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There are five judges of the CSR Award in 2022. These judges represent sponsor organisations and are all passionate advocates of Responsible Business Conduct in Laos as reflected in their biographies below.



Awards Evaluation Criteria


  • Stakeholder Engagement – to what extent is the initiative/strategy based on an understanding and consideration of stakeholders' views, whilst being accountable to them?
  • Impact – how is the impact of the initiative/strategy measurable?
  • Innovation – what initiative/strategy is adopting new approaches or activities to address the concerns of stakeholders?
  • Sustainability – to what extent is the initiative/strategy integrated into company policies and long-term operations?
Dr. Sarah Taylor (Ambassador at Embassy of Canada to Thailand, Cambodia and Laos)

Dr. Sarah Taylor

Ambassador at Embassy of Canada to Thailand, Cambodia and Laos

Dr. Taylor has over thirty years’ experience working in and on Asia, including diplomatic assignments in Hong Kong, Beijing, and Jakarta. She served as Deputy Head of Mission in the People’s Republic of China from 2011 to 2015. In 2019, she was nominated as Canada’s Ambassador to Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos. Dr. Taylor holds a Ph.D and M.Phil in East Asian Archaeology from Cambridge University, UK, and a B.A. (Honours) in Anthropology from the University of Toronto. She speaks English, French, Mandarin and Japanese.

Ferenc Lévai (Vice President at The European Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Lao PDR)

Ferenc Lévai

Vice President at The European Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Lao PDR

Representing the European Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Lao PDR, Ferenc Lévai has a background in sustainable agriculture and has been a long-term proponent of socially and environmentally responsible business practices. He is the owner and General Manager of ADC Aquatic Development Co. Ltd., a young aquaculture firm focusing on helping Lao farmers to become more self-sustainable and less dependent of imports.
While living in his native country Hungary, he has worked for over 15 years at a successful fish farm, which is also an environmentally sensitive wetland area Rétimajor, protected by the Ramsar Agreement. During his time in Laos, he has also worked as an expert on assessment and capacity building work for Catholic Relief Services and World Food Programme.

Kingsadone PHETDAOHEUANG (Acting Permanent Secretary, Permanent Secretary Office at MOIC)

Kingsadone PHETDAOHEUANG

Acting Permanent Secretary, Permanent Secretary Office at MOIC

Kingsadone PHETDAOHEUANG is the Acting Permanent Secretary, Permanent Secretary Office at Ministry of Industry and Commerce. Prior to the current role, she worked for the Department of Foreign Trade Policy, MOIC as a Deputy Director-General.

She graduated from the National Academy of Politics and Public Administration, Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR (Diploma, Higher Program in the field of Politics and Public Administration) in 2018 and she obtained a Master in Public Administration at Tsinghua University, Beijing, P.R. China in 2010.

Carli Renzi (President at Australian Chamber of Commerce, Laos (AustCham))

Carli Renzi

President at Australian Chamber of Commerce, Laos (AustCham)

Representing AustCham, Carli Renzi, is an advocate for Ethics and Responsible Business Conduct in Laos, with the chamber championing education & training, inclusive workforces, safe work spaces as well as a sustainable and just business environment.
Through her work in Laos as Country Head for ANZ Bank, Carli is proud to execute business that is strictly informed by the high Environmental, Sustainability and Governance standards of ANZ Group as well as the ethos ‘to shape a world where people and communities thrive’. ANZ publicly reports performance on ESG measures and is a constituent of the MSCI Global Sustainability Indices. In Laos, ANZ’s CSR programs (such as our Money Minded financial literacy program and Plastic-free July) and Responsible Business standards have been awarded locally through the Friend of Laos Award, Tax Award and Top 100 business in Laos recognition.

Mette Boatman (Operations Director of Civitas Co., Ltd.)

Mette Boatman

Operations Director of Civitas Co., Ltd.

Representing Civitas Co., Ltd., Mette Boatman hails from an anthropological background with an expertise on social safeguarding. Mette has been engaged in private and public sector development projects in Lao PDR for over 15 years: designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating initiatives with a focal point of social and environmental sustainability.
As co-owner and Operations Director of Civitas, a leading social development and research company, Mette executes her knowledge of Corporate Social Responsibility in each project and creates methodologies to increase stakeholder engagement in sustainable interaction with the environment as well as working towards making Civitas a Zero Waste organisation.
Mette is an active participant and strong advocate for ethical business conduct in the Lao business community. She has previously served on the board of AustCham Lao and is currently the first elected female Member of the Executive Committee of ECCIL, leading its CSR sub-committee.

Lee Sheridan (Business Enquiries Sub-Committee at British Business Group Lao PDR)

Lee Sheridan

Business Enquiries Sub-Committee at British Business Group Lao PDR

Representing the British Business Group Lao PDR (BBGL), Lee Sheridan has a strong background in CSR with a post-graduate diploma in Responsible Tourism, and a history of making responsible business practices the foundation of businesses he has managed throughout the region - most recently working with the Intrepid Group to achieve B-Corp certification.
Lee is currently working as a Technical Expert on the Skills for Tourism Project, supporting human resource development the tourism and hospitality sector in Lao PDR.
As part of his role with the BBGL, Lee sits on the CSR Sub-Committee and chairs the Business Enquiries Sub-Committee.

PhD Buavanh Vilavong (Director General Department of Industry and Handicraft, at Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MOIC))

PhD Buavanh Vilavong

Director General Department of Industry and Handicraft, at Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MOIC)

Prof Vilavong has been working as Director General Department of Industry and Handicraft (MOIC) for the last few years while before he was Deputy DG of the Department of Import and Export and previously Trade and Import policy, both also under MOIC. In 2019 in Australia, he received the Australian Ambassador Award for the category ‘Male, Champion of Change’ just a year after he obtained his PHD in Economics.

Piya WONGPIT (Financial Specialist at Faculty of Economic and Business Management, National University of Laos)

Piya WONGPIT

Financial Specialist at Faculty of Economic and Business Management, National University of Laos

Professor Wongpit is with the Faculty of Economic and Business Management at the National University of Laos, and has received a Doctorate in Economics from Kobe University in Japan. His areas of focus include Public Finance, International Finance, Security Analysis, Financial Econometric and Derivatives. He is also a Board Member of the Think Tank, National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute. Prof. Wongpit is also a judge in the Asian Business Award (ABA) Laos and representative of LNCCI in ASEAN