Aun was born into a very loving, rural family in the north-eastern province of Kalasin, a small province in the Isan region of Thailand.  She has nothing but fond memories of her childhood, with a father who was always happy and singing, despite the family being relatively poor.  Aun recalls her mother was always working, and she herself contributed from the age of ten or so, rising at 5am to cook the first meal for the family of four, which included a brother two years Aun’s senior.  After eating, Aun headed to the market where Aun’s mother was a rice wholesaler, and it was there that Aun had her first taste of the business world, excelling in negotiation and sales. Aun is now 47 years old, and both her parents are still alive, happy to continue living their rural lifestyle, with the occasional visit to their children. As a young girl, Aun loved to go on drives with her dad, to see nature and at school loved to be in the limelight, on the stage delivering speeches or debating, a favourite place to be. A serious student who always sat at the front of the class, Aun was one to assert herself and speak her mind, and today wishes she was sometimes a little less forthright and more gentle with her choice of words. It is likely that being married to a Dutch man for the last 18 years hasn’t helped in that regard.

Aun has nurtured her son Max in a similar, warm family environment, admitting she almost never tells him “No”, preferring instead to ask him to justify his requests and decisions.  With his education, which has been largely self-directed by Max, Aun’s underpinning desire has been to develop his EQ, his emotional intelligence, knowing that coupled with his natural intellect, this will lead to a successful and fulfilling life for her son. Aun is exceptionally proud of the young man Max has become, and counts him as one of her closest friends and confidantes.  Aun finds that Max’s wise words of conciliation and mediation when she has a disagreement with her husband can be exactly what is needed to diffuse the situation.

Aun is the Director and Managing Partner of BeWell Medical Centre in Hua Hin. Her career path to this point has had a number of twists and turns. The teenage Aun was focused on the entrepreneurial, with Aun intending to establish a business empire.  Her parents, however, had other ideas. Their small hometown had no doctor, but rather a nurse who cared for everyone’s health and so was held in very high regard by the local community. Aun eventually succumbed to the desire of her parents, and receiving a scholarship, found herself headed to Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok to study nursing.  For a girl from a small rural town, the lights of Bangkok promised fun and freedom at first, but in reality Aun faced a strict life of study, with few opportunities to indulge her inner party-girl. When Aun graduated from the Red Cross Faculty of Nursing, she pursued her career at the Amara Children’s clinic and then the Surawong Medical clinic which specialised in dermatology and sexual diseases.  In all, Aun worked as a registered nurse for over twenty years, gaining a wealth of knowledge and expertise, yet all the while feeling she was not following her desires, but rather those of her parents.  While the eventual outcome for Aun is now wonderful, that is one particular mistake she is determined not to follow with her own son.

It was while living and working in nursing in Bangkok that Aun met Haiko Emanuel, a Dutch man who became both her life partner and business partner.  A chance encounter at a business meeting led to him asking her on a date in 1998, and the pair has been married for 18 years now. Aun and Haiko are joint founders of BeWell, with him being the principal investor and she having the medical background. In the five years or so since the establishment of BeWell, it has grown and flourished under the daily oversight and supervision of Aun, sprouting a satellite clinic at Black Mountain, which almost a year ago moved to the Hua Hin Health Park precinct, as well as the original clinic on Phetkasem Road, just south of Hua Hin centre and adjacent to BelVida Hua Hin.

Aun has a very specific vision for BeWell, which has drawn on European medical tradition and her husband’s family history.  Haiko’s grandfather was a family doctor in the Netherlands, and Aun has developed a similar plan for BeWell, with a proactive approach to family health care.  BeWell is a primary care health facility which aims to be the first point of contact for all a patient’s health care needs.  BeWell has its own dental clinic and a number of allied health professionals, as well as close links with, and the ability to refer to, a wide range of specialist medical services, both locally and in Bangkok. Aun’s vision for BeWell has seen her develop close bonds within her staff – one of the four doctors being her best friend – so that the whole team is able to offer superior personal care as well as best medical practice. Starting with just 3 members, the BeWell team has grown exponentially. In engaging each new doctor, Aun has sought candidates willing to help patients from their heart as well as their head, doctors wanting to care for every patient as if he or she was their own parent. Positive doctor/patient relationships have led to the wonderful word-of-mouth recommendations which BeWell receives on a regular basis.

Aun visited Hua Hin as early as 2000 but it was not until 2016 that she made it her home. Disillusioned with the busy Bangkok lifestyle which saw the family eating the first meal of the day in the car in an attempt to beat the traffic, Aun and Haiko envisaged a better future for their young son in Hua Hin. Few will know, however, that for the first few years in Hua Hin, Aun indulged her passion for business outside of the medical field, and opened and ran a jewellery shop, Zsiska, in front of the Sheraton Hotel for 2 years. It is likely that this renewed taste of the business world is what prompted Aun to blend her career history in nursing with her entrepreneurial skills to create the BeWell concept.

Of course, still years away from turning 50, Aun has her sights set on bigger things. The master plan will see BeWell clinics established in a number of other areas of Thailand, towns also with significant expat communities high on the agenda. 

Aun has always been one to think big and to want to do it her way.  While she acknowledges how lucky she has been to have her husband as an investor, Aun is proud to be the driver and face of the BeWell brand, well aware that public perception is key and that she is a critical role model for her staff. Aun will admit she has high expectations of her staff, yet they are merely reflections of the high expectations she has of herself.  Even after a late social evening, Aun will be at work on time, clear headed and ready to lead her team. She strives to leave her business life at the clinic and at home be only a wife or mother, but admits this is a goal she doesn’t always achieve, as she hates putting off tasks for another day, and can’t let easily let phone notifications go unread.

Aun is a keen reader who relishes a bit of “me time” whenever she can prioritise herself and squeeze it in. She is fond of a psychological thriller or a future-focused book and will happily devour a biography of a successful person, citing Jack Ma, Chinese business magnate, investor, philanthropist and co-founder of the Alibaba Group as the living person she admires most, principally for his unique management style. What characterises Aun’s business style is her ability to analyse the different successful elements she discovers in others, and determine how to integrate them into her own personal philosophy. To this end, Aun knows she needs to continue building on her more complex financial skills and so is lucky that she is able to partner in this with Haiko. Aun also raised her concerns that financial literacy is not well-taught in schools worldwide, despite it being a critical life skill.

Aun is grateful for the good lifestyle that her partnership with Haiko has allowed her though she feels that she doesn’t convey that appreciation to him often enough. Haiko and their son Max give Aun a profound sense of personal fulfillment and she wouldn’t want to live without them. Already well travelled, Aun has particularly enjoyed her times visiting Japan, which she names as her favourite place in the world, for its people, food, culture and, of course, shopping! So, further travel is not at the top of her bucket-list, but rather the ability in future to secure more family time and alone-time, quiet-time, to counter-balance her crazy, energetic and ambitious work life. Somewhat hidden behind Aun’s exuberant personality there is a distinctly sentimental side. Brand labels and pricey material possessions mean little to Aun when compared to her photos of her parents and her collection of Max’s baby memorabilia. It is impossible not to draw the conclusion that, proud as she is of her achievement in the business world, being mother to her son is the highlight of Aun’s life.