When she was the host of the controversial game show The Weakest Link, Dr. Kritika Kongsompong’s grim-faced demeanor and fierce voice gave everyone the impression that she was a mega-bitch. But that wasn’t the real Ajarn Kritika. In person she has a cheerful voice, a smiling face and a gentle manner. She also has unlimited energy. She is a teacher at the Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration, the host of a morning talk show on Channel 3, a businesswoman, a writer and a sweet mom and wife.

I do everything that I think will give me the opportunity to live my life to the fullest.

I’ve learned to take on different roles since I was very young. Modern women must be able to multi-task. You have to shift back and forth between your different roles; you have to wear different hats.

No matter how independent you are, when you have a family, you have to take good care of your husband and children. When I’m home I am a mother. I cook, I still braid my daughter’s hair and when my husband comes home I squeeze the toothpaste for him, prepare his pajamas and the next morning set his work clothes out on the bed. I don’t think it’s weird, difficult or boring. I’m happy to do this for them—it’s a major part of my life.

Lots of young people who are left to be alone or with maids will not turn out to be high-quality people. My daughter is now 15 years old, and I need to be with her as much as I can because I want to make sure that she’s quality.

I enjoy the entertainment business, because the money is good and because I get to dress up and get to meet a lot of people.

I accepted the offer to be the host of The Weakest Link because the role was interesting and I thought I was a good fit.

In the beginning, I got lots of negative feedback. My students at the time defended me. Later someone got up and said, “Silly you, it’s just a game.”

Even now people still remember me as the lady from The Weakest Link. This is the amazing thing about first impressions—they last for a long time.

That wasn’t me—it’s all about the acting. Right now what I’m involved in is semi-entertainment where I don’t act.

On my talk show, Kui Fueng Rueng Pooying, we address social issues such as pre-marital sex and the pros and cons of sending your children overseas. We invite people who are experts on these topics to be our guest speakers. Is it entertaining? Yes. Is it informative? Yes.

People who watch TV need to be entertained as well as informed. I don’t really watch soap operas, because I don’t want to talk like that—all that screaming and high-pitched squealing. And I don’t want my daughter to be like that either.

I enjoy doing everything because it seems like everything I do is inter-related. In February, I’ll go to India to give a talk on multi-cultural marketing. And I write academic articles and practical articles on marketing in Marketeer, Biz Week and Prachachart Turakit.

Marketing can be applied to day-to-day living—you just need to think about what is best for your target audience. If your target audience is your family, they have to be the center of attention. If your customers are your target audience, you have to satisfy them. Even if my show is entertainment, it’s still marketing.

I don’t want to be a teacher who takes things from books and repeats them. I want to enjoy teaching, and I want the students to learn from me. They can read about the things in books on their own.