Chartsiri Sophonpanich

Chartsiri Sophonpanich
Born	(1959-05-12) May 12, 1959 Thailand
Occupation	Banking executive
Known for	President of Bangkok Bank

Chartsiri Sophonpanich (, , , Teochew: Tâng Tì-tshim; born 12 May 1959) is a prominent Thai banking executive serving as the president of Bangkok Bank, Thailand’s largest commercial financial institution and a key player in the Southeast Asian banking sector. He also leads Bangkok Bank (China), a fully owned subsidiary. Since joining Bangkok Bank in 1992, Chartsiri has occupied top executive positions and assumed the presidency in December 1994.

Career

Chartsiri holds a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and completed master's degrees in chemical engineering and management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

During his tenure, Bangkok Bank has grown its domestic footprint to exceed 1,160 branches, supported by 117 business centers and 126 business desks, serving over 17 million depositors. On the international stage, the bank maintains more than 300 branches across 14 countries, including wholly owned subsidiaries in China, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Significantly, Bangkok Bank is the sole Thai bank operating a branch in Myanmar, having inaugurated its Yangon office in June 2015. The institution balances robust commercial banking activities with dedicated initiatives for social advancement and educational support within Thailand.

Chartsiri’s leadership roles extend beyond Bangkok Bank; he was chairman of the Thai Bankers' Association from 2002 to 2005 and contributed to the Payment Systems Committee of the Bank of Thailand as well as the Thailand Board of Investment. Additionally, he serves on the board of Post Publishing and acts as a trustee for both Bangkok University and Singapore Management University.

Under his guidance, Bangkok Bank has garnered multiple accolades, including repeated recognition as "Best Bank in Thailand" by The Banker and Euromoney. In 2020, Money & Banking magazine honored the bank with its "Bank of the Year" award for the 14th occasion since 1985.

As reported by Forbes in July 2021, Chartsiri's net worth was approximately US$1.15 billion.

Awards

In 2001, Money and Banking magazine named him Banker of the Year in Thailand. He received the Achievement Award for Leadership in Thailand from Asian Banker magazine in 2005 along with Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Robert H. Goddard Alumni Award recognizing exceptional business accomplishments. More recently, in 2019, he was presented with The Asian Banker CEO Leadership Achievement Award for Thailand.

Personal life

Chartsiri is descended from banking pioneer Chin Sophonpanich, founder of Bangkok Bank; he is the son of Chatri Sophonpanich. His family includes notable figures such as politician Kalaya Sophonpanich, his aunt, and Hong Kong businessman and politician Bernard Charnwut Chan, his cousin.

External links

• Official Bangkok Bank profile