William E. Heinecke
Encyclopedia
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. He is the CEO and Chairman of Minor Corporation, the CEO and Chairman of Minor International
Minor International
Minor International is a hospitality company operating over 1,000 restaurants and 30 hotels in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions and Africa...
, and Chairman of Minor Food Group.
Biography
Born in 1949, Heinecke moved to Bangkok in 1963 with his family, having previously been based in Japan, Hong Kong and Malaysia. His father served for 25 years in the US military, through two wars, and later joined the foreign service. His mother worked as an Asia correspondent for Time magazine. Heinecke became a student at the International School Bangkok and persuaded the editor of Bangkok World to let him write a weekly column on go-carting, in exchange for the advertisement space alongside.At the age of 17, Heinecke took over from the Bangkok World's advertising manager while still attending high school. By the time he graduated a year later, he had founded Inter-Asian Enterprise to supply office cleaning services, and Inter-Asian Publicity, a radio advertising company, with around US$1,200 he had borrowed. The latter he later sold off to Ogilvy & Mather and, in 1967, founded Minor Holdings that would grow into The Minor Group over the next four decades, spanning more than 30 companies. In 1968, Heinecke married and subsequently had two children .
Heinecke had his first hotel venture in 1978, the Royal Garden Resort in Pattaya
Pattaya
Pattaya is a city in Thailand, located on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about 165 km southeast of Bangkok located within but not part of Amphoe Bang Lamung in the province of Chonburi....
. His business ventures have included advertising agencies and other hotels in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
, Hua Hin
Hua Hin
Hua Hin is a famous beach resort town in Thailand, in the northern part of the Malay Peninsula, some 200 km south of Bangkok. It has a population of 84,883 in an area of 911 km², and is one of eight districts of the Prachuap Khiri Khan province.Hua Hin is closely associated with the...
, Phuket, Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai sometimes written as "Chiengmai" or "Chiangmai", is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand. It is the capital of Chiang Mai Province , a former capital of the Kingdom of Lanna and was the tributary Kingdom of Chiang Mai from 1774 until 1939. It is...
, Chiang Rai
Chiang Rai
-Demographics:Official Population count: According to the Thailand National Statistical Office, as of September 2010, Chiang Rai municipal district has a population of 199,699...
as well as outside of Thailand. He also introduced American-style fast foods to Thailand in the late 70’s and 80’s – brands like Mister Donut
Mister Donut
Mister Donut is a fast food franchise founded in the United States in 1956. The primary offerings include donuts, coffee, muffins and pastries. After being acquired by Allied Lyons in 1990, most North American locations became Dunkin' Donuts. Today its main market is in Japan, where it has more...
, Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is an American restaurant chain and international franchise that offers different styles of pizza along with side dishes including pasta, buffalo wings, breadsticks, and garlic bread....
and Burger King
Burger King
Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
. In 1991, Heinecke became a Thai citizen. He was the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand and sat on the Prime Minister’s Foreign Investment Advisory Council. He is a supporter of the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre. He authored The Entrepreneur, which has been translated into a number of languages.
Minor International
Minor International Plc is one of the largest hospitality and leisure companies in the Asia Pacific region. The company’s hotels and resorts are operated under the Four Seasons, Marriott Resort & Spa, Anantara and other brands in Thailand, Vietnam, the Maldives, the Middle East and Indonesia, and its spa brands like Mandara and Anantara have consistently been named among the best in the world. Minor Corporation manufactures and markets a portfolio of fashion, cosmetics and leisure brands, while Minor International currently operates 16 hotels and resorts and more than 630 branded food service outlets across Asia and the Middle East.External links
Biographical
- Bill's Excellent Adventure Forbes Asia Magazine dated October 5, 2009
- Thailand's Big Cheese, by Robert Horn Time Magazine - September 25, 2000
- Expats in Asia - Bill Heinecke
- Thailand's Pizza War Thaipro.com 12-Jul-2003
- Dedicated to their work, by Louis Kraar Fortune Magazine - October 1, 1990