An ambassador who became a CEO

LEVERAGING HIS STATESMANSHIP SKILLS, PHAM SANH CHAU AIMS TO POSITION VIETNAM'S VINFAST AMONG INDIA'S TOP-3 CARMAKERS WITHIN A DECADE

- VIKRAM CHAUDHARY

IN THE WORLD of corporate leadership, the path to the corner office is usually linear — you start in sales/finance/engineering, build contacts, upskill along the way, and become a CEO/MD. But Pham Sanh Chau, the CEO of VinFast Asia (also of Vingroup Asia), walked out of an embassy and into a boardroom.

CEO by chance

Chau served as the Ambassador of Vietnam to India from 2018 to 2022, building bridges between the two countries. “But now I’ve to build bridges between customers and cars,” he told FE.

It all started with a phone call.

After his tenure in India was over, Chau was slated for a United Nations posting in a war-torn region—a ‘hardship post’ his family was wary of. Simultaneously, he got an offer from an MNC. As he was about to sign the contract, his phone rang.

It was Pham Nhat Vuong, the chairman of Vingroup, and Vietnam's richest man.

“I’ve known him for two decades,” Chau said. “He asked me to support Vietnam, and said the best way to support Vietnam was to support its product. He said VinFast plans to enter the Indian market, and I would be the best person to lead that project.”

CEO by strength