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I by IMDThe IMD Podcast Network brings you fresh insights and thought leadership on the evolving world of management and business. Author: IMD
The IMD Podcast Network brings you fresh insights and thought leadership on the evolving world of management and business. Each episode features conversations with global experts, industry leaders, and IMD faculty who share their perspectives on leadership, innovation, strategy, and the challenges shaping organizations today. Whether youre an executive, entrepreneur, or lifelong learner, our goal is to provide practical knowledge and inspiration that you can apply directly to your professional journey Language: en-us Genres: Business, Courses, Education Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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How do you reinvent what family legacy means, Chef Pam?
Episode 83
Tuesday, 21 April, 2026
What does it take to inherit a family legacy without becoming trapped by it? In this episode of I by IMD, Marleen Dieleman speaks with Chef Pam, the visionary behind Potong, a 120-year-old family pharmacy in Bangkok’s Chinatown which she transformed into a world-renowned restaurant and cultural landmark, earning her the title of the World’s Best Female Chef. Her story is not just about creating the best Thai food, or serving cocktails in her family’s former dispensary, or receiving the desired Michelin Star. It is about migration, risk, reinvention, and what it means to build something deeply personal inside a multigenerational legacy.She is strikingly clear about the choices that shaped the journey, recalling that during the pandemic-era rebuild, “I sold all my gold” to invest in the project, working all the way to today, where “it’s not about money anymore,” to continue the family business. Chef Pam’s business partner is her husband, and together with their daughter, who has to cope with her parents working long hours in the kitchen, they are already planning their next steps and expanding their footprint in the neighborhood. Her advice to next-generation leaders is blunt: “I don't think there's a shortcut.” This episode conversation offers unique insights and a powerful lesson: legacy does not have to be a constraint. It can be the building material of innovation.Our guest:Pichaya “Pam” Soontornyanakij (Chef Pam) is a Thai chef and entrepreneur who reimagined her family’s 120-year-old Chinese medicine building into Potong, a Michelin-starred restaurant known for progressive Thai-Chinese cuisine. She was awarded “World’s Best Female Chef” in 2025, the first Thai and first Asian woman to receive that title.
