Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Thailand: K-Tech's managing director Bob Kevorkian dies

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Thailand: K-Tech's managing director Bob Kevorkian dies

    THAILAND: K-TECH'S MANAGING DIRECTOR BOB KEVORKIAN DIES

    Thai Press Reports, Thailand
    May 3, 2005

    Section: Corporate News - The Thai business community mourned the
    passing of Bob Kevorkian, managing director of K-Tech Construction &
    Engineering and a key player in the country's real estate sector,
    The Nation reports.

    Kevorkian, a British national of Armenian origin, died early Tuesday
    morning, aged 65, said Pritpal Singh Gill, who heads urban projects
    at Golden Land.

    "His death came as a shock to us all," said Gill, whose friendship
    with Kevorkian goes back 16 years to when they worked together on
    the President Park residential site.

    "Bob was a self-taught, self-made man," said Gill, who recalled how
    the builder founded "from scratch" the Thai Bauer construction firm
    in the late 80s, before joining Philip Holzman.

    A large, jovial, rotund man, Kevorkian was a powerful player in the
    local construction scene over the past two decades, when the real
    estate market expanded to staggering new heights, before collapsing
    during the 1997 financial crash.

    "Remarkably, it was during the worst period of the property fallout
    in 1997 that Bob was able to form K-Tech with a formidable team of
    professionals," said Gill.

    Today, the firm is involved with several major projects, including
    the Northshore condominium project in Pattaya and the Central Group's
    new office tower.

    Nigel Cornick, chief executive of Raimon Land, said Kevorkian's death
    was a 'big loss' as he had been a key player in the real estate scene.

    Cornick, whose ties to Kevorkian go back 10 years, said K-Tech had been
    instrumental in finishing his firm's luxury condominium - The Lakes -
    last year. Kevorkian was also constructing Raimon's Northshore project,
    due to be completed at the end of this year.

    His passing should not affect K-Tech's contracts, however, as Kevorkian
    was a good organiser who was able to place capable managers to oversee
    respective sites, said Cornick and Gill.

    When asked to describe Kevorkian's key trait, Cornick said: "His
    presence and his ability to stick to his commitments." Gill said:
    "Bob was an affable man" whose warm character could quickly gain the
    confidence of partners and customers.

    Aliwassa Pathnadabutr, managing director of CB Richard Ellis Thailand,
    was also shocked by the news of his passing.

    "I will always remember him as a kind and nice man," she said. "Bob
    ran a professional show." Gill said Kevorkian had been committed to
    his work and was a devoted husband to his British wife, Linda. They
    have two sons, a daughter and an adopted Thai son.

    Apart from his huge portfolio of projects - which include the new
    Bt6-billion Royal Phuket Marina project on the eastern coast of Phuket
    - Kevorkian also spent much of his time on charity work.

    He set up an Aids home in Bangkok and another in Armenia.

    "When the tsunami struck in late December, Bob mobilised his men to
    help in the rescue effort and to clean up the beaches at no cost,"
    said Gill.
Working...
X