Suntheary de Montaigne, a Franco-Cambodian at La French Tech
Franco-Cambodian Suntheary de Montaigne grew up near Paris and lived six years in Shanghai before settling in Phnom Penh in 2011. A consultant with the FAO, she is preparing CAFE, the agriculture forum of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, on 23–25 October, and handles partnerships for La French Tech Phnom Penh.
Can you introduce yourself in a few words?
My name is Suntheary de Montaigne. I am Franco-Cambodian, born in a refugee camp in Thailand. In the early 1980s, my family left to rebuild their lives in France. I grew up in the Paris region before moving to Asia. After several years in China and a trip around the world with my husband, we chose to settle in Phnom Penh. For fifteen years, Cambodia has been our home, where we are raising our two children.
I connect people, ideas and resources to move the world of food forward. My field: investment projects, responsible marketing and innovation to meet the challenges of climate change and build more sustainable food systems.
Tell us about your education
I studied in France, mainly international trade, marketing and management, with a particular interest in relations between Europe and Asia. I hold a Master’s in International Management and Euro-Chinese Relations from Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC). The programme taught me to look beyond a product or a strategy: to understand cultures, consumer habits and what allows a company to find its place in a new market.
More recently, the wish to give my work more meaning led me back to training. I deepened my knowledge of Design Thinking applied to sustainable development and CSR strategies, then took executive programmes at the University of Cambridge on sustainable food in production and processing, and on sustainable marketing, communication and branding. I also studied food systems and the financing of food-system projects at Wageningen University.
What I like is testing what I have learned in the field: starting from the needs of a producer, a company or a consumer, and thinking about other ways of doing things. I remain curious about ideas that travel from one country to another, but above all about how to adapt them to the local context.
Tell us about your early career
At twenty, I started a business with my father while continuing my studies. He had the security know-how and a first client; I had the knowledge of management and business development, and the wish to build something together. We created a security company for construction projects in Paris. The venture lasted more than twenty years and supported our family thanks to the commitment of every member, including my mother, my sister and above all my brother. Even from Asia, I kept managing and developing it. It was a real school of entrepreneurship, where I learned to run a business in all its dimensions: managing teams, retaining clients, handling accounting, following legal files and dealing with daily emergencies.
In 2004, my first trip to Cambodia was a turning point. I came for an internship with the economic department of the French Embassy. I carried out market studies, particularly in the agri-food sector, and followed development projects run by international agencies and NGOs. Through the people I met, I discovered my roots and a very real country, beyond my family’s history.
I then lived six years in Shanghai, where I worked for companies including Sinodis, a subsidiary of the Savencia group, importing, distributing and developing food brands. I took to that world right away, between hotels, restaurants and pastry: the conversations with chefs, the fine products, the technical side of ingredients and the energy of culinary events. From that Chinese market moving at full speed, I kept one lesson: before you convince, you must understand. A good product opens the door; listening and adapting do the rest.
Tell us about your relationship with Cambodia
Cambodia represents my roots, but living here is also a personal choice. In 2011, my husband and I settled in Phnom Penh. We built our family and our home here. The country has changed before our eyes: infrastructure, services, digital technology, the way people consume and the aspirations of younger generations. We have grown up with it.
My path across several cultures shapes how I see my country, even though I still have a lot to learn. If I am here, it is also to develop projects with the people who keep it alive and to contribute, in my own way, to its development. A way of linking my story to what I want to build today.
How did you come to join La French Tech in Cambodia?
Joining La French Tech Phnom Penh felt natural. I found there what I like in my own career: different profiles, an international outlook and the wish to move things forward together.
My work in agri-food also feeds my interest in technologies linked to agriculture, food, the environment and finance. What interests me is how useful they are in the field: producing better, reducing losses or making it easier to reach markets. But innovation can also come from a new business model or a different way of working together.
La French Tech lets me cross these ideas with other skills. Its openness to France, ASEAN and the rest of the world is also a chance to learn from other experiences and to give Cambodian initiatives more visibility beyond the borders.
What are your ambitions within the organisation, and what do you expect from it?
In charge of partnerships, I would like La French Tech Phnom Penh to be a community where people find what they need to move forward: a first client, expertise, a partner to test a solution or an investor. I want to make dialogue easier between startups, established companies, universities and public bodies. Everyone brings something: an idea, a need, skills or resources. My role is to help bring them together around concrete projects.
I also expect a space of mutual support where young talents, women entrepreneurs and people less familiar with tech networks feel they belong. A community where people share their questions as much as their successes.
Describe your professional activities
I am a consultant in the sustainable food sector, with expertise in responsible marketing. I link those who produce, those who buy and those who finance, to help agri-food projects grow. My marketing experience also lets me promote local products and what sets them apart, with transparent and responsible communication.
Today I work mainly with the FAO in Cambodia, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. It supports the country in improving food security, backing more sustainable agriculture and strengthening resilience to climate change. My mission in agribusiness and investment is to support Cambodian value chains through concrete partnerships. I contribute in particular to the Hand-in-Hand Initiative, which focuses on agri-food investment, and to the PEARL project, which helps farmers adapt to climate change and reach new markets. I am also closely involved in organising CAFE, the Cambodia Agriculture Forum and Exhibition, a flagship event of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, to be held from 23 to 25 October 2026 at the Diamond Island Convention Hall.
Tell us about one of your projects
One project close to my heart is the new Youth and Innovation Forum, organised as part of CAFE26. When I think about the future of food and agriculture, I naturally think of our children: the world we will leave them, but also the means we give them to build it.
The Forum will bring together students, researchers, young entrepreneurs and startups with farmers, companies and investors. We want to help young people move from idea to project, by bringing them closer to needs on the ground and to partners who can support them. The discussions will cover technology, adaptation to climate change, food processing and access to markets.
It is also a chance to show that agriculture offers prospects well beyond traditional production. The sector is changing, with new jobs and new opportunities to innovate and start businesses. We want to give young people the wish and the means to find their place in it, while helping make it more sustainable and attractive.
What do you do outside work?
I love travelling, cooking and discovering cultures through markets, produce, recipes and shared meals.
Sport is also my reset button. When I was younger, I did taekwondo at a high level and was part of the French team. Today I take part in races when time and desire allow. I like setting myself challenges and seeing them through. The Raid Amazones in Siem Reap remains a particularly memorable experience: a physical challenge, but above all a great human adventure.
And of course, I enjoy family life in Phnom Penh. Between the children’s activities, meals with loved ones, and the online courses I like to follow, I also try to keep some time to breathe.
What do you like most and least about Cambodia?
What I like most about Cambodia is its energy, its resilience and this ability to find solutions, to get on with business, “rok si” (រកស៊ី), even when everything is not yet in place. I also like the human scale of the country, the smile of the Khmer people, the culture, the food, the nature and the places still free of crowds. In Phnom Penh, the diversity of backgrounds and the ease of meeting people can give rise to good projects.
What worries me more are certain structural challenges, notably access to healthcare and training. For small businesses, access to finance can also hold back promising initiatives. The ideas and the will are there; the challenge is to enable more people to make them happen.
I remain optimistic, especially when I meet young people who want to contribute to their country’s future. There is still a lot to build, a lot of talent to support and a lot of local products to promote! Without underestimating the difficulties, I want to contribute, by sharing my experience and learning from others. Cambodia is my roots, but also a human richness that continues to move me and to feed my commitment.
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