Natthapat is a former civil servant who had enjoyed a varied career inside the Thai government, first serving at the State Enterprise Policy Office under the Ministry of Finance where she was responsible for supervising organisations such as the Port Authority of Thailand, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, CAT Telecom, and Krungthai Bank. During this time she was closely involved in the development of a once-in-a-generation revision of the Public-Private Partnership Act, as well as the drafting-from-scratch of a master law governing Thailand’s state-run companies.
Her successful tenure at the Ministry of Finance – where she rose to become the ministry’s youngest-ever divisional head – was followed by a three-year secondment to the Prime Minister’s Office where she worked directly under the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of economic affairs. Natthapat was assigned to a task force charged with formulating a national strategy for Thailand’s post-pandemic economic recovery. In addition to helping craft policies on long term issues ranging from food security and carbon neutrality to cloud computing and fintech, she was also instrumental in expediting the development of pandemic relief measures such as the government’s co-payment scheme and the Pao Tang app through which cash handouts to the Thai population’s most vulnerable segments were funnelled. The latter has since expanded to encompass a variety of governmental e-services, with adoption numbers exceeding 40 million Thai citizens. This stint at the Prime Minister’s Office was augmented by an appointment at the Prime Minister’s behest to the Subcommittee on Economic Recovery under the inter-agency Urgent Law Reform Committee to help devise financial and investment instruments to aid businesses in recovering from the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic.
She has sat on several governmental committees. They include the Legal Affairs Subcommittee of the Syndicate of Thai Hotels & Tourists Enterprises, a state-owned company, the Executive Remuneration Committee of the Police Printing Bureau, and the Personal Data Protection Committee of the State Enterprise Policy Office. She also served as an arbitrator attached to the Arbitration Centre of Thailand.
In 2023 Natthapat left government service to join the private sector as Tesla’s Public Policy and Business Development Manager in Thailand. The role resulted in her becoming vice chair of the electric vehicles group under the Automotive Industry Club of the Federation of Thai Industries, Thailand’s foremost business lobby. Her advocacy efforts during this period included devising new electricity tariffs for fast charging stations and promoting changes to public procurement rules, ensuring that Thai government agencies prioritise energy efficiency and carbon emission reductions.
Since leaving Tesla, Natthapat continues to be involved in the development of new legislation. She currently serves part-time as an independent advisor to the parliamentary review committee on the draft Clean Air Act which seeks to curb pollution in Thailand. Natthapat is also renowned as an expert on competitive neutrality and is a regular on Thailand’s lecture circuit. Her university talks are frequently augmented by her participation as a panellist at events organised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In 2019 Natthapat was selected as a fellow in the Obama Foundation’s “Leaders” programme in recognition for her decade-long efforts in advocating for bureaucratic reform. In 2020 she was included in Tatler Thailand’s inaugural ‘Future List’ of changemakers.
Natthapat holds law degrees from Thammasat University and Harvard University.
