Alisa Phanthusak

by Dr. Iain Corness

The assistant managing director of both the Woodlands Resort and the Tiffany Show is a very polished young woman, Alisa Phanthusak, daughter of Sutham and Orawan Phanthusak. Alisa has shown that despite many thinking she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, the second generation of a successful business family is not necessarily the generation to sit back and just spend the family inheritance! She is also a fine example of how a family can work together, despite generation gaps and experience differences.
Alisa is very much a local lady, having been born in Sriracha. Most of her schooling was done in Bangkok, but despite her parents now successful in business, she can remember the lean early days. “I hardly knew my father, he was always working, working, working. We had a small house and a little car. I would go on the bus to Bangkok with Dad. But Mum is down to earth – she taught me to be independent.”
When she finished her secondary education, she still did not really know what career to follow. “I only knew it would be business, or work for the government, so I went to Chulalongkorn University to do Political Science with a major in Public Administration.”
The course was four years, but by doubling up on some subjects in semesters, Alisa finished in three and a half years. However, she was young and did not consider herself ready for work. “I wanted to study English in the States, and I wanted to finish a Masters before I went to work. I knew my Dad would need me in the business.”
However, before Dad needed Alisa, Alisa needed Dad, who went to America and helped choose her apartment. “He was so worried. I was 20 then,” said Alisa, but all parents would understand Sutham’s anxieties!
Alisa did her six months of English, and then moved to Washington DC to the George Washington University to do her MBA, majoring in Finance, for the next two years. Her friends would work part-time, “but Dad said No! You must study!” She then went on to express the Thai (and Asian) cultural custom, saying, “I’m lucky to have my Dad – so it’s (now) time to pay back.”
Part of the paying back happened within a week of returning to Thailand. She had been thinking of doing something in government service, but Sutham told her, “You have a position already.” That position was to be assistant managing director for the family’s Woodlands Resort. Alisa was taken aback. “I was only 23, but my father taught me every night. I was so young I used to try and dress to look older!”
She survived the ‘baptism of fire’, upgraded the hotel, found new management and renovated the resort. She had done well enough for Sutham to say, “You have to help me in Tiffany’s too.” That was in 1999 and she was made assistant MD. “We were doing lots of projects in both places. Dad would set the budget and I would have to work within it.”
Working in such close proximity to a parent, I asked Alisa if this ever led to arguments between them. She laughed, saying, “A lot! But at the end we will come back to one way. It’s like a safety net. If you don’t have arguments, you have no improvement. But (I have to remember) he has lots of experience.”
As the assistant MD at Tiffany Show, Alisa has to work with the transsexual and transvestite performers. I expected that this could present problems of its own, but Alisa copes admirably. “I have to be patient with them. I have rules. If people want to work with me, they have to follow the rules. I have to be strong and make decisions quickly.”
Working in the cabaret business covers much more than just working relationships with the performers and staff. “You have to get 200 people to work together. But I have had to learn all about the theatre. I went to the UK to study (stage) lighting. I have to learn everything through hard working,” she added. By the way, if you think the cabaret show is just on in Pattaya, Tiffany’s also has an overseas touring group which sometimes will mean that Alisa has to go abroad with them.
With her two positions, Alisa does feel the weight of responsibility. “I feel like I’m old already! Dad keeps on coming up with projects, so I never get a break. Any travel I do is for work.” However, in the next breath she said, “If I worked anywhere else, I wouldn’t have got so much experience.” She then capped it by saying, “I’m now looking for other projects. My sister says I need a new challenge every year.”
Despite the heavy accent towards the family businesses, Alisa is still a very normal young woman with all the feminine interests you would expect. “I love fashion, and have done since I was young. I like to dress up, but I don’t want to appear as ‘just a kid’. I love shopping, and I go once a month to Bangkok. Spending money is stress relief!” She also likes to stay fit and trim. She is into gymnasium work and cycling, which she enjoys on winter evenings, as well as diving and water sports.
I asked Alisa if she had a long range plan that she used to guide her life, and she admitted that she did set five year goals, and does think about herself and her situation in the future. She wants to stop her parents working so hard, but then says, “But I want to work myself. It’s a conflict.”
I also asked the obvious question about having children herself. She looked serious, saying, “I haven’t got time (to look after) my parents. How could I manage a husband and children?”
It has been an expensive silver spoon, and one that she is still paying off!