Three Vietnamese business woman honored in Fortune’s list of 100 most powerful women in Asia

Three Vietnamese women have been among the first-ever list of the 100 most powerful women in Asia, announced recently by the American magazine Fortune.

They are Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, Chairwoman of VietJet Air; Ms. Mai Kieu Lien, CEO of Vinamilk and Ms. Nguyen Duc Thach Diem, CEO of Sacombank.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao founded the low-cost airline VietJet in 2011, which has consistently maintained strong growth. Last year, VietJet carried 25.3 million passengers, including 7.6 million international travelers, an increase of 183 per cent compared to 2022. Thao is also Vietnam’s only female billionaire to appear on Forbes' list for several years, with a current net worth of $2.9 billion.

Ms. Mai Kieu Lien has been with Vinamilk since its establishment in 1976. In her first four years, she worked as a technology engineer overseeing the condensed milk production line. After completing her studies in Russia in 1984, she became the Deputy General Director in charge of economics. Since 1992, Ms. Mai Kieu Lien has been the CEO of Vinamilk, now the largest listed food and beverage company on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), with a market capitalization of $6 billion.

Ms. Nguyen Duc Thach Diem is Vice Chairwoman and CEO of Sacombank. She joined the bank in 2002 and was appointed CEO in 2017. Ms. Nguyen Duc Thanh Diem has steered Sacombank through a 7-year restructuring process to reduce bad debt. The bank’s total assets now stand at approximately $27 billion.

This year’s honorees come from 11 countries and represent a range of sectors, including finance, energy, transportation, food and beverages, and hospitality.

This is the first year Fortune has published the list of the most powerful women entrepreneurs in Asia. More than half of the honorees are CEOs, 26 are chairwomen, and 11 are CFOs. Thirteen are regional leaders of major multinational companies like Starbucks, McDonald's, and Nike, while over 10 per cent are founders of the companies they lead.

Fortune praised this year’s female entrepreneurs for reforming their companies, breaking new ground in their industries, driving growth, and inspiring colleagues and future leaders. They were selected based on their companies' scale, strategic vision, ability to innovate, economic impact, and social responsibility.