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Monrawee Ampolpittayanant17 May 2021

Monrawee Ampolpittayanant (Lynn) is Head of Public Policy, Government and Philanthropy, Southeast Asia, at Twitter, the social networking service, with more than 353 million monthly active users. Lynn was an associate in the Bangkok office dispute resolution team from 2011 to 2013.

Q: There must be few people on the planet who aren’t aware of Twitter. What’s it like to work for such a huge brand?
A: I’m proud to work at Twitter. Twitter’s mission is to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers and in ways that facilitate a free and global conversation. Twitter is on a journey to become the world’s most diverse, inclusive and accessible tech company — it’s key to serving the public conversation #LoveWhereYouWork

Q: Are you a Twitter user?
A: Yes, I have been using Twitter since 2007 and have multiple accounts where each account serves different purposes. You can follow my public account @monraweea

Q: Tell us a bit about your role.
A: We work on the most critical law and policy issues at the intersections of business, technology, and human rights. My role at @policy is to act as Twitter’s primary ambassador to government policymakers, regulators, and civil society groups on public policy issues. My team also showcases the use of Twitter for civic purposes through our @TwitterGov initiatives and acts as the @TwitterForGood team, providing guidance, resources, and support for Twitter’s corporate philanthropy mission.

"Making the internet free, safer and more open is a job that will never end."

Q: What have been the greatest challenges over the past few years, both in your role and for the business more widely?
A: The future of the internet is at a crossroads and the Covid-19 pandemic is also impacting it. Making the internet free, safer and more open is a job that will never end. With repressive regimes around the world using shutdowns, and draconian legal frameworks to stifle online freedoms, the norms that inform new legislation have never been more important. If legislation serves to cement the position of larger companies, it will harm the open internet, innovation, and consumer choice irreparably. Robust competition and guaranteeing a fair playing field are essential. Legislative frameworks should consider impacts to competition and innovation. It is important to have a tech-neutral and human rights-based approach to ensure legislation transcends individual companies and technological cycles.

Q: What motivates you?
A: I’m motivated by solving complex law and policy issues, particularly the relations of business, technical, social, legal and policy issues that present challenges to the society that we live in. Coming up with different solutions to our lifetime challenging policy issues is really motivating. Also, as a Thai and a woman I can advocate for others that come after me to break down employment barriers for women and minorities. Inclusion and diversity in the workforce unite amazing people of all backgrounds and abilities around the world to offer new perspectives, innovation, and better decision-making.

Q: What has been your best and worst decision?
A: The best decision of my life is to be open-minded to possibilities that are offered to me. For example, when I received the Royal Thai government’s scholarship to study law, it meant I had to work for the government for a time and I was worried it would delay me becoming a lawyer. However, the experience of working for the Thai government gave me an important life lesson and connections which later landed me dream jobs in the technology sector, such as at Uber, Grab and Twitter. I have made poor decisions, but I have learnt to be honest with myself and grow from my mistakes.

Q: How do you think the training and experience you gained at WFW helped you in your subsequent career?
A: I would not be who I am today without the training and experience I gained from WFW. I started my career as a litigation lawyer at the firm and advocacy has become a valuable skill in shaping the best argument to support and influence stakeholders. It taught me to have precise, rational, dispassionate and analytical thinking, as well as confidence in myself and my ability to solve legal issues. These skills have helped my career and generally in life as I can apply the same skill set, whatever I do.

Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?
A: I am practising Mandarin and French to be at the same level as English. I love sports, such as Thai Boxing, Spinning and Pilates to keep fit and enjoy collecting Thai silk and other Thai fabrics. I hope one day I can create a platform for Thai and foreigners to appreciate Thai silk to help support local communities and promote the Thai textile industry abroad.

Q: Why did you choose to work at WFW? Who do you keep in touch with?
A: I knew WFW was top tier in dispute resolution, but it meant the world to a freshly law school graduate like me that the managing partner, Steven Burkill, emailed to personally convince me to join the firm. I keep in touch with Steven Burkill, Christopher Osborne, Tossaporn Sumpiputtanadacha, Ivy Wong, Bhavish Advani, as well as other WFW alumni, such as Patrick Miller and Antonia Moll.

Q: How would you describe the culture of WFW?
A: It’s a sizable leading global law firm that provides top notch legal services. The outstanding thing about WFW’s culture is diversity and inclusion which is a key component of how it operates as an international law firm.

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