the 2024 Global Summit of Women. Patama joined Accenture two years ago after working at Microsoft and later, IBM. She is a continuous learner, an advantage for her since technology changes regularly and rapidly. Working in the technology field as a consultant allows her to learn new businesses, industries, issues, and challenges.

Patama also relies on her adaptability to achieve success. For example, she played a pivotal role in the Thailand Chamber of Commerce and the Bangkok Governor's collaboration with the Thai government to set up 25 COVID-19 vaccine distribution centers in Bangkok. Her leadership increased distribution from 13,000 to 85,000 people daily, eventually helping 3.6 million people access the vaccine. This was an incredibly unique and challenging experience because she was project managing people who did not work for her, and she was instrumental in bringing people from different organizations together.

When Patama returned to Thailand after 20 years in the U.S., her goal was to align Accenture’s initiatives with Thailand’s economic and cultural aspirations, helping the country progress toward its Thailand 4.0 vision. “One of my proudest moments was participating in developing Accenture’s new Intelligent Operations Center in Bangkok, which serves global clients in 17 languages. The mission of the Center is to support enterprise transformation and a specialized local talent workforce to support the digital economy.” Through her leadership, the new center grew from 800 to 3,400 people, despite others telling her it could not be done, it was too complicated, or that it would be impossible to find Thai people to work in 17 languages. “Not only was it done,” says Patama, “but we aim to become a 10,000 person organization in the next two years. I believe it can be done and believe Thailand can serve as a digital hub.”

Advice for Life

After 30 years in technology consulting, Patama is ready to find work-life balance. In pursuit of this goal, she moved back to Thailand to care for elderly relatives. Balancing the attention her family and her employees need leaves little time for self-care, but she is trying to change that. This personal journey mirrors her professional philosophy: just as sustainable work-life balance is essential for individual well-being, sustainable business practices are crucial for long-term success. Patama believes that the same principles that guide her personal life—integrity, resilience, and a focus on what truly matters—should guide business leaders in making decisions that positively impact their employees, clients, and society at large. “I’m no longer the young, global leader taking 40 trips a year around the world. So today, I use the energy I have to focus on how I spend my life, my priorities, and giving back to society through efforts like mentoring the younger generation and sharing the mistakes I made through the years.”

The importance of caring for elders runs deep in Thai culture. Finding a sustainable work-life balance has not always come easy, and she shares advice based on things learned through personal experiences. First, she advises people to stop feeling guilty about being unable to be the best for everyone and in everything attempted. Second, take care of oneself first to better care for others. Finally, don’t dwell on past mistakes, because the past cannot be changed, and don’t worry about the future because it has yet to unfold.

The Three “A’s” of Leadership

Having worked in many different cultures, Patama finds that listening to people is the best way to learn and appreciate different cultures. She feels that good leaders do not dictate, especially in technology, where people need the freedom to innovate. Instead, she believes leaders need empathy, the ability to create a sense of teamwork, active listening skills, and a growth mindset.

Patama describes her leadership skills in terms of three A’s. The first is A for authentic, which means a leader does not pretend to be something other than their true self. “People who work with me know that what they see is what they get.” The second A is accessibility. “I walk around the workplace and talk to employees. Employees can stop me at any time and ask me a question. If I don’t know something, I go directly to the employee who can explain what I need to know.” The third A is assertiveness, which is how Patama describes her leadership style.

Helping People Understand the Value of New Technologies

At the Global Summit of Women Patama presented a session called, Metaverse: A blueprint for future innovations. “Not everyone understands AI or the metaverse, and many business leaders do not understand how extensively they are already being used,” Patama says. She shared six use cases to convey how AI and the metaverse are used in business settings. As a result, Summit attendees returned home with an open mind and thinking about how advanced technologies could help their businesses grow. Patama firmly believes metaverse technology will experience rapid utilization within ten years because of Generative AI and big data.

She envisions more partnerships between technology developers and companies like Ray Ban, which partnered with Apple to develop AI glasses. The smart glasses can send texts, make calls, play music, answer questions, and more without the use of smartphones. During her presentation at the Summit, Patama named six top use cases of the Metaverse: virtual field trips, language learning, architectural design and prototypes, medical training simulations, mRNA virtual laboratories technology, and business simulations. Patama envisions a day when people wear fashionable headbands to replace bulky headsets for virtual reality or find locations without a smartphone.

Technology Revolutions into Evolutions

Patama stresses that responsible AI is crucial. At Accenture Thailand, ethical standards in AI development ensure technology benefits society while protecting vulnerable communities. Patama is currently working on the Accenture LearnVantage platform, a tool for reskilling and upskilling people for the AI economy. She wants people in Thailand to learn and understand generative AI as an augmentation tool rather than a human replacement tool. In fact, she does not call AI ‘artificial intelligence.’ She calls it ‘intelligent augmentation’. Educating and training employees to understand the technology is essential to helping them use it efficiently and stay current. Patama enjoys working with the younger generations and appreciates their desire to improve the world. Since technology will play a role in most things in the future, including the next pandemic or crisis, her current mentoring and training roles are developing a workforce ready for the future.

Patama’s final advice to younger people is to never take things for granted. They need to do financial planning and not be afraid to try new things. Failures are temporary, “so be sad for a day and get up quickly.” Making the world a better place starts with each person, and everyone needs to do their part.