Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao

Nguyễn Thị Phương Thảo is a Vietnamese businesswoman, and the President and CEO of VietJet Air.

  • Vietnam’s first self-made woman billionaire took her budget airline, VietJet Air, public in February 2017.
  • She launched the airline in 2011 and made a big splash early on with ads featuring bikini-clad flight attendants.
  • The airline, which offers over 300 flights a day, operates more than 40% of the nation’s flights.
  • She also has investments in HD Bank and real estate including three beach resorts.
  • In 2018 her holding company, Sovico, announced it will embark on oil exploration with Taiwanese oil refiner CPC Corp.
  • In February 2019, during President Trump’s visit to Vietnam, Vietjet signed a $12.7 billion contract to buy 100 more Boeing planes.