Chatchaval Jiaravanon

Chatchaval Jiaravanon is a Thai businessman and member of the family that controls the Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group), who has owned Fortune magazine since 2018 through his personally held Fortune Media Group Holdings.

Based in Bangkok, Thailand Org Fortune Media Group Holdings Role Owner

Notable work and positions

Fortune Media Group Holdings Limited — Owner (since 2018)
Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group) — Family member; former Executive Director, C.P. Pokphand Group
True Corporation — Board Member / Director
Charoen Energy and Water Asia — Founder and Chairman
Lightnet Group — Founder and Chairman
Finansia Syrus Securities — Chairman

Biography

Chatchaval Jiaravanon is a Thai businessman and a member of the Chearavanont/Jiaravanon family, which controls the Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group), a Bangkok-based conglomerate with businesses spanning agro-food, retail, telecommunications, real estate, finance and pharmaceuticals. He is a nephew of Dhanin Chearavanont, CP Group's senior chairman, and the son of Sumet Jiaravanon, Dhanin's eldest brother; as of 2018 reporting, the extended family's net worth was estimated at $36 billion, ranking among Asia's wealthiest according to Forbes. Jiaravanon holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Southern California. He was appointed executive director of C.P. Pokphand Group roughly a decade before 2018 and has also served as chief executive of Charoen Pokphand Indonesia, founder and chairman of Charoen Energy and Water Asia, and a board member of True Corporation, the CP Group-affiliated telecommunications company.

On November 9, 2018, Meredith Corporation announced it would sell the Fortune business-media brand for $150 million in cash to Fortune Media Group Holdings Limited, a holding company wholly owned by Jiaravanon; the deal closed later that year. Jiaravanon owns Fortune as a personal investment structured independently of CP Group's family businesses. In a statement announcing the sale, he said his vision was to establish Fortune as the world's leading business media brand through investment in technology, editorial talent and geographic expansion, including growth of Fortune's Hong Kong office and interest in the China market. Fortune president Alan Murray, who became chief executive as part of the transaction, told The Wall Street Journal that Jiaravanon would not play a daily role in the outlet's operations and would support its editorial independence.

Jiaravanon holds chairman and director roles at several other Thailand-listed companies, including chairman of the board of Beryl 8 Plus Public Company Limited since 2021, chairman of IFCG Public Company Limited since 2023, and chairman of the executive committee of WP Energy Public Company Limited since 2024; he has also served as an independent director and audit committee member of Frasers Property (Thailand) since the early 2000s. He is chairman of Finansia Syrus Securities and has previously served as a board member of Thailand's state-owned Government Savings Bank. Beyond CP Group and Fortune, Jiaravanon is founder and chairman of Lightnet Group, a cross-border payments and blockchain company, and holds additional investments through the Hong Kong-based Wonder Capital Group, where he is listed as a general partner.

Career highlights

1. Acquisition of Fortune, 2018Purchased the Fortune media brand from Meredith Corporation for $150 million, becoming its sole owner through Fortune Media Group Holdings Limited.

2. Charoen Pokphand Group leadershipHeld senior roles across the family conglomerate's subsidiaries, including executive director of C.P. Pokphand Group and CEO of Charoen Pokphand Indonesia.

3. Founding Lightnet GroupFounded and chairs the cross-border payments and blockchain company, part of a broader portfolio of investments outside CP Group's core businesses.