Labor Hero Thai Huong: Top 50 Asian Women with Great Influence Internationally

Announcing the reason for selecting the Founder and Chairman of the Strategy Council of TH Group to the special list in 2022, Forbes wrote: “Ms. Thai Huong is known for her role in creating a revolution in the agricultural sector in Vietnam. She has helped strongly promote the development of the dairy industry in this country since 2008 by investing in dairy farming and concentrated fresh milk processing using high technology from Israel, helping to reduce the rate of reconstituted milk products (remixed from powdered milk) in Vietnam from 92% to 60% (in 2020)”.

Labor Hero Thai Huong, Founder of TH Group, General Director of Bac A Commercial Joint Stock Bank. Photo: PV

In addition, one of the reasons that convinced the world's prestigious financial magazine to vote for Vietnamese businesswomen is "the strong progress in investing in milk processing projects in Russia and projects in Australia in the past few years".

Forbes 50 Over 50 is the first list published by Forbes in 2021, honoring female politicians, entrepreneurs, scientists, artists, and experts who have achieved power and success in their 6th decade of life. Although it is the first time, the Forbes 50 over 50 list received more than 10,000 nominations from around the world.

“The Forbes 50 over 50 list shines a spotlight on women who are rewriting the rules of success, breaking age and gender myths, and inspiring women – and men – at every stage of their careers,” said Randall Lane, Forbes Editor-in-Chief.

“By sharing the stories of 50 extraordinary women in the Top 50 over 50, we are creating a model to help women better navigate themselves, better express their values ​​and support all other women,” said Mika Brzezinski, a journalist and co-founder of the Top 50 over 50 initiative. “By expanding our perspective to women in Asia and Europe, we hope to uncover untold stories of extraordinary women who have overcome all obstacles to succeed in their fields.”

This is not the first time that international media has honored Vietnam's Heroine of Labor in the reform period in lists of people with great influence on the international community. For two consecutive years in 2015 and 2016, Forbes voted Ms. Thai Huong into the Top 50 most powerful businesswomen in Asia.

In 2017, she was honored with the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Award for outstanding business leaders with outstanding achievements and innovation in Vietnam.

In 2018, the Stevie Awards – the Oscars of business – named her Leader of the Year.

Labor Hero Thai Huong is also the only Vietnamese invited to speak at the 2019 World Knowledge Forum in Korea and was awarded the Powerful Businesswoman Award there.

Ms. Thai Huong speaks at the 2019 World Knowledge Forum in Koreaand was awarded the Powerful Businesswoman Award here. Photo: PV

In 2020, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) awarded her the Leadership in Gender Equality Award under the Women's Economic Empowerment in Asia Programme.

The Times of London (UK) also wrote an article about the TH Founder, emphasizing her role in bringing TH to success, creating "a striking example of the agriculture of the future".

Ms. Thai Huong is leading TH Group to operate many clean food and beverage projects, notably the project "High-tech industrial-scale concentrated dairy farming and milk processing", producing fresh milk under the brand name TH true MILK. The project was implemented in October 2009 with a total investment of 1.2 billion USD, setting a record for the largest concentrated dairy farm with a closed production process in the world. Currently, TH true MILK accounts for 45% of the market share in the fresh milk segment in the Vietnamese market. The dairy project with concentrated dairy herds is currently being expanded to many provinces and cities, including Ha Giang, Cao Bang, Thanh Hoa, Phu Yen, Soc Trang, Kon Tum, An Giang... It is expected that the concentrated dairy herd will reach 200,000 cows by 2025.

TH's high-tech industrial-scale concentrated dairy farming and milk processing project led by Ms. Thai Huong has a total investment of 1.2 billion USD. Photo: PV

TH Group's fresh milk and healthy beverage products are available in many countries in the ASEAN region (Cambodia, Philippines, Singapore, etc.). TH is the first Vietnamese enterprise to export fresh milk to the Chinese market, concretizing the cooperation policy between the two governments when the Protocol on exporting Vietnamese dairy products to the Chinese market was signed.

On the path to creating a clean, organic food ecosystem, TH Group continues to invest in agricultural and medicinal projects in the Northern Delta, Northwest and Central Highlands. In Nghe An, TH Group has developed the FVF clean vegetable project and the Medicinal Project. TH Group has also made a strong impression with educational and medical projects... Currently, the group is building and operating the TH school system; building a 5-star international general hospital system and an electronic medical center in Hanoi.

For foreign projects, TH is focusing on the Russian Federation and Australia. In Australia, TH has purchased and invested in cow farms in Northern Australia and Western Australia. In the Russian Federation, TH Group is building 2 farm clusters in Moscow and Kaluga provinces. The TH dairy factory in Kaluga has also started construction of phase I with a capacity of 500 tons/day in December 2021. TH's dairy herd in Russia currently produces an average milk yield of about 40 liters/cow/day, the highest in Russia, 2.5 times higher than the average milk yield of Russia (only 17 liters/cow/day).