CEO of Voxy Thailand, Harpreet Chawla, is Changing How the World Learns English
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Loading... - Amina Bakar
- 12 Aug 2022
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Dr. Harpreet “Richie” Chawla is a busy man. As CEO of Voxy Thailand, an EdTech company, his work week is bookended by time spent at the Voxy office on Silom, and the showroom at True Digital Park on Sukhumvit Soi 101. His personal life, meanwhile, is equally busy – a joyous, if tumultuous, celebration of parenting three under-six-year-old daughters, together with his wife Dr. Pavan “Nanki” Chawla, Associate Division Director, Risk Management, at Bumrungrad Hospital. Between these two responsibilities, Richie (also known by his Thai name Nattaporn) manages to find time for a few other passions too, including books, music, and Arsenal FC.
An educator at heart, this scholarly 36-year-old has a doctorate in Public Health from Chulalongkorn University. An Adjunct Professor at Asia-Pacific International University, his passion for education was fuelled by his experiences as a schoolteacher. “I was perhaps the first Thai-Indian male to teach in a school,” he reveals. “I learnt as much as I taught, and those five years changed me.”
However, as a teacher he also realised that much more needed to be done. In 2013 he set up ACE Academy, an education consultancy for Thai students wanting to study abroad, and in 2017 he established ACE Languages, for teaching English. “There was a clear need for proficiency in English, with corporates willing to spend to upgrade soft skills and language training,” he explains. But even though corporates were willing to pay for language training, staffing was another matter. “We needed a new solution, and Voxy was it,” he says.
Focused on young adults and organisations, B2B driven, Voxy Thailand counts Charoen Pokphand Foods, PTT, AIS, BMW, Siemens, AOT and WHA Corporation among its clients. Over 85 courses in career-aligned and general English, including business English, are offered.
“It’s a cost-effective blended solution that combines AI, self-study learning, and live instruction with qualified native English-speaking teachers,” he says, pointing out that all courses are available 24/7 online and via the app. “It’s all monitorable through real-time analytics and supplemented with in-house training and customised workshops.”
Richie hopes Voxy will be part of the solution in bridging the tremendous gaps in English proficiency plaguing Thailand. The startling statistics show Thailand ranking amongst the lowest in English proficiency worldwide. Even within Southeast Asia and Asia, Thailand’s ranking has hit a new low, and Richie is concerned. Read More…
