Mai Kieu Lien (born 1. September 1953 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

) is a

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

businesswoman A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

and currently Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of

Vinamilk Vinamilk, formally the Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company () is the largest dairy company in Vietnam. Based on the UNDP 2007 Top 200 largest firms in Vietnam report, it was also the 15th largest company in Vietnam and formerly the most va ...

. She studied in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and has been working for Vinamilk since returning to Vietnam in 1976, holding leadership positions during much of the company's modernisation. She is the only Vietnamese manager in Forbes' "Asia's 50 Power Businesswomen" list and was described by the magazine to be dynamic and having played a key role in transforming Vinamilk not only "into one of Vietnam's most profitable brands but also a respected name across Asia". She was the 60th wealthiest individual in Vietnam in terms of stock wealth in late 2012, holding stocks worth almost 200 billion VND (almost $10 million).

Career

Mai Kieu Lien graduated from university in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

with a degree in meat and milk processing in 1976. She returned to Vietnam the same year and started working as an engineer responsible for condensed milk and yoghurt in Truong Tho factory of Vinamilk's predecessor. She was promoted in 1980 and again in 1982 to become an assistant to the director of Thong Nhat factory. In September 1983 she started a one-year management degree in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. She returned in June 1984 and became Vice Director in July. She became director in 1992, a position she is still holding. She was in the

Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam ( Vietnamese: ''Ban Chấp hành Trung ương Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam''), commonly the Party Central Committee (PCC; - or ), is the highest organ between two national congresses ...

from 1996 to 2001. After the equitisation of Vinamilk she became chairwoman.Mai Kiều Liên - người phụ nữ và thương hiệu 1 tỷ USD
HIV Online, Theo Phununet - 00:00' 20/01/2009 (GMT+7).

Awards

* She honorably granted certain awards as below: - In 2001: The Labour Medal II. - In 2005: The “

Hero of Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour () was an honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievements in Soviet ...

in the novation period”. - In 2006: The Labour Medal I. In the same year, she was awarded “Vietnam’s Entrepreneur of the Year” and “Outstanding Achievements in Science & Technology from 2001 to 2005” by Vietnamese Industry and Trade Department. - In 2009: She won “Outstanding Businesswoman – Yellow Rose Award” by

Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) is a national organization which assembles and represents business community, employers and business associations of all economic sectors in Vietnam. The promotion of trade and business relations with ...

(VCCI) - On 15 Jan, 2014: She was nominated “Number 1 CEO in Vietnam” by Council of Vietnamese economic experts and advisors. * And she also honorably received other local and international awards: - February 2012: “Top Asia’s 50 Most Powerful Businesswomen”, by

Forbes Asia ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The c ...

. - May 2012: “Top 51 Excellent Businesswomen in Asia 2012”, by Corporate Governance Asia Journal. - January 2013: “The 2012 Asian Excellence Recognition Award in Investor Relations”, by Corporate Governance Asia Journal. - March 2013: “Top 50 for Achievement in Asia’s Businesswomen in The Mix”, by Forbes Asia (2nd time). - January 2014: “The Best CEOs in Vietnam”, by the

Business Review '' Economic Insights'' (formerly ''Business Review'') is a quarterly publication of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia comprising articles written by in-house staff economists aimed at readers with a general interest in economic issues. Topi ...

. - March 2014: “Top Asia’s 50 Most Powerful Businesswomen”, by Forbes Asia (3rd time). - September 2014: “The Asian Excellence Recognition Awards”, by Corporate Governance Asia Journal. - January 2015: “Top 50 CEOs - Mark of Respect”, by the Business Review. - February 2015: “The Cultural Businesswoman for National Building and Development”, by The Cultural Businessman Center. - February 2015 : “Top Asia’s 50 Most Powerful Businesswomen”, by Forbes Asia (4th time). - March 2015: “Businesswoman in ASEAN 2015”, by VCCI – Vietnamese Businesswoman Council. - April 2015: “Businesswoman for Quality of Life”, by Ministry of Health – Foodstuff Safety Division. - May 2015: “Asia Nikkei Award”, by

Nikkei Nikkei can refer to: *, abbreviated , Nikkei, a large media corporation in Japan *, abbreviated , Nikkei, a major business newspaper published in Japan *, a Japanese stock market index, published by ''Nihon Keizai Shimbun'' *Nikkei cuisine, a Japan ...

, a leading media corporation. - November 2015: “New Zealand – ASEAN Award” – by

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mai, Kieu Lien 1953 births Vietnamese chief executives Living people Winners of the Nikkei Asia Prize