Chatri Sityodtong
{{Short description|Thai businessman and CEO of ONE Championship}}
{{Infobox martial artist
|native_name = ชาตรี ศิษย์ยอดธง
| image = Chatri Sityodtong in Singapore.png
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| birth_name = Chatri Trisiripisal
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1971}}
| birth_place = Thailand
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| height = {{height|ft=5|in=10}}
| weight_lb = 170
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| style = Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
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| rank = Kru in Muay Thai
Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Renzo Gracie{{cite web |last1=Williams |first1=Jackson |title=ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong Promoted To BJJ Black Belt By Renzo Gracie |url=https://jitsmagazine.com/one-championship-ceo-chatri-sityodtong-promoted-to-bjj-black-belt-by-renzo-gracie/ |website=Jits Magazine |date=7 September 2024 |access-date=7 September 2024}}
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| university = Tufts University (BA)
Harvard Business School (MBA)
| website = {{url|yodchatri.com|yodchatri.com}}
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Chatri Trisiripisal ({{langx|th|ชาตรี ตรีศิริพิศาล}}, {{RTGS|Chatri Trisiriphisan}}), known by the ring names Chatri Sityodtong ({{langx|th|ชาตรี ศิษย์ยอดธง}}, {{RTGS|Chatri Sit-yotthong}}) and Yodchatri Sityodtong ({{langx|th|ยอดชาตรี ศิษย์ยอดธง}}, {{RTGS|Yotchatri Sit-yotthong}}), is a Thai entrepreneur and martial arts instructor based in Singapore.
He is best known for being the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Singapore-based combat sports promotion ONE Championship. He is also the star of The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition.
Early life and education
In 1971, Sityodtong was born to a Thai father and Japanese mother and was raised in Thailand. He graduated with a B.A. in Economics from Tufts University in 1994. His family went bankrupt during the Asian Financial Crisis and his father eventually abandoned the family. Sityodtong moved to the United States, pursuing an education for a higher-paying job. To put himself through Harvard Business School, Sityodtong delivered Chinese food and taught Muay Thai to make ends meet before graduating with his MBA in 1999.{{cite news |title=ONE's chairman Chatri to meet fans on June 23 |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/sports/2593006/ones-chairman-chatri-to-meet-fans-on-june-23 |website=Bangkok Post |date=June 16, 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Lui |first1=John |date=26 June 2017 |title=Changing Lives |newspaper=The Straits Times |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/fighting-to-change-lives |access-date=2020-03-18}}{{Cite web |date=September 19, 2017 |title=My Story | Chatri Sityodtong |url=https://chatrisityodtong.com/story/ |website=chatrisityodtong.com}}
Sityodtong emigrated to Singapore in the mid-2000s, and has lived there ever since.{{cite web |date=7 June 2021 |title=The One and Only |url=https://sglifestyle.sg/the-one-and-only/ |access-date=2 March 2022 |website=sglifestyle.sg}}
= Martial arts background =
Chatri started Muay Thai as a child under Kru Yodtong Senanan of Sityodtong Camp in Pattaya, Thailand. Senanan eventually gave Chatri the ring name Yodchatri Sityodtong. A veteran of over 30 fights, Sityodtong's last professional Muay Thai fight was in 2008 in Thailand. He is a certified senior Muay Thai instructor under Senanan.{{cite news |date=23 December 2009 |title=Asia set for mixed martial arts revolution | Reuters |agency=reuters.com |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BK0D820091223 |access-date=2014-02-09}}{{cite web |title=Breaking News - Sports | The Straits Times |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Sport/Story/STIStory_469110.html |access-date=2014-02-09 |publisher=straitstimes.com}} Before his death, Senanan appointed him as one of 4 conservators of Sityodtong Muay Thai in the world.{{cite web |last1=Palmqvist |first1=Chris |title=EVOLVE MMA HAILED IN THAILAND FOR COACHING OPPORTUNITIES |url=https://www.mixedmartialarts.com/news/evolve-mma-hailed-in-thailand-for-coaching-opportunities |website=www.mixedmartialarts.com |date=October 12, 2015}}
Sityodtong started training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2005 under Renzo Gracie at the Renzo Gracie Academy in New York City. He earned his blue and purple belts under the Renzo Gracie banner from BJJ World Champions Rafael Gordinho Lima and Leandro Brodinho Issa respectively. With Renzo Gracie's blessing, BJJ World Champion Alex Silva awarded Sityodtong his brown belt in 2021.{{Cite web |date=20 September 2021 |title=ONE FC Chairman Chatri Sityodtong Earns BJJ Brown Belt |url=https://jitsmagazine.com/one-fc-chairman-chatri-sityodtong-earns-bjj-brown-belt/}}
In 2019, Sityodtong was inducted into the Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame.{{cite web |date=1 November 2019 |title=2019 Black Belt Hall of Fame |url=https://blackbeltmag.com/arts/history-philosophy/2019-black-belt-hall-of-fame |work=Black Belt }}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
In 2024 Renzo Gracie awarded Sityodtong his BJJ black belt live on air at ONE 168 in Denver, Colorado.{{cite web |last1=Williams |first1=Jackson |title=ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong Promoted To BJJ Black Belt By Renzo Gracie |url=https://jitsmagazine.com/one-championship-ceo-chatri-sityodtong-promoted-to-bjj-black-belt-by-renzo-gracie/ |website=Jits Magazine |date=7 September 2024 |access-date=7 September 2024}}
Career
Chatri started as an investment analyst at Fidelity Investments covering a variety of industries. He later launched Nextdoor Networks with Yau Soon Loo, a classmate at Harvard. Nextdoor Networks was a San Francisco based startup provider of e-commerce infrastructure.Tornado Insider, [http://www.tornado-insider.com/radar/compshow.asp?compid=4263], Nextdoor Networks profile Sityodtong was a Managing Director at Maverick Capital, a US$12 billion hedge fund. In 2005, backed by Farallon Capital, Sityodtong launched Izara Capital Management, a US$500 million New York hedge fund.{{cite web|url=http://malaycr.com/home/news/view/id/1484450|title=News content|publisher=malaycr.com|access-date=2014-02-09}} After a decade on Wall Street, he retired.{{cite web|url=http://www.mmamania.com/2012/3/18/2881840/interview-with-chatri-sityodtong-former-hedge-fund-manager-and-the|title=Interview With Chatri Sityodtong, Former Hedge Fund Manager and the Man Behind Evolve MMA - MMAmania.com|date=18 March 2012|publisher=mmamania.com|access-date=2014-02-09}} In 2008, he founded Evolve MMA, a chain of martial arts academies in Asia.
In 2011, Chatri founded ONE Championship{{cite web |last=Chandran |first=Nyshka |date=July 16, 2014 |title=Asia is grappling with this billion-dollar industry |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2014/07/16/asia-is-grappling-with-this-billion-dollar-industry.html |website=CNBC}} and currently serves as its chairman and CEO. Under his leadership, ONE was named Asia's largest global sports media property by Forbes,{{cite news |last=Mazique |first=Brian |title=ONE Championship And Singapore Have Partnered To Create Asia's Largest Global Sports Media Property |language=en |work=Forbes |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianmazique/2018/06/08/one-championship-and-singapore-have-partnered-to-create-asias-largest-global-sports-media-property/#6ebb0653301b |access-date=2018-11-20}}{{cite news |title=How to Become Asia's Biggest Global Sports Media Property: Secrets from ONE Championship |language=en-US |work=Inc. Southeast Asia |url=http://inc-asean.com/editor-picks/become-asias-biggest-global-sports-media-property-secrets-one-championship/ |url-status=dead |access-date=2018-11-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118122722/http://inc-asean.com/editor-picks/become-asias-biggest-global-sports-media-property-secrets-one-championship/ |archive-date=2018-11-18}}{{cite news|url=https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/life-culture/one-championship-breaks-new-ground-in-2019|title=One Championship breaks new ground in 2019|last=U-Wen|first=Lee|work=The Business Times|access-date=2018-11-18|language=en}}{{cite news |title=How One Championship became the first truly pan-Asian sports media property |language=en-US |work=Marketing Magazine |url=https://www.marketingmag.com.au/hubs-c/one-championship-media-interview-chatri/ |access-date=2018-11-18}} while Nielsen ranks ONE amongst the world's top 10 biggest sports media properties in terms of viewership and engagement.{{cite web|title=How the World's Biggest Sports Properties Engaged Fans in 2020|url=https://nielsensports.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Nielsen-How-the-Worlds-Biggest-Sports-Properties-Engaged-Fans-in-2020.pdf|url-status=live|access-date=27 May 2021|website=Nielsen Sports|publisher=Nielsen Holdings|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210527172341/https://nielsensports.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Nielsen-How-the-Worlds-Biggest-Sports-Properties-Engaged-Fans-in-2020.pdf |archive-date=2021-05-27 }}
In 2021, Sityodtong starred in The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition. The show won Asia's Best Reality TV Series at the 2021 Asian Academy Awards.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2021/awards/asia/asian-academy-creative-awards-winners-1235125526/|title=2021_AsianAcademyAwards|publisher=variety.com|access-date=2021-03-12}}
In August 2022, Sityodtong accepted an invitation by the Royal Thai Army to become a promoter at the prestigious Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.{{cite web |url=https://asianmma.com/chatri-sityodtong-becomes-a-lumpinee-promoter/|title=Chatri Sityodtong becomes a Lumpinee promoter |publisher=AsianMMA.com|date=2022-08-29|access-date=2022-12-11}}
= Philanthropy =
Sityodtong supports Global Poverty Project through his companies. He is an active donor to Boys' Town Home, a charity that serves abandoned children and youth in need. Sityodtong also supports the Singapore Children's Society and children with cancer with Children's Cancer Foundation.{{cite web |date=20 October 2017 |title=Philanthropy |url=https://chatrisityodtong.com/philosophy/ |access-date=2020-03-18}}
References
External links
{{commons category|Chatri Sityodtong}}
- [https://www.onefc.com/ ONE Championship website]
- [http://www.evolve-mma.com/ Evolve MMA website]
{{portalbar|Biography|Martial arts|Singapore}}
{{ONE Championship}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sityodtong, Chatri}}
Category:Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences alumni
Category:Harvard Business School alumni