Anne Jakrajutatip stresses the importance of 'transfomational leadership' in future Miss Universe pageants
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The new direction of the Miss Universe pageant was just one of the things Anne Jakrajutatip touched on in a recent interview.
Late last year, pageant fans received a seismic piece of news after it was announced that Thai businesswoman Anne Jakrajutatip would become the new owner of the Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA beauty pageant organizations, making her the first woman to fully own these organizations.
The first test of Anne's ownership came with the recently concluded Miss Universe pageant held last month, which saw R'Bonney Gabriel win the title of Miss Universe and the new “Force for Good” crown, which Anne also presented to the organization.
In a new interview with GMA News Online, Anne shared her thoughts about “transformational leadership,” which she says was what won R'Bonney the crown.
“I always say this 'transformational leadership' because I'm a transwoman and I just inspire people. I would love to inspire people. That is my life purpose, to overcome obstacles,” she shared. “That's why I said to everyone, please go and study what it means to be a 'transformational leader' or have the leadership in you to be able to transform the obstacle, to transform all the pain into wisdom, and fight for it.”
Aside from transformational leadership, Anne also talked about the big change she has introduced to the Miss Universe pageant, which is to raise the age limit of the pageant to 28 years old and allow a wider spectrum of women to compete.
“Transwomen, married women, pregnant women. It does not matter as long as you're not more than 28 years old. This is a rule that can lift the bar, can lift the standard,” she said. “As long as they can keep themselves beautiful, they are beautifully confident, they have an impact on the world and they can represent the culture of their own nation so well.”
Aside from her plans for the Miss Universe pageant, Anne also talked about her early life as the eldest child in a Thai-Chinese family, and how she was able to leverage her family's video rental store into what is now JKN Global Group, a conglomerate that owns television networks, home shopping channels, consumer goods, cosmetics, health products, and runs a content distribution business.
MEANWHILE, CHECK OUT THE CURRENT REIGNING MISS UNIVERSE, R'BONNEY GABRIEL, IN THE GALLERY BELOW.
