Peter Teo
Director of Asia Development, Kao Group of Companies, Bangkok, Thailand
Graduated 1992
“Coming from a traditional Peranakan upbringing, I was always taught by my parents to be hospitable to anyone. My younger brother graduated from HIM in the early 1980’s and still remains in the hospitality industry today. His experiences and my parent’s mantra of, “be humble, keep learning and adapt to any circumstances,” convinced me to change my career path and enroll to study at HIM.After graduating, my career path took me from Food and Beverage to Sales and Marketing, Hotel and Restaurant pre-openings, hospitality development and training. It was a tough road up to a senior position and the skills that I learned at HIM really helped. In 2007, I transferred from Hotels to the Kao Group of Companies as their Director for Asia Development where my role is to assist hotel owners to maximize their business and to search for new business opportunities in the Thai market.
I know that in order to be successful in this business you must have self-discipline, be humble, have determination, be respectful to all rank and file staff and be passionate. These are all key qualities that will help you on your journey in the hospitality industry. My advice to future graduates is to take the knowledge you will learn at HIM as fuel for the passion that this demanding and exciting industry requires. Above all, as my parents taught me, “ALWAYS BE HOSPITABLE.”
