RUNCKEL
& ASSOCIATES TEAM
We have experienced
English-speaking associates on the ground in China, Vietnam, Thailand,
Cambodia, Laos, Philippines and other countries in the region.
Most of these
associates have been working with us for 6-10 years during which they
have performed a wide variety of projects with us. This gives you
and your company experience, knowledge, a trusted partner and an
advantage helping you in all aspects of your new endeavor in
Asia.
 Christopher W.
Runckel, President and Principal of Runckel &
Associates. Mr.
Christopher W. Runckel, President and Principal of Runckel &
Associates. Mr. Runckel has had a long association over his career with
Asia. He worked in President Ford’s White House as Deputy General
Counsel of the Presidential Clemency Board, which recommended clemency
for Vietnam era draft deserters and evaders. In 1994, he was assigned
to Hanoi as the first permanently assigned U.S. diplomat since the
Vietnam War. In 1997, Mr. Runckel was recognized for the breadth of his
contribution to U.S. - Vietnam relations by being awarded the U.S.
Distinguished Honor Award, the highest U.S. Award for diplomatic
service. In addition Mr. Runckel has served in foreign assignments in
Hong Kong, Fiji, Thailand (two tours), London and in China. Mr. Runckel
continues to advise Federal, State and Local government on a wide range
of issues. He is a specialist in foreign trip planning and has served
the last seven U.S. Presidents in this capacity. He is an advisor to
the Shanghai Discovery Children’s Museum. He also is Honorary Chairman
of the U.S. Vietnam Business Council and an active speaker on Asian and
business subjects to community, State and National groups plus works
with many Universities and Colleges. Mr. Runckel works extensively on
projects all over Asia. His languages include Vietnamese, Thai,
Chinese (Mandarin), French, German and Spanish.
Soraya
Runckel, co-founder and Vice President. Born in Thailand and
a graduate of the prestigious Chulalongkorn University in foreign
languages and with a Master's degree in Technology in Education, Mrs.
Runckel is noted for her language skills and computer expertise. Before
co-founding Runckel & Associates in 1999, Ms. Runckel operated her
own computer consulting and training business in America, Europe, and
in Asia. In addition to other duties, Mrs. Runckel heads the IT
department of Runckel & Associates and creates successful websites,
including Runckel & Associates' www.business-in-asia.com
and www.asia-art.net, plus those
for many other organizations and corporations. Mrs. Runckel taught and
has been involved in international education for almost 20
years. She possesses unique experience and insights in
cross-cultural education particularly with Asia. She is
also an accomplished artist and has exhibited her work around the
world. Mrs. Runckel is fluent in Mandarin, Thai, Vietnamese and several
other languages and continues her lifelong passion for Chinese brush
painting as well as other Asian art projects.
Dr. Charles Runckel,
Chief Technology Officer. Dr. Charles Runckel received his BA in Genetics from Dartmouth College before earning a doctorate in Molecular Biology (PhD) at the University of California, San Francisco under Dr. Joseph DeRisi, with a focus on cutting edge biotechnologies including deep sequencing and synthetic biology. Prior to his work at Runckel & Associates and NPEC, Dr. Runckel served as Director of Research at Delphi Health Services, Ltd, a Bangkok, Thailand-based human genetic testing firm where he registered Thailand's first human genetics patent. As Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Runckel brings a background of state-of-the-art technologies to enhance our company's portfolio of biogas and biofuels projects, with a particular interest in flexible designs that will allow retooling of various facilities as new biofuels technologies mature.
John Muller,
Consulting
Business and Security Expert, Southeast
Asia. John Muller has a lifetime of work and experience in
Southeast Asia. A Political Science graduate of the University of
Washington and a Seattle native, Mr. Muller has headed major U.S. and
local companies in the airfreight, airline and helicopter services,
security and other fields in Thailand, Cambodia and other Asian
locations. Mr. Muller’s involvement with security first started in 1969
in the U.S. Army in Vietnam and then continued on with a private
investigator firm in Seattle before he returned again with U.S.
government security from 1975-77. Mr. Muller then worked for such
famous names as Flying Tigers, Evergreen International Airlines, Circle
Freight International and several security firms in Thailand where he
headed up operations.
Mr. Muller is a world renowned expert in VIP protection, security,
business in Southeast Asia and is often consulted on due-diligence and
other business-security issues. Mr. Muller has numerous commendations
from the U.S. Embassy, U.S. Department of State, the FBI, Thai,
Cambodian and other nation’s police on his work throughout the years in
the region. He is Chairman of the Security Committee of the American
Chamber of Commerce of Thailand and the Overseas Security Council of
Thailand respectively, a Member of the American Society for Industrial
Security, the International Bodyguard Association and the US Special
Forces Association. He is also an Honorary Member of the Royal Thai
Special Forces.
Tina Zhang,
Senior China
Associate. Ms. Zhang heads Runckel & Associates operations in
Shanghai, China and has had a relationship with our company for many
years. Coming from a background in consumer products design,
manufacture, quality control, sales and marketing, Ms. Zhang has gained
deep understanding of what it takes to do business in China today. She
daily puts her skills and expertise to work for clients in outsourcing,
OEM, market focus studies and many other facets of our work for
clients. She is particularly knowledgable in the plastics and consumer
sales industry and maintains a wide range of contacts throughout China.
These have been extremely helpful to Runckel and Associates in projects
as diverse as business plan development and research, factory and
office site selection, factory and office lease, recruitment, trip
planning and facilitation for both small and large groups plus many
other activities. Ms. Zhang is China based but has travelled
extensively to the U.S., Europe, Japan and throughout Asia in support
of her past work.
Dang The
Truyen, Senior
Vietnamese Associate, Hanoi. Dang The Truyen is Runckel &
Associates and
www.business-in-asia.com ‘s exclusive representative in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Truyen has had extensive experience in senior national government,
international organization and commercial business. He was a former
Senior Assistant to the Prime Minister; worked with the UNDP in early
studies looking at restructuring Vietnam’s Economy; served as Permanent
Member of the Board of Management of Vietnam Airlines: served as a
member of the Prime Minister’s Research Commission plus has served as a
researcher and a consultant on many educational, business,
developmental and cultural studies for European and other bodies.
Mr. Truyen is also a highly successful business entrepreneur with
experience in management of companies involved in the foreign
investment consulting, travel and tourism industry. He helped to set up
the very first American Consulting Firm – VATICO in Vietnam in 1992. He
served as consultant to the World Bank in Washing ton D.C, Directors of
two Technical Assistant projects for Vietnam funded by Swedish DIDA and
Canadian CIDA. Currently he provides consultancy to various World Bank,
Asian Development Bank projects in Vietnam, Mr. Truyen’s present
positions include Head of Section for Political and Social Studies of
Western Europe of the Institute for European Studies of the Vietnamese
Academy of Social Sciences plus Advisor to the Prime Minister’s
Research Commission, specializing in national economic performance,
business regulations and institution building. Academically Mr.
Truyen’s accomplishments are equally impressive including a Ph.D. in
Economics from the Institute of Economics, Vietnam Academy of Social
Sciences, Hanoi and a Master in Public Administration (MPA) from the
Kennedy School of Government Harvard University, and a BA from the
Australian National University.
Nguyen Thi Nhu,
Senior Vietnamese Associate, HCMC Nguyen Thi Nhu was
Runckel & Associates and www.business-in-asia.com 's first
international associate. She has worked with Runckel & Associates
for over ten years. Ms. Ngyen is active in assisting
foreign Universities and other groups in environmental, educational and
other development projects throughout the country. Ruby has traveled
extensively to the U.S., Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and many other
countries. Ruby speaks and writes fluent English.
Nguyen Cao
Van, Vietnamese Associate, HCMC Van has worked extensively in
the travel and tourism sector and is known for his excellent English
and his wide and ranging knowledge of Vietnam and its culture, history
and geography. Van has worked extensively with many cruise lines
in Vietnam and is routinely sought out as an interpreter, travel guide
and general resource for many VIP and other visits to Vietnam. In
addition to the above, Van also has extensive sourcing experience and
is well experienced in finding suppliers and recommending Vietnamese
companies for key projects. With a BA in English and Tourism
Management from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Foreign Languages,
Van both writes and speaks in excellent English. He brings these
skills to his work for Runckel & Associates which has won accolades
from many of our clients. Van also owns and runs his successful travel
company, Vietnam Alive Travel (www.vietnamalive.com).
Bui Truong
Minh, Vietnamese Associate, HCMC Minh took the course program of IT at CITD,
Vietnam from 1999-2002. During this time, he also worked as a freelance
technician to set up and design LAN networks for home and small
companies. In 2005, he obtained the CCNA certificate of Cisco Academy
then got a scholarship to work for CISCO Vietnam as an Intern for 5
months. During this time, he also studied some modules of CCNP.
From Nov. 2005 to 2008, he worked for Hong Co Ltd. Co as a Presale and
Sales Assistant for 2 years, then as Sales and Deputy Manager in the
Project Department for the next 3 years. He also worked as Product
Manager of Fujitsu’s branch for 2 years. In 2008-2009, he worked
for BKT Ltd. Co. as a Sales Manager then worked for Amigo-Tech
(southern branch) Company as a Technical Leader and Presale Engineer in
the Service Department in 2009. During this time, he did many projects
to set up networking systems (including to provide IT equipment) for
some organizations such as Thai Nguyen University, Can Tho University,
Prudential Vietnam, Sacombank, Saigonbank, RMIT University and many
International schools. Minh has worked for some of Ho Chi Minh
City's largest IT companies. He is very experienced in the IT
field and also has worked in sourcing and other work that involves
non-IT related functions. He has travelled extensively in the
South and has both initiative and focus in completing all his work for
our clients.
Alfredo Ramos,
Senior Representative for the Philippines. Mr. Ramos heads Runckel & Associates operations in
the Philippines and is based in Manila. Mr. Ramos has a Master of
Business Administration degree for the University of Santo Tomas in the
Philippines and has done advanced studies in Chicago, Illinois,
USA. Mr. Ramos is a retired Philippine military officer with over
20 years of service in which he rose to the rank of Lt. Colonel.
Mr. Ramos has worked for many large Philippine corporations holding the
position of Vice President plus earlier Manager of Human Resources and
is helping Runckel & Associates to better market the Philippines as
a site for investment and doing business.
Kundan Singh
Bajetha, Associate in New Delhi, India is a self-motivated and
innovative business professional with extensive experience in working
in both a range of leading Indian firms plus with firms involved in
China. Kundan pursued basic Chinese language from Bharti Vidhya
Bhawan Jawaharlal Nehru Academy of languages for 06 months and then
further extended this exposure with a one year intensive Advanced
diploma in Chinese language from Delhi University in 2004-05 followed
with work in Shenyang, China before returning to New Delhi and working
to help support numerous Chinese business and other delegations.
Kundan has traveled and worked extensively through India and is an
expert in supporting the requirements of both Senior Level visitors and
large business delegations.
Sothy Phan, Senior
Representative for Cambodia, Phnom Penh. Mr. Phan heads Runckel
& Associates operations in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and has worked with
our company on projects in Cambodia for nearly five years. During this
time Mr. Phan has worked on projects involving agriculture, economic
development, humanitarian demining plus many other business related
studies and due diligence projects. He also serves as Advisor to the
President of the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Cambodia and also
as Executive Director of the Assiaance to Demining Service (TADS).
Additionally he is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Cambodian
Researchers for Development (a Cambodian Non Governmental Organization
- NGO). Mr. Phan's languages include Cambodian, English and French and
he has travelled to both the U.S. and Europe for previous projects.
Sihattha
RASPHONE, Co-Senior
Representative for Laos, Vientiane. Sihattha and his brother
Xanbandith head Runckel & Associates’ team based in Vientiane, Laos
where they are the Exclusive Representatives of R&A. Sihattha is
the first Lao to graduate from the prestigious School of Electronics in
Tokyo and further obtained his Master degree in Information Systems
from the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Hokuriku,
Ishikawa Prefecture of Japan. Sihattha and R&A currently are
marketing to others the opportunities in the following business fields
in Laos such as: Savan-SENO Special Economic Zone, international
business consulting, tourism and travel, agriculture business
development, energy and mining, investment promotion, trading, sourcing
and other mutual business projects.
Shattha is has been a Correspondent for the Japan External Trade
Organization in Laos (JETRO) since 2000, and he serves as the first
stop for Japanese investment into Laos. He has assisted and coordinated
the establishment of garment, shoe and hats and sewing factories and
the first ever Korean Hotel Restaurant in Laos ‘COSMO’. Due to both his
experience and his range of connections, Sihattha is a key counselor to
all interested in developing business in Laos. He is a member of the
Lao Chamber for Commerce and Industry and in 1999 Sihattha linked
Vientiane City with Ishikawa Prefecture of Japan to be partners and
Sinter or Partner cities in development and peace. Sihattha is active
in community activities such as assisting the Central Lao Buddhist
Fellowship Organization (CLBFO) to mobilize external assistance and
fund raising for school building, renovation of temples and education
for the poor. Sihattha has traveled and lived extensively throughout
the world including Japan, Korea, China, Southeast Asia, European and
Scandinavian countries, Germany, Belgium and the U.S. He speaks fluent
Japanese and working English.
Dr. Xaybandith
RASPHONE, Co-Senior LAO Associate,
Vientiane. Dr.
Xaybandith has lived extensively overseas including
6 years in the Ukraine and eight years in North America mostly in
Canada. He obtained a B.Sc./M.Sc. in Computer Science from the Ukraine
in 1990. Later he added an M.Sc in “Informatique de Gestion” from the
Université du Québec Montréal and then his Ph.D. in Management of
Information Systems from Concordia University in 2000. As a former
member of the Science, Technology and Environment Agency (STEA) under
the Prime Minister Office in Laos, Dr. Xaybandith has analyzed,
designed and developed management software as well as provided
technical support and assisted the needs of government organizations
undertaking information management and computer implementation. His
main responsibilities while in Canada were in presenting specific
technology cases, performing market surveys, preparing feasibility
studies, elaboration of work documents on a prospective opinion about
technology evolution (including the electronic superhighway) as well as
the impacts and needs of city government in information technology and
telephony infrastructure. He has conducted advertising campaigns of
products, design and developed search engines for queuing activities,
management software for sale and services, quotation and inventory
system used for software & hardware availability search engines
inside company, integrated newly introduced internet/intranet with the
present local area network and many others activities. Xaybandith has
served as Vice-President and consecutively President/CEO of Champa Lao
Development Consulting Co., Ltd. (CLDC) based in Vientiane, Laos since
the beginning of 2000. Most of CLDC works deal with the sector of
trade, investment, marketing, project development and management,
agricultural and industrial development, information technology,
accountancy, insurance, eco-tourism, services and other industries. The
company serves as a "Think Tank" by bringing together highly
specialized and skilled personnel in a local Consultancy Organization
supported by the Government of Lao PDR and funded by private
organizations. Xaybandith is also Managing Director/Owner of Champa Lao
Garment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. an apparel manufacturing company
specialized in producing sportswear, pants, shorts and women items for
export mainly to the EU. He is also the Secretary General of the
Association of the Lao Garment Industry (ALGI) and a member of the Lao
National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LNCCI). Xaybandith is fluent
in English, French, Russian and Thai.
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