A place to call home
12 Sep 2025
Kamolnai Chaixanien (8725) was the first Thai student to attend Christ’s College when he boarded at Jacobs in the mid 1970s.
Living in Bangkok, his family had never been to New Zealand but wanted Kamolnai to attend College on the recommendation of his uncle who had visited Christchurch on business and planned to send his daughter to Rangi Ruru Girls’ School.
After leaving College, Kamolnai studied chemical engineering at the University of New Hampshire in the US followed by Master of Engineering and MBA at Cornell University, subsequently returning to work in Thailand.
He initially worked at the Royal Thai Air Force, attaining the rank of Flying Officer although he was ground-based at the Directorate of Aeronautical Engineering on a project to build a training aircraft for Thailand.
Thirty years ago, Kamolnai joined Thai conglomerate TCC Group where he is now Senior Executive Vice President of TCC Assets Thailand Co Ltd involved in their various subsidiaries from industrial property, hospitality, and real estate development.
One of TCC’s companies, International Beverage Holdings Ltd, bought New Zealand spirits producer Cardrona Distillery in 2023.
While Kamolnai enjoyed his years living in Christchurch, Thailand is definitely home.
“It’s the gateway to South-East Asia and a hub for regional trade with many multinational companies based here. The economy is diverse and growing, English is widely spoken, and the cost of living is not high.”
Kamolnai highly recommends Thailand to other Old Boys as a place to live.
“Thailand is rich in culture, the people are friendly and helpful, the food here is excellent and there is so much variety including being able to find things to eat 24/7. We also have beautiful scenery, both mountains and beaches although the weather can be a bit hot at times. Bangkok itself has become more and more cosmopolitan.”
