Our Current Team

Susie Martin

CEO, Director of Sales & Marketing

Susie Martin was born in Sydney, Australia. She graduated with a Bachelor of Economics and Business Law from Macquarie University. She worked for Servcorp, a publicly listed Australian company that operates serviced offices, for over 18 years. For 13 years Susie was General Manager for Servcorp, responsible for Japan and Europe, Australia and New Zealand and Southeast Asia. No stranger to business challenges, Susie has weathered both the Asian and Global Financial Crisis, operated an office in intense political environment in Myanmar and been responsible for the wellbeing of her staff and business during riots in Indonesia. As General Manager Susie had full responsibility for all regional business functions, her day-to-day accountabilities included managing a marketing budget of $2.5m, personally managing corporate accounts for clients such as BHP and Google, delivery of 5-Star service quality, monitoring profit margins with revenues over $50m, as well as day-to-day site management and on-the-spot problem solving.

Rachel O'Shea

Head Chef, General Manager Production

Rachel O’Shea was born in Wappinger Falls NY, United States. She graduated with a Bachelor of Psychology from Roger Williams University, a Master of Early Childhood Education from Lesley University, and a Professional Chef Program Diploma from Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. From 2002-2013, Rachel owned and operated DBA Cakes by Rachel, a custom-made cake business. From there, Rachel was a Professional Trainer with Expat Kitchen in Singapore, working to overcome language and cultural barriers to train domestic helpers from Myanmar, Indonesia and the Philippines. She was also a Catering Manager at Expat Kitchen, creating, preparing and serving full menus for events from 30 to 350 guests.

Steven McWhirter

General Manager Dairy Farm & Construction

Steven McWhirter was born in Sydney, Australia. Steven studied agricultural science and worked as a veterinary assistant. Steven graduated with a Diploma from Hornsby Technical College as a licensed electrician and contractor in Australia. Steven has experience operating businesses in remote and unusual locations; an Elephant Reserve in Mozambique where together with his team he was responsible for the general repair and maintenance of the main housing, vehicle and camp facilities and as Construction Manager in Myanmar for Design Studio, overseeing the design and build of projects ranging from new Tiger Taverns to residential swimming pools and hotel hairdressing salons. He owned and operated Ku-ring-gai Electrical Services, a successful electrical contracting business, for 10 years and developed the business to generate 6 figure sales annually. Steven established a strong 800-customer base for the company before selling it in 2012.

Soumontha “Link” Panyasouk

Operations Manager

Soumontha Panyasouk, more commonly known as Link, was born in Luang Prabang Province, Laos. Link graduated from the Luang Prabang Teacher Training College with a Diploma in English and from the Mekong Computer Training Center with an Intermediate Level Certificate. He worked for Big Brother Mouse, a non-profit literacy and education project in Laos, as a Book and Graphic Designer, Translator and Office Assistant. He was involved with reading promotion projects, and participated in professional development workshops facilitated by the Lao Government and UNICEF. Link then worked as a Translator and Coordinator for JICA, the Japan International Cooperation Agency. His responsibilities included translating administrative documents, interpreting official meetings, promotional activities, and designing the logo and promotional materials.

chittakone sisanom

Farm Manager

Songkham Thammavong

community liaison manager

Community Liaison Manager

Engnoi Phouphaphone

Milking Supervisor

Milking supervisor

Saisamone Chittaphong

Tour Supervisor

Saisamone is one of the stars of our farm! She has worked here for just over 3 years and knows everything there is to know about Buffalo. Thats why she gives such awesome tours! She graduated from the agriculture college in Luang Prabang in 2016, having studied livestock and fishery for three years. When she’s not taking tourists around the farm or working with our Buffalo she loves spending time with her dogs Sugar and Sumo.

Our Founding Team

Dr. Som Pathammavong

Veterinary Consultant

Dr. Som was born in Vientiane Capital Province, Laos. He graduated from La Universidad Central de Las Villas in Cuba as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. From 1992 – 2006, Dr. Som was a Dairy Farm and Factory Manager for Nabong Dairy Farm in Laos. He was responsible for the overall livestock production program, including dairy herding, milk production, local cattle development, establishment of livestock research trials and demonstration plots, and improved pasture production and grazing practices. Dr. Som successfully implemented a vaccination program for animal disease control and management and a cattle-upgrading program through artificial insemination and natural mating. Since 2009, Dr. Som has been the National Consultant on Epidemiology for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Division of Veterinary Science, Laos.

Matthew O’Shea

Matthew O’Shea was born in Boston MA, United States. He graduated with a Bachelor of Economics from Harvard University, a Master of Science in Finance from Northeastern University, and a Certificate in Global Strategy from EMLyon Business School. He has nearly 20 years of experience in Finance and Management, having previously worked with Investment Technology Group (ITG) in Boston and in Singapore in various roles in Global Markets – from equity trading, client coverage and development, to the management of teams and oversight of business lines. He is currently Director of Electronic Trading Solutions Asia for Société Générale in Hong Kong.

Lathsavong Syluanglath

Lathsavong Syluanglath was born in Xiang Khouang Province, Laos. Growing up, he worked on his family’s farm with buffalo and horses. He graduated from Luang Prabang Technical and Vocational College in Food, Hotel and Tourism. In addition to Lao, Lathsavong is fluent in English, Thai and Japanese, and speaks basic Vietnamese. Lathsavong was awarded a six-month scholarship to go to Hokkaido, Japan for language studies, and a one year Room Division Supervisory Training Program at the Rembrandt Hotel Bangkok. Back in Laos, he was a Tour Guide and then a Food and Beverage and Housekeeping Supervisor and Trainer at Lanith, the Lao National Institute of Training and Hospitality, Luang Prabang. Lathsavong has also spent 4 years as a Translator and Office Assistant at Big Brother Mouse, a non-profit project working to improve reading skills among Lao youth.

Souksavanh “Lam” Saiphaphong

Souksavanh Saiphaphong, more commonly known as Lam, was born in Vientiane Province, Laos. After high school, he started working as a Program Manager for an international tour organization, leading him to other areas in Laos, as well as Thailand and the United States. Lam also has experience as a Food and Beverage Supervisor, Sales Manager, Property Consultant, and Lao Business Consultant. He moved to Luang Prabang and graduated in English and Tourism from Manivanh Business Administration College, and at the Advanced Level from the Mekong Computer Training Center. Since then, he has studied English for Academic Purposes at Queen’s University, Canada and Food and Beverage Management at the Academy of Learning College, Canada.

Jennifer Langill

Jennifer was born in Toronto, Canada. She graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Global Development Studies from Queen’s University, with a Certificate in International Studies. Jennifer speaks fluent English, Lao and Spanish and has a working proficiency in Thai and French. She founded Gollucoh, a non-profit organization in Laos, and was responsible for program research and development, fundraising and allocating resources. She was awarded the OceanPath Fellowship to build upon Gollucoh’s work in improving financial literacy and strategizing in rural Laos. Jennifer has extensive global development experience, including field research and data collection, data analysis, dissemination, and program management, as well as sitting on various executive committees for local development organizations.