Santitarn Sathirathai
11 June 2021
Dr. Santitarn Sathirathai is Group Chief Economist and a member of senior management at Sea, the leading internet company in Southeast Asia and Taiwan. Sea’s businesses include Shopee, the region’s largest and most popular e-commerce platform, Garena, a global leader in games publishing and development, and SeaMoney, one of the pioneers of Southeast Asia’s digital financial services sector.
At Sea, he heads the company’s Research and Public Policy Unit and leads Sea’s engagement with policymakers and thiught leaders around the region, with a particular focus on promoting digital skills and literacy for young people, SMEs, and other industry stakeholders. He is also part of the Singapore’s Digital Readiness Council.
Santitarn was the first representative from Southeast Asia invited to join the World Economic Forum’s Community of Chief Economists tasked to reimagine the Global Economic system post Covid-19.
A passionate advocate for the power of technology to drive transformation and inclusion, he has published his first book, Futuration, in Thailand in 2019. The book addresses Santitarn’s views on how Thailand can prepare for the challenges and opportunities of the future economy, and has become an instant best-seller and one of the country’s most talked-about books of the year.
Prior to joining Sea, Santitarn was the Head of Emerging Asia Economics Research at Credit Suisse where he advised public and private investors, covering 10 economies. He was the only economist in Asia to have won the prestigious best economic forecaster award by Consensus Economics for three consecutive years. He has also worked at Thailand’s Ministry of Finance and at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, as well as the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation.
In addition to his work with Sea, he is also an independent board of director at Ngern Tid Lor, Advisor to Taejai.com the largest online crowd donation platform in Thailand, a visiting lecturer at Chulalongkorn University.
Santitarn holds a doctorate degree in Public Policy and a master’s degree in Public Administration in International Development from Harvard University, as well as a bachelor’s degree in Economics and a master’s degree from the London School of Economics.
