VietNamNet Bridge - He is the youngest president of a large commercial bank and one of the youngest members of the Communist Party Central Committee newly elected for a 12-year term.

VietinBank's President Nguyen Van Thang

He was born in 1973. In early 2014, VietinBank’s shareholders were worried as Pham Huy Hung, who was then the chair of the board of directors and considered the ‘soul’ of the bank, was about to retire. They argued about who would take the office as the new president of the bank.

The answer was found at the 2014 annual shareholders’ meeting held on April 29, where Nguyen Van Thang was appointed the new president to replace Hung, while Le Duc Tho was appointed as the new CEO to replace Nguyen Van Thang.

“In a flat world, young people don’t need to wait to get experience, but they can practice themselves and get expertise from the business environment, communication, books and internet,” Nguyen Van Thang, President of VietinBank

The appointment satisfied VietinBank’s shareholders, because Thang once did very well when he worked as the bank’s CEO.

Thang took the office as CEO in 2011, the moment when the banking sector was facing difficulties in the recession. However, Thang still helped VietinBank gain big achievements.

This was why Thang received a certificate of satisfactory progress from the Governor of the State Bank. Two years later, he was recognized as one of the typical businessmen in central enterprises.

Taking office as VietinBank’s chair of the board of directors at the age of 41, Thang became the youngest president of a state-owned commercial bank. He is the only banker born in 1970s, while the others were born in 1950s.

Thang is older than only one another banker – Tran Hung Huy, who was born in 1978. Huy is the president of ACB, a joint stock commercial bank. His father is Tran Mong Huy, one of the founders of ACB.

Thang recently set a new record – becoming one of the youngest members of the 12th tenure of the Communist Party Central Committee. He is one of a few leaders of the state-owned economic groups and general corporations who were elected members of the Party Central Committee. 

In Vietnamese thoughts, wisdom does not associate with young age. However, Thang thinks it is necessary to change the viewpoint.

“Young people not only have good health and creativity but also dynamism and other advantages,” Thang said. 

“In a flat world, young people don’t need to wait to get experience, but they can practice themselves and get expertise from the business environment, communication, books and internet,” he maintained.

Under the reign of Nguyen Van Thang, VietinBank made an impressive affair when selling 19.73 percent of stake to The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd and issued 457.3 million shares to existing shareholders in 2013.

This helped VietinBank become the commercial bank with the largest stockholder equity in the system.


VTC