Liam Ayudhkij:LIAM AYUDHKIJ grew up in Dublin as Liam O'Keeffe before emigrating at age 18 to Thailand, where he was the key figure in building up a facilities management firm employing more than 20,000 people.
Despite his huge success, his feet stayed firmly on the ground, and he liked to joke: “I made my fortune from cleaning toilets.”
Ayudhkij, who has died aged 66, was chairman of Property Care Services (PCS), the largest integrated facilities management company in southeast Asia.
PCS is today part of the global OCS group and manages the group’s business in Thailand, India, Malaysia, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Vietnam.
Outside his business life, Ayudhkij was a committed philanthropist and keen art collector, setting up Liam’s Gallery in Pattaya and writing a book on Thai art.
His love of Thailand led him to become a naturalised Thai, and change his surname. He also became fluent in Thai.
He was born in Dublin in 1945, one of four children of James and Angela O’Keeffe. Educated by the Christian Brothers at O’Connell Schools, he passed his Leaving Certificate with honours. In 1963 he travelled to Thailand and decided to make the kingdom his home. Finding employment, he proved to be a diligent and hard-working manager of the pest control service division of the Anglo-Thai Commercial Co Ltd in Bangkok.
In 1972, with the growth of the local property market, the need for professional cleaning services became apparent, and the company moved to fill it. Anglo-Thai was subsequently taken over by the Inchcape group, and staff numbers increased to 300.
Ayudhkij made a major contribution, and in 1989 led a management buyout that brought about the formation of PCS. In 1996 the company expanded its network of offices, and the workforce rose to 10,000. In 1998 PCS janitorial and security services launched its electronic security systems division to enhance security provision to customers. By 2007 the company was employing 23,000.
Ayudhkij devoted much time to charity work, and the many charities he supported ranged from the Cheshire Homes and Support the Children Foundation to the Bangkok Nursing Home Hospital.
He was also a director of the Phya Thai Palace Restoration Committee and a former chairman of the Thailand Business Coalition against Aids. In 2005 he founded the PCS Foundation, and registered it as a not-for-profit organisation in 2007. “It is my earnest hope that this foundation will continue to help the underprivileged in our society and show, in some small way, our gratitude to the community from which we draw our workforce,” he said.
He was a founder and director of the Irish Thai Chamber of Commerce and a member of the British Chamber of Commerce. A past president of the Bangkok St Patrick’s Society, he was a former governor of the Heritage Club, Bangkok.
Liam’s Gallery now houses abstract, semi-abstract and representational paintings, modern sculpture, Chinese paintings, Burmese sculpture and other Asian works. Leading Asian artists have exhibited there. His book Flavours: Thai Contemporary Art was published in 2003. He was the founding sponsor of an English essay contest for young people run by the Nation newspaper.
In 2009 he was among the expatriate Irish business people invited to attend the Global Irish Economic Forum held in Farmleigh.
He will be remembered for his business acumen, charity work, love of art and boundless enthusiasm. His sisters Maeve Farrell, Patricia Hsu and Angela McMullen survive him.
Liam Ayudhkij: born March 1st, 1945; died February 28th, 2012