Meet Lifestyle Asia Thailand’s 50 ICONS, where we gather influential people from Thailand’s younger generation and dive into their beliefs, thoughts, and toasts to their spectacular success in their respective careers. This story goes out to Gino-Cholathan Cheovarisajja, a model, businessman, and partner of the famous restaurant Verde.
When it comes to work-life balance, how many roles can a person juggle while still finding time for relaxation? Meet Gino-Cholathan Cheovarisajja, a young man who thrives on investing in his career while managing three distinct roles. From his university days at Chulalongkorn, where he stood out as the drum major, to signing with the Kissmodels that launched his modelling career, Gino has always been in the spotlight. Currently, he has also taken a role at TikTok as a Business Development professional to help the company close numerous partner deals. So, without further ado, let’s dive deeper into the identity, passion, and work philosophy of this charismatic individual. And don’t forget to check out the cute shoot we did featuring Hamilton watches in our exclusive interview with the talented Gino.
Gino-Cholathan on being a businessman, model and restaurateur
Please give us a life update.
“Right now, my main occupation is at TikTok. I’ve been working in Business Development for almost a year. In addition to this, I am a partner of the restaurant Verde. It’s an all-day lunch-style restaurant serving healthy Mediterranean dishes. Here we offer sandwiches and salads with fish being the focus of many dishes. We’re also using organic ingredients. The shop, located in Sukhumvit 26, has been over for over a year now.”
“Previously, I was also working at Grab and Shopee doing the same role, working in Business Development, talking to customers and creating partnerships with various brands. And yes, even though I graduated from Economics, when I started working, tech was at its all-time high. Most people with my degree end up at banks or becoming brokers, but I decided to choose this route instead. I’m also interested in it.”
With your experience in Business Development, do you apply this knowledge to Verde as well?
“That’s a good question (haha). When I was working for Grab, I focused on GrabFood, the food delivery service. I had to do whatever it took for the store to increase sales on GrabFood. Therefore, we’ve been doing a lot of promotions and advertising to let people gain awareness of Verde as well as increase our food delivery. My primary focus at Verde is the online store, whereas my friend, who is a chef, takes care of offline duties such as managing the restaurant.”
“In the past, I did BD with Grab, Shopee, and TikTok because they are the new generation of online platforms. However, I’ve always wanted to work for a social media company for a long time, so when I saw there was a job opening at TikTok, I knew it was a good opportunity. When compared to other organisations, TikTok is completely different. It’s pure marketing and all about increasing brand awareness.”
What is your passion?
“My passion for certain things is always changing, depending on the period. But all I know is I’m a person who likes to close deals and create partnerships with various brands. I like to work in a front-facing style rather than in the back of the house. What I do is divided into 80:20 anyways, so 80% I’ll be conversing with customers and closing deals. The rest, I’ll manage the team.”
“If I’m being honest, I change jobs quite often. On average, I usually stay for about a year and a half. It’s because there’s so much saturation working between brands. I think if compare what I do to the usual corporate work, the world I’m in is a much faster pace. One year of doing tech might be equal to 3 years of working for a corporation. That’s because it’s a small company. We’re always changing directions. However, in corporate, sometimes it can take a year to finish one project.”
How do you manage working so many jobs?
“I’ve been working since I was in university. As I mentioned, I was modelling. That career gave me a lot of experience and knowledge. Yes, studying is good too, but to succeed in life you need both. Being in the modelling industry, I got to meet and converse with many people, which gave me many new perspectives. I believe that trying out new careers will always serve us as we’ll learn things that we might not have known before.”
“As for time management, sometimes I can’t (laughs), but I try to divide my time by choosing what is suitable for me. For example, when it comes to modelling, I’d give it a 7 out of 10. I don’t have a passion to do it for the rest of my life, but it’s something fun I like to dabble in. However, when it comes to business, that’s more of my forte. It feels impactful in a sense, especially when I close a deal. Besides that, I like to exercise and play tennis in my free time. I also have plans to further my academics as my family is going to start doing construction, so I may need to cross over to that world as well.
Lastly, who is Gino in the next 10 years?
“Gino would be a guy who has and runs his own business 100%. But to be honest, being an employee of a company is also nice. I enjoy the 9 to 5 culture because it gives us discipline. Plus, it might be even better than owning a company. For example, my partner wanted to have his own shop one day to have more time for himself. Turns out he’s working 24 hours a day. I think having that 9 to 5 routine is nice because you don’t have to think too much. All you have to do is do your best within those 8 hours, then you can move on and do other things. Life shouldn’t just be about work. Work should be just a part of life.”
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Drinking is best during the day, especially when at brunch. If she's not working, catch her at the gym or socializing with friends. An introvert extrovert at heart. She's a Capricorn.
