Muong Thanh CEO Le Thi Hoang Yen: 'Family is the driving force behind success'

(Baonghean) - Young, beautiful, and directly managing 40 leading hotels in the country, that's what people can say about CEO Le Thi Hoang Yen - General Director of Muong Thanh Group. On the occasion of International Women's Day March 8, Nghe An Newspaper reporter had a conversation with Ms. Le Thi Hoang Yen about the secretbalance between family life and work

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PV:It is known that you graduated from university in the UK with a degree in Finance and Monetary. At that time, did you think you would join your family's Group? And your first step in your career when you returned home was a management internship at Muong Thanh Hotel (Hanoi). Was this the time when you started to get acquainted with the hotel management environment?

Ms. Le Thi Hoang Yen:Before going to school, my family had no plans to develop the Muong Thanh hotel chain as large as it is today, so I did not plan to do hotel business. However, when I returned to the country, with the development orientation of the Group's Chairman - Mr. Le Thanh Than, I boldly tried my hand at this challenging field.

Ms. Le Thi Hoang Yen. Photo: PV

I did my management internship at Muong Thanh Hanoi Hotel - the first 4-star hotel of the Group at that time. In reality, when I took over the job, there were many more challenges and difficulties than I had imagined. However, when I thought about the responsibility of the next generation for the future of the Group, I had more motivation to gradually adapt, manage and build a specific development strategy.

PV:At the age of 30, you have very smoothly taken on the role of CEO of Muong Thanh Group. Can you tell us how you have "applied" management methods to create operational efficiency?

Ms. Le Thi Hoang Yen:In a service industry as specific as hotels, people are the decisive factor in service quality. So the challenge is to make employees from the highest management level to all levels work with the mindset of working for themselves, for their families, not as hired laborers.

At Muong Thanh Group, if an employee is assigned to a task, he or she is given the right to make decisions, not all the power is given to the General Director. Every year, we pay great attention to professional training programs for employees.

Through professional skills and knowledge training, we have provided employees with opportunities to enhance their personal capacity and value - which is a solid foundation for them to maximize their responsibilities and abilities in the positions they are undertaking.

In addition, for the management level, the Group organizes national CEO conferences for them to meet, discuss and ask questions to the Group's Board of Directors. All questions must be discussed to have satisfactory answers... This management method not only stimulates the creativity of employees, but also helps the CEO save time in management, giving more time to build new strategies.

Being a member of the younger generation, I also prioritize the application of information technology and many modern management programs in the Group's operations to maximize management efficiency, typically the enterprise resource management system and internal control system.

CEO Le Thi Hoang Yen and her husband at an event. Photo: Provided by the character.

PV:In the context of increasingly fierce competition, international hotel management brands are present in Vietnam. Can you tell us about the dream and mission of the leaders of Muong Thanh Group so that the Muong Thanh hotel chain can be present in all regions of the country, contributing to the development of Vietnam's tourism industry?

Ms. Le Thi Hoang Yen:Many people ask me why I don't cooperate with a foreign corporation to reduce the fatigue? After investing, will Muong Thanh sell the hotel like some domestic private corporations have done? The answer is no. No matter how hard it is, we still persevere in building the Muong Thanh hotel brand. Our desire is to contribute to the Vietnamese tourism industry a domestic brand that is competitive enough with international brands. In addition, the mission of creating more jobs for Vietnamese people and promoting national identity in the management and operation of hotel chains are the great motivations that push us forward.

Ms. Le Thi Hoang Yen at an event. Photo: PV

By the end of 2016, we had basically completed the reorganization of the Muong Thanh hotel chain according to levels and standards such as Luxury (5 stars), Grand (4 stars), Holiday (4 stars) and Muong Thanh (3 stars). Accordingly, both the Group's internal staff and customers have a clear brand identity, associated with appropriate quality and service in each segment. It is expected that this investment will be temporarily ended by early 2018. However, if there are favorable opportunities, Cambodia, Myanmar, Australia and the US will be the next markets that Muong Thanh will consider choosing when expanding its scope of operations.

We understand very well that to stand firm and continue to develop and affirm the brand is not easy. However, I believe that the market's prospects are still very potential, because tourism has been focused on by the Government, considered a spearhead industry of the economy. Looking at the number of domestic and international visitors from Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam tourism is still just a child.

Currently, we are paying much attention to Vietnamese tourists. With a population of over 93 million people and an increasing demand for travel, Vietnamese tourists will become a strong factor in promoting the development of domestic tourism. They will be the most persistent and patient in demanding that the country's tourism industry innovate and develop. This is the pressure, but also our aspiration - to set foot in the choice of Vietnamese tourists with a Vietnamese brand.

Everyday moments of a small family. Photo: provided by the character.

PV:With such heavy management responsibilities and high work intensity, everyone wants to know CEO Le Thi Hoang Yen's secret to balancing family life? Are there any special principles of her own?

Ms. Le Thi Hoang Yen:Just like in the past, women could be “good at 3 things”, modern women today also know how to arrange their time reasonably between work, family and themselves. As for me, having my husband and family support is always the best thing! I am very lucky to have my husband and my family understand, always by my side to support and encourage me in both work and taking care of the children.

In particular, my partner has always loved and supported the path I have chosen. He is also a workaholic, very busy, but both of us love and cherish the value of family. We always try to spend a lot of time together, with our children and make those times meaningful.

There is no special rule or secret, for me family is the motivation to balance everything. Through this article, I would like to thank my beloved family, especially my “husband”.

PV:Thanks for the chat!

PV(Perform)