The female CEO of Vinamilk was awarded the "Lifetime Achievement" award by Forbes.
(Baonghean) - Within the framework of the Women's Summit 2018 held on October 18th in Ho Chi Minh City, Forbes Vietnam for the first time announced the "Lifetime Achievement Award," honoring Ms. Mai Kieu Lien - General Director of Vinamilk, Vietnam's number one dairy company. She is also the only woman to receive this award from Forbes Vietnam.
The announcement ceremony for the "Lifetime Achievement" Award, held within the framework of Forbes Vietnam's 2018 Women's Forum with the theme "Creating the Future," was the largest event discussing women's leadership and how to support women's development in Vietnam.
In its inaugural year, Forbes Vietnam honored only one outstanding Vietnamese woman whose achievements and contributions have been proven and have had a significant impact on a particular field, society, or nation. To select the nominee for this award, the Forbes Vietnam team consulted an advisory board comprised of reputable figures in society, including business leaders and intellectuals.
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| Mr. Nguyen Bao Hoang - Chairman of Interactive Media Company, Forbes Vietnam, and Ms. Chu Thi Thu Hang - Editor-in-Chief of Culture Newspaper, presented the "Lifetime Achievement" award to Ms. Mai Kieu Lien - General Director of Vinamilk. |
Having consistently held key positions within the company, especially the two most important roles as Chairwoman of the Board and CEO of Vinamilk, Ms. Mai Kieu Lien is the only Vietnamese businesswoman to be consecutively featured from 2012 to 2015 in Forbes' list of the 50 most powerful women in Asia and was awarded the Nikkei Asia Prize by Nikkei Inc.
In addition, Ms. Mai Kieu Lien was also one of the 50 most influential women in Vietnam, as selected by Forbes Vietnam in 2017. In 2015, she stepped down from her position as Chairwoman of the Board of Directors to focus on management as General Director.
Born in France in 1953, Ms. Mai Kieu Lien graduated from Moscow University with a major in Dairy and Meat Processing and holds a certificate in Economic Management from the Leningrad University of Engineering and Economics. Appointed as General Director of Vinamilk in 1992, she was determined to privatize the dairy company to create new work motivation and encourage employees to be creative and innovative.
In an on-stage interview at the 2018 Women's Summit with Dominic Scriven, Chairman of Dragon Capital, when asked about her greatest source of pride, Ms. Lien shared on the Forbes Vietnam Women's Summit stage: "The Vinamilk team is proud that Vietnam's dairy industry is on par with the region. We have a dairy farming system, which is the most important thing. When we are self-sufficient in raw materials, we are self-sufficient in everything. Vinamilk's dairy products are now available in over 40 countries worldwide. That's a dream we've only just achieved."
In 2017, Vinamilk achieved remarkable figures, including revenue of VND 51,041 billion, contributions to the state budget of VND 4,200 billion, and a brand value of US$2.2 billion. Vinamilk's market capitalization currently exceeds US$10 billion, a 100-fold increase compared to its listing in 2006. Vinamilk's products are now available in 43 countries worldwide. From 1997 to the present, Vinamilk's total export turnover has reached approximately US$2 billion (equivalent to about VND 45,520 billion). Currently, this largest dairy company in Vietnam holds 50% of the domestic dairy market, with approximately 15 billion products released annually.
Vinamilk currently has a system of 10 farms spread across Vietnam that meet Global GAP standards, with all dairy cows imported from Australia, the United States, and New Zealand. The total herd supplying milk to the company (including Vinamilk's own farms and contracted farmers) reaches over 120,000 cows, with a production of approximately 800 tons of raw fresh milk per day. The total herd is expected to increase to approximately 200,000 cows by 2020, with the production of raw fresh milk expected to more than double by 2020.
Vinamilk's products are manufactured by 13 factories spread throughout Vietnam, including two state-of-the-art milk powder and liquid milk super-factories in Binh Duong equipped with the world's most advanced technology, featuring a fully automated and closed-loop system from processing to finished product and packaging, ensuring absolute food safety and hygiene, and three processing plants in the United States, New Zealand, and Cambodia.
