MANAGING DIRECTOR, AGRIFOOD AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GRAB
LOCATION: THAILAND
In 2006, bankers told Pita at his father’s funeral that he had four months to rescue their debt-laden company. At the age of 25, not only did Pita save his late father’s company, he also propelled it to become one of Asia’s top producers of rice bran oil. For his efforts, he was Asia Pacific Entrepreneur 2016. The New Zealand-raised Pita is a Thammasat University (2005) alum, graduating with First Class honors. He earned a joint-degree in 2011, a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard, and an MBA from MIT, having to pause his studies to rescue Agrifood. He was also the first Thai student to receive Harvard’s International Student Scholarship. In the public sector, he has served as an Advisor to the Industry Minister from 2012 – 2013. In the private sector, he has worked at Merrill Lynch Phatra and Boston Consulting Group. With his rice bran oil being awarded two stars by the International Taste and Quality Institute, he established TIMS (2016), a certified non-GMO bran oil brand servicing Michelin-starred restaurants. He has since expanded to supplements, snacks and skincare products. Since October 2017, he is also the Executive Director of Grab, SEA’s leading ride-hailing and logistics services.
