“If you like it just go for it, because life is short”
Befitting a business that has been around for over half a century, the meeting room inside Italasia’s office on Asoke Road is adorned with monuments that are stately, yet warm and approachable at the same time. There is a painting of Othello Benedetti, the company’s Italian founder, while a smiling close-up photograph of his Thai wife, Chatra Donavanik Benedetti, is placed next to it in an ornate gold frame. Near the window sits the iron bust of their son, Adolfo, on a tall pedestal that puts it at eye level. It’s all very dignified of course, until you see the plaque in front of the statue which says “Big Boss”, thus attesting to the lighthearted side of the management of this family-owned enterprise.
The third-generation heir that epitomises this trait is Chakrit “Max” Benedetti. He meets me wearing a crisp Duly shirt, completely eye-catching for its plaid pattern combination of pink and orange. Surprisingly, the 44-year-old describes his fashion sense as quite conservative, even though he admits to loving colours, prints and patterns of all sorts. We met on a Tuesday, but he jokingly reasons that he is practical too, noting how this same top of his could also be worn on Thursday, as its orange colour fits in with that particular day’s associated colour here in Thailand. “When I got these tailored, I had some of my plaid shirts made with three colours so I can wear them on three different days of the week – although that may be too repetitive,” he says with sarcasm.
There’s always an underlying sense of propriety in most aspects of Max’s life; an expected trajectory he supposes people of his generation just step into accordingly. He grew up in Bangkok, along with his younger sister Fa, attending Saint Dominic School before moving to Triam Udom Suksa School for his secondary education. He later enrolled in Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy, a predictable choice for people looking to start running businesses.
“I am quite jealous of students these days, who have a much larger variety of options which can be very specialised,” says the Chulalongkorn alumni of his decision to major in marketing. “If you’re really interested in wine today you can go to study as a sommelier and you’ll be very specialised in what you do. The only path then for people in my line of work was to next get an MBA, and I did so at Thunderbird School of Global Management.”
Before embarking on grad school in the US, there had been a year-long stint of working at Rubbermaid in Virginia, but what the businessman-in-training mostly remembers of that time was an eagerness to be done with his studies. The disastrous economical climate of 1997 was worrisome, and this eldest son was
“LUCKILY I LOVE TO DRINK COFFEE, WINE, AND SINGLE MALT, SO THAT DOES MAKE MY WORK MORE ENJOYABLE”
anxious to return home, in order to generate earnings rather than spend any more. His father’s sudden death after his return would propel him to immediately start to lead the company, alongside his grandmother. It was a position of authority he first assumed 20 years ago, although today he is officially the managing director of Italasia.
Max realises that he is lucky to have a passion for the business his grandfather founded in 1962, that of supplying imported equipment and beverages to the hospitality and restaurant industry in Thailand. Italasia first started out with just Italian brand names, but today the roster of products encompasses many leading brands of electric appliances, glassware, premium spirits, wines, mixers, mineral water, and coffee.
The expectation for him to take the reins was always a given, and the now MD clearly remembers a childhood of being made to dine with suppliers. “I would be forced to dress up and have dinner at home with our guests too,” he recalls. “It was no fun at all for a young boy, but I must have absorbed something during that time. I saw my father as a role model and all I could think was I wanted to be a businessman just like him, wearing a tie and carrying a briefcase like he did. Luckily I love to drink coffee, wine, and single malt, so that does make my work more enjoyable!”
Now in its 57th year, Italasia is a well-established enterprise that is adeptly adapting to the current global pandemic, not to mention the everchallenging
“IT’S A VERY OLD AND ICONIC BRAND, AND I THINK ALL MEN DREAM OF OWNING A FERRARI ONCE IN THEIR LIFETIME”
local Thai regulations. Currently in the works is the import of ozone disinfecting air purifiers for hotel sanitation, as well as Virus Guard, a brand of alcohol-free, nano-tech wipes that kill bacteria but do not destroy surfaces. Meanwhile, the prohibition of online alcohol sales has prompted Italasia to open retail stores in Grand Hyatt Erawan, Piman 49, Petchburi and On Nut this year in order to be closer to consumers.
As a seasoned businessman who strategically steered his company through the Tom Yum Goong Crisis, and almost into its 60th anniversary, other aspects of Max’s life are also falling nicely into place. This past February, he married his long-time girlfriend Varisa “Pye” Prathanrasnikorn, celebrating with a soirée that guests coined as their last fun gathering before lockdown. Their honeymoon to Bora Bora is on hold for now, but there are still many other pleasures he relishes in the meantime.
“FOR ME A GOOD WATCH IS LIKE AN OUTFIT. IT’S NOT ABOUT ‘WHAT YOU WEAR’, BUT WHAT IT SAYS ABOUT YOU”
Max also takes a keen interest in the anthropology of food and how it came to develop – readily explaining how land-locked and war-torn countries tend to have terrible cuisine. He notes that Communist China had only transcended from their greasy, inedible dishes not too long ago when a new wave of money prompted a revival of ancient recipes. Chinese dishes aside, he prefers Italian and Japanese cuisine, as well as a fondness for whisky and cigar bars. Then there’s his love for his Ferrari 488 Spider, another signifier that his luxurious lifestyle does indeed tick all the boxes.
“I like cars even more than watches,” Max confesses. “So when I think of brands like Hublot, the first thing that comes to my mind is its reasonable price range, but also its longstanding partnership with Ferrari, and how it has been the team’s official timekeeper since 2011.”
For Max, however, it’s not just the powerful performance of a Ferrari that makes him a loyalist of the Italian automobile legend, but its aesthetic, design, smell, and the intoxicating roaring sounds when he accelerates on open roads. When asked what it is that he finds so captivating about the brand, he likens a Ferrari to a benchmark or goal to hit during a certain age in one’s life.
“Or maybe it was because there was a poster of a Ferrari plastered on my bedroom wall when we moved houses during my childhood. My parents probably just picked it because they thought it fitting for little boys,” he adds with a laugh. “With that said, it is a very old and iconic brand, and I think all men dream of owning a Ferrari once in their lifetime.”
The image of a sharp supercar definitely adds to the mystique of this Thai businessman with Italian roots, yet Max reveals that he had been indecisive about buying one despite his love for it. The advice he offers to future supercar owners is an upbeat one, and a hopeful approach that can also be applied to life as a whole.
“If you already know yourself and what you like, get involved and build experiences by going for test drives to feel it out,” he urges. “If you think you’re ready, you shouldn’t wait or put it off. If you like it just go for it, because life is short!”