Michael
Walther was born in 1935, which makes him an amazing 70 years
old. I say amazing because he is both an entrepreneur and the
newly appointed Honorary Consul for Australia, jobs he fulfills
with energy and enthusiasm. Not too many people who are 70 send
out r้sum้s or set goals for new jobs!
Although born in England and educated there
at the primary and secondary levels, he joined Signals for his
compulsory military duty as a young man and was sent to East
Africa. The exposure to a different life and a different culture
expanded his horizons, and he has never looked back. East Africa
was in the middle of a rebellion when he served there, and so
was he. His father was the Crown Counsel and young Mike
experienced some family pressure to go to law school. But the
law wasn’t his interest. Instead he attended Salisbury
University in Rhodesia after leaving the military, and graduated
with a degree in architecture. Neither Salisbury University nor
Rhodesia, he noted, still exist with those names. Salisbury has
become Harare and Rhodesia is now Zimbabwe.
Michael never practiced architecture, but
instead discovered his niche in related businesses. He married
and had children, but Rhodesia was in the midst of a rebellion
and the family didn’t want to raise its children amidst guns
and fighting. They moved to Perth in Western Australia, and
started a construction company. Michael describes Perth in those
days as being very similar to Chiang Mai, more “laid back”
than the rest of the country.
In addition to the construction company,
Michael became a consultant to a number of Australian companies
that manufactured and exported building products. One of these
was involved in the export of products to South East Asia, and
he was introduced to Thailand. His children grown and his
marriage ending, he took the opportunity to start over. He set
up a factory in Bangna that manufactured a pre-fabricated
modular building system. The system components were exported to
many countries including India, Iraq, Vietnam, Hong Kong and the
Palau Islands. In addition, the United Nations forces in
Cambodia used them for both offices and staff housing. The
components were insulated and pre-plumbed, which made them ideal
for quick construction.
It was during these years that Michael’s
acquaintance with Varisara Panyaso, “Meam”, slowly developed
into more than a casual friendship. They were married, and he
says with great pride that she is an accomplished woman who is
quite capable of running multiple businesses today. The family
now owns an interior finishing business in Bangkok, a civil
engineering company and a modular interlocking brick plant. The
interior finishing business employs some 200 Thai workers, all
skilled trades people. Every worker, no matter what his or her
experience may have been with other companies, starts “at the
bottom” and relearns the trade according to the very high
standards of the company. Most of the employees come from Isaan,
with many also coming from Lamphun and Lampang. Maem manages the
Bangkok businesses, enabling Michael to think about retirement.
But thinking about it is as close as he has
come. He travels frequently to Bangkok to be with Maem and help
with any business problems. He considers himself a “behind the
scenes guy”, and has found a place for his type of leadership.
He encourages, teaches, and mentors, while others take the
limelight in the front office.
A few months ago, Michael Walther was
officially appointed Honorary Consul, working under the auspices
of the Consul General in Bangkok and responsible to H.E. the
Australian Ambassador. He says it is his opportunity to serve
his adopted country, and his goals for his term of office are
quickly developing. From his extensive business experience, he
has contacts in both business and government. He is working to
strengthen those contacts and to build friendships with local
governmental, business and professional leaders. This will
enable him to provide hands-on assistance to Australian
travelers who may find themselves in trouble in a foreign
country. In turn, he will assist the local authorities with any
problems they experience with Australian visitors and
expatriates, especially those who have emergencies or personal
crises.
His second goal is to encourage and assist
Australian entrepreneurs and business people here in northern
Thailand under the auspices of Austrade in Bangkok. Austrade is
the Australian governmental agency that helps Australian
companies with overseas business. The organization, through
people like Michael, offers practical advice and ongoing support
to business people. Doing business in a foreign country can be
quite difficult, with good people often given bad advice.
Michael plans to help them find the right way and the best
direction. I am sure that there will be many opportunities to
help.
The third goal of the newly appointed
Honorary Consul is the development of educational ties between
Australia and Thailand through the AEI International Education
Network. AEI, Australian Education International, is part of the
Australian Department of Education, Science and Training. Its
mission is to integrate the development of international
governmental relations with support for the commercial
activities of Australia’s education community. AEI liaises
with all sectors of the education and training industry and all
levels of government. AEI also facilitates dialogue on issues
related to education, science and training with governments
around the world.
It doesn’t sound as though Michael Walther is going to
retire to the golf links any time soon. It does sound as though
Australia has a fine advocate in northern Thailand for its
citizens, whether they are business people or travelers. We
talked about the future. With his wealth of business experience
and his enthusiasm for his new diplomatic post, what role does
he see for himself? He will continue to lead from behind the
scenes in his business interests, of course. And in his public
life? Well, he’ll just play it by ear. You can never tell what
the future will bring, but he’s up to the challenge.
