The Art of Exhibitions: Thai expert links innovation with local communities

Her words were based on her 28 years of experience in the exhibition industry, where she worked in positions such as operations, sales, marketing, and project management.

She pointed out that her primary responsibility is to bridge cultural divides by organising trade shows and events that highlight the best in every industry, as well as to create platforms for industries and specialist markets to trade, innovate, and grow.

Despite the fact that the work is demanding and challenging, she has never been exhausted.

“The exhibition industry is very interesting. I have to make our projects innovative, offering new experiences and content to the community. I always tell myself that I have to keep learning about new developments and new innovations that I can adjust to the events I am responsible for,” she said.

Exhibitions, according to Rungphech, are an innovative marketing tool that allows entrepreneurs to network and explore new opportunities.

"Different shows have various communities. Some shows have the ability to cross communities in different countries," she explained. "As an expatriate working abroad, I always encourage my team to inquire about what we can do for our local community."

She is also passionate about sustainability and always considers the communities surrounding event sites.

Informa exhibitors' teams also attend waste reduction and waste separation events, and on occasion participate in community charity projects, she added, emphasising the importance of developing a relationship with the community to which the brand belongs in order to ensure brand success.

Meanwhile, she said that having to manage events from start to finish across five "verticals" in Southeast Asia: Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Singapore helped her understand and embrace the differences of each team member.

The action kept her team motivated.

"Seeing proper talent development under my leadership is an indication of real success," she said.

With her energetic, motivational style of leadership in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, Rungphech has also extended her reach to European partners.

“Since most Europeans are not familiar with the Asean region, we need to ensure communication is clearly stated. Working with a European team, I have always held regular online meetings and we update each other,” she said.

Meanwhile, building trust and respect between European and Asean teams is required as their work system is based on understanding and accepting cultural differences.

“The more we can explain, the better the project management can be,” she added.

Rungphech has also earned a name as a project leader for different brands in the Asean region, particularly ProPak Food Ingredients, Livestock Philippines and VitaFoods Asia," she said.

She also mentioned rotating teams working on each brand so they can learn about different brands' backgrounds, strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities in specific markets.

"Since brands under my responsibility may overlap with one another in certain sectors, I focus on delivering unique experiences to visitors of each brand, while allowing a shared session among teams responsible for each brand to exchange their input,” she said.

Her ultimate goal, she noted, is to create exhibitions that will assist local communities in gaining new knowledge and innovation. In this endeavour, she also encourages local residents to attend the events in order to gain firsthand knowledge of the latest technology.