William E. Heinecke came to the Kingdom of Thailand in l963 and founded the Minor Group in l967.  Four decades later it has grown into more than thirty companies, spanning lifestyle and leisure sectors from leading fashion brands to world-class hotels and resorts and more than 1,100 branded food service outlets across Asia and the Middle East.

Today, Minor International Pcl is one of the largest hospitality companies in the Asia Pacific region, operating over 75 hotels and serviced suites under Anantara, Oaks, Four Seasons, Marriott, Elewana, and St. Regis  and other Minor International brands in Thailand, Australia, China, New Zealand, the Maldives, Vietnam, Tanzania, Kenya, the Middle East, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

Now 62, Mr. Heinecke currently serves on the Board of Directors of Minor International PCL, which is Thailand’s largest hospitality and leisure operator. The author of 'The Entrepreneur - 25 Golden Rules for Global Business Manager’, Mr. Heinecke also serves as a Director of Sermsuk PCL, the publicly listed Pepsi bottler in Thailand and Indorama Ventures PCL, the largest PET production company in the world. Mr. Heinecke became a naturalized Thai citizen in 1991.