THE MARKETING MAESTRO

       WHAT IS PROJECT MAHANAKHON?
       Project MahaNakhon, when finished in 2012,will be a 77-storey multi-unit development that will feature a hotel, retail centre and Ritz-Carlton residences. At 313 metres, it will be the tallest building in Thailand.
       DOES BANGKOK NEED ANOTHER TALL BUILDING?
       Every great city needs great architecture. A striking city needs good design, whether it's small shops or tall skyscrapers, so this building will hopefully improve the overall design of the city. All the vacant land in Bangkok is taken up and while the demand to live in the city increases, the supply decreases, leaving people to build upwards.
       IS THIS THE RIGHT TIME TO START SUCH AN AMBITIOUS PROJECT GIVEN THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY?
       Bigger projects have been commissioned in darker times. The Empire State Building was built during the American Great Depression.It was a symbol of hope in the darkest of times for America. I'm not trying to say that we are building an Empire State building but Project MahaNakhon will be a symbol of optimism and hope in our dark times too.
       YOU HOST AN ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWS PROGRAMME. DO YOU THINK THAT THERE IS A GLASS CEILING FOR ENGLISHSPEAKING HOSTS IN THAILAND?
       It's difficult to say. Given that English is a minority language most people would opt for the local language when it comes to issues such as politics, religion and gossip. Being a Thai-language host allows you to touch on more subjects but on the flip side, English is a more direct language, allowing people to be less concerned about heirarchy and more equal around each other. With Guru for example, if you guys wrote in Thai you would probably have to dress your stuff down but because you write in English things can be read in a certain way and be more direct. If I could I would be a Thai news reporter, but my Thai is not good enough. I have been asked twice but I don't feel confident enough in my Thai.
       YOU'RE HALF KIWI. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF SHEEP?
       People think that because there are 20 sheep to every person in New Zealand that everyone must have 20 pet sheep in their house. It'd be almost like all foreigners to Thailand thinking that all Thai people know how to do is grow rice, fight muay Thai and ride buffalo. Actually, us city folk dont know anything about sheep. I've only seen sheep like... um... obviously I see them all the time [laughs]! But I've only ever seen sheep at really close quarters a few times, when I was a kid. They smell and aren't nearly as cute as you would think. They are kind of stinky and pretty disgusting. It's a love/hate relationship with sheep. Tourists usually come to New Zealand and say on the first day,"Wow I'm so excited there are so many sheep!" Second day,"Oh jeez, there are quite a lot of sheep."Third day,"F****in' sheep, again, can you show me something else?"