Early Life and Education
Sarath Ratanavadi was born in Bangkok on July 12, 1965, into a military family. His father was a General in the Royal Thai Armed Forces. He attended Vajiravudh College for secondary education and later pursued a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from Chulalongkorn University. He furthered his education by earning a Master of Science in Engineering Management from the University of Southern California (USC) in the United States.
Rise to Success
Ratanavadi's career began in 1994 when he founded Gulf Electric Company Limited, marking his entry into Thailand's liberalizing power sector. Over the years, he expanded Gulf Electric through the establishment of several affiliated power companies, which were later merged to form Gulf Energy Development Company Limited in 2007. Under his leadership, Gulf Energy grew into a major independent power producer in Thailand, with power plants across Thailand and Southeast Asia. In 2017, Gulf Energy Development went public on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, which was the largest initial public offering in the country in a decade.
Key Business Strategies
A key strategy has been the diversification beyond conventional energy. In 2021, Gulf acquired a stake in Intouch Holdings and its mobile telecom subsidiary, Advanced Info Service (AIS). Furthermore, Gulf formed a joint venture with Singtel to develop data centers in Thailand, and in early 2022, Gulf and Binance launched a cryptocurrency trading platform in Thailand. In 2025, Gulf merged with Intouch Holdings to form Gulf Development.
Philanthropy
Ratanavadi is actively involved in philanthropic initiatives, particularly in education and community development. He has supported charitable causes in healthcare and education and serves on USC's Board of Councilors of the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. In 2015, he donated $3 million to the USC golf program.
