Dr. Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, Chairwoman of Vietjet, has been awarded the title of Labor Hero, one of Vietnam’s highest state honours, recognising her sustained contributions to national development and regional economic integration.
Over more than three decades, Dr. Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao has played a significant role in shaping Vietnam’s modern economic landscape across aviation, finance, investment, and technology. Her leadership has been marked by a consistent focus on disciplined growth, technology adoption, and governance frameworks aligned with long-term national and regional interests.
As founder and leader of Vietjet, Vietnam’s first private airline, she has helped expand access to air travel while strengthening the country’s connectivity with major business and tourism hubs across Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, Australia, and beyond. Vietjet has carried hundreds of millions of passengers, enabled millions of first-time flyers, and supported cross-border trade, investment, and cultural exchanges within the ASEAN region and beyond.
For Singapore, Vietjet’s continued expansion has reinforced air links between Vietnam and one of Southeast Asia’s most important financial and commercial centres, supporting growing demand for business travel, tourism, and supply-chain mobility between the two markets.
Reflecting on the honour, she said: “The past and the present come together as we move toward the future, connected by a shared will and belief in a prosperous Vietnam reaching out to the world. This honor is a meaningful source of pride and encouragement for tens of thousands of dedicated employees across our organisations.”
Beyond aviation, Dr. Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao has been closely involved in addressing complex infrastructure and system-level challenges through technology-driven solutions. These include digital transformation initiatives in aviation operations, the adoption of biometric technologies to improve passenger processing efficiency, the rapid deployment of technology platforms during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the stabilisation of the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange’s trading system at a critical moment for market confidence.
In 2025, her international engagement expanded further through large-scale cooperation agreements with global partners, contributing to Vietnam’s trade balance, investment inflows and the growing credibility of Vietnamese enterprises within global financial and governance ecosystems.
Alongside business leadership, Dr. Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao has remained active in humanitarian and community initiatives, with a long-standing focus on supporting women, children, students, and vulnerable communities. She has consistently emphasised that sustainable economic growth must be anchored in human development and social responsibility.
As Southeast Asia’s first self-made female billionaire, Dr. Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao has received wide international recognition, including Bloomberg 50, Forbes’ World’s 100 Most Powerful Women, and Business Insider’s 100 People Transforming Business in Asia. She has also been awarded France’s Legion of Honour, the country’s highest civilian distinction, in recognition of her outstanding global contributions.
