VietNamNet Bridge - Two years after leaving FPT, Truong Dinh Anh, its former CEO, moved to live and work in the US.

Both FPT and Truong Dinh Anh are well-known names in Vietnam. The former is the largest Vietnamese information technology (IT) group, while Anh is a special character with great ambitions, strong determination and occasional surprising statements.

Anh, as the founder of FPT, deserves credit for developing FPT Telecom and FPT Online, its subsidiaries.

Anh, listed among the second-generation leadership of FPT, is an ambitious person, on whom Truong Gia Binh, FPT’s president, and FPT’s shareholders put high hopes.

Anh became famous in 2007-2008 when he said: “My dreams are to become a billionaire when I am 35 years old and Prime Minister when I am 40."

Anh, who was then the director of FPT Internet Center, stirred the internet market with  special marketing and sale methods, including prepaid services and big sale promotion campaigns. 

Anh was among the 10 young Vietnamese outstanding faces in 1997.

Anh was among the 10 young Vietnamese outstanding faces in 1997. He was the businessman who deserved credit for developing FPT Center with revenue of VND100 million in the first year of operation and changing it to FPT Telecom, a joint stock company with revenue of $100 million in 2008.

Nevertheless, after becoming CEO, Anh faced many challenges. FPT’s revenue and profit in 2011 increased by 30 percent, much lower than expectations. Meanwhile, the revenue and profit in the first six months of 2012 decreased unexpectedly.

The image of FPT in the first half of 2012 was so dim that investors didn't know what the major advantages of the conglomerate were anymore.

Analysts questioned whether FPT was a retailer or a technology firm. Distribution and system integration, the sectors which brought the highest profits to FPT, unexpectedly saw sharp decreases in the first half of 2012 in comparison with the same period of the year before.

In September 2012, Anh resigned from the post of CEO because of differences in strategy programming between Anh and the board of directors. Since then, he has not turned up at FPT activities. He sold 1.2 million FPT shares in late 2013.

Later, he invested in many different business fields. He became a member of the board of directors of Galaxy Studio and was reported joining VNG, the firm which owns Zalo OTT app, and other projects related to telecom. 


H. Tu