About Us Advisory firm providing effective solutions for business in Asia

Strategy613 is an advisory firm focused on providing effective, innovative and customised solutions for our clients.  We serve international corporates looking to expand operations in Asia, China and Thailand in particular; as well as Asian corporates seeking opportunities outside its natural borders. Our core services are strategic and M&A advisory. 

We have also advised the governments of Thailand and China on topics including retailing, energy and security.  We are aware of high-level debates on economic and social policies in China and are capable of reading the political trends that shape the future of businesses.

We have experience where it counts:

• Building profitability for foreign-Chinese joint ventures
• Executing complex M&A transactions in China’s regulatory environment
• Maintaining close relations with the relevant Party, Government and business organisations
  

Most importantly, each client is unique in character, comes equipped with different strengths and has distinct needs for their expansion plans.  We therefore blend our service to the particular requirements of each client; and are equally comfortable offering M&A, strategic or operational advice.

Joe Horn founded Strategy613 in 2001.  Joe’s mother and our Chairperson, Sirin Phathanothai, spent her whole life close to decision-makers and leaders in both China and Thailand.  Now with Strategy613, this special relationship is carrying on into the third generation.

The relationship between Strategy613’s founder, Joe Horn, and the leaders of China and Thailand spans three generations.  In the 1950’s Joe’s grandfather, Sang Phathanothai, was a close personal advisor to the Thai Prime Minister Field Marshal Pibulsongkram.  At the height of the Cold War, he advised the Prime Minister to initiate secret links with the very top level of Chinese leadership (Thailand was at the time under the protective umbrella of the United States).  As a token of good intention, he sent two of his children to China to be brought up by the Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai.  Joe’s mother, Sirin Phathanothai, was raised by the Premier for 13 years, until the Cultural Revolution.

For nearly 40 years, Sirin has acted as a bridge between the political and business leaders of China and Thailand, as well as those of Europe, the US, and the Middle East.  She has successfully paved the way for many high-level state visits, and introduced many foreign banks and corporates to China since the late 1970’s.

Through Strategy613 Joe has continued and expanded this special relationship.

Our team is our greatest strength. It consists of graduates of the best international universities, with a broad mix of backgrounds. All of us have entrepreneur flair and experience in:

• Mergers and acquisitions;
• Fund raising for Asian corporates in international markets;
• Structuring joint ventures between local and foreign parties;
• Building business models and advising international corporates on their best strategies in Asia;
• Conducting financial market analysis, negotiations, due diligence and legal documentation.

Meet some of our team members.

Joe Horn is the founder and CEO of Strategy613.  Joe holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Oxford University and a Master’s degree in Pure Mathematics from Cambridge University.  After graduation, Joe joined Deutsche Morgan Grenfell in Singapore and later Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong. Since founding Strategy613, Joe has established himself as one of the foremost business and finance advisors in China. In addition to English, Joe is also fluent in Chinese, French and Thai.

Thura Soe-Paing holds a BSc Honours degree in Economics from London School of Economics along with a Master’s degree in Management Science from Boston University.  Since then Thura has worked for Boston Consulting Group and Citibank in London and across Europe.  Most recently, Thura was responsible for the launch of an award winning newspaper for children in the UK.

Krit Damrongrat graduated from Chulalongkorn University with a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and completed a Master’s in Structural Mechanics from Asian Institute of Technology.  Krit also holds an MBA from Tsinghua University in Beijing.  He previously worked as Business Analyst at Siam Cement Group, where he helped set up its Shanghai trading branch office.

Sudaluk (Ann) Watchakittikorn holds a bachelor’s degree with first class honours in Fine Arts and Applied Arts from Thammasat University in Bangkok.  Before joining Strategy613, Ann was part of a management team at a trading firm and also worked at the Raffles Design Institute in Bangkok.  During her time at Strategy613, Ann has worked on many projects with Thai and Chinese conglomerates and Government agencies.

Zhou Ning has a Bachelor’s degree in Physics and Economics from Peking University along with a Master’s in Economics and Physics from University of Illinois at Chicago.  Prior to joining Strategy613, he worked as an Executive Associate in China Finance Inc. New York, where he coordinated a cross-functional team to create future development strategy of a famous Chinese cultural company, and organised investment roadshows.  Ning is also a candidate for Financial Risk Management diploma.

Henry Pastor was educated at Léonard de Vinci Management School in Paris, where he specialised in corporate finance.  Henry has worked on several projects with Strategy613, including Kasikornbank strategy in China. Henry also organised a Dutch-Chinese business exchange in Netherlands, led by Governor Zhou Qiang of Hunan Province.