Colin Blackwell is originally from the UK, where he completed his business degree. After starting his career in HR in the UK, he relocated to Russia in 1993 where he was one of the first expatriates to work in the very new HR consulting field there.

In 1995, Colin joined PricewaterhouseCoopers where he set up the first and market leading HR consultancy, employment agency and salary surveys in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. During this time he also founded the HR Club in Ho Chi Minh City and the HR Association in Hanoi, plus also introduced the first ever graduate job fair into Vietnam.

In 2000 he moved with PricewaterhouseCoopers to Australia where he headed a specialist international HR consulting unit. During that time he also completed his postgraduate studies in strategic HR and became a Chartered Member of the Australian HR Institute. In 2004 he returned to the UK, where he was deputy head of global HR for a top FTSE 100 company. When that company was taken over he relocated to the new headquarters in Germany, where he was head of global compensation, benefits, executive HR and mobility for 70,000 employees across 40 countries. In addition he had responsibility for setting up for the same company a regional Asia HR function in Singapore, which he headed for 20,000 employees across Asia.

Colin is now running a group of companies in Vietnam in software, aviation and logistics. A large proportion of his staff are disabled and his companies work closely with the UN International Labour Organization as a success story case study to change perceptions about disability in Vietnam. He is the Chairman of the HR Committee of the Vietnam Business Forum, representing the business community to the Ministry of Labour.

Joanna is a strategic HR & Talent Management practitioner with over 20 years of consulting and corporate HR experience. She thrives on the adrenaline rush that comes from partnering with business leaders to build talent in organizations experiencing hyper-growth and transformation, where risk-taking, resource-crunch, and ambiguity rule the day. Some of her transformation roles include:

• VP Talent Management at Singapore Post, where she drove the Talent & Change Management agenda for the company as it transformed from a national postal provider into a regional e-commerce logistics player.

• Head of Leadership Development for Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Asia where she designed and implemented leadership development programs to grow leaders across the region, with a focus on China.

• VP HR at Genting Malaysia, where she led HR Transformation, Leadership Development and Performance Management initiatives, as the company built a talent base to fuel regional expansion in the hospitality & entertainment industry.

Joanna has led consulting teams in Mercer, PwC Consulting and Shell Global Solutions, focusing on HR Transformation, Change Management, and Organization Development across various industries in Asia Pacific. She has lived and worked in 8 countries across 3 continents. Joanna is currently Head of Human Capital Solutions for Talentnet in Vietnam

Johnathon Ng is a seasoned Human Resources Executive who has travelled the road less travelled.  In his journey to ignite his passion for human resources, he has experienced human resources in various industries and various countries across Asia Pacific with exposure to North America and Europe.  In his 20 years of practising the trade with multinational companies such as Possehl Electronics, Givaudan and Bayer, he has encountered many interesting encounters, some of which pitted his wits and guts.  He is a professional ICF coach and a sitting Judge in HR Awards with Singapore Human Resources Institute.  He is currently the Head of Group HR of Woh Hup (Private Limited), an established pioneer of 90 years in Singapore’s construction and civil engineering industry with iconic projects such as The Interlace and Jewel Changi Airport.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Thiet is well known as an experienced and passionate HR expert in Vietnam. After graduating from the National College of Education in Ho Chi Minh City in 1977, he began his career in educational management with the purpose to inspire and lift up people. Nearly 20 years in the field of service management and production after graduating from the Open University HCMC – BA of Business Administration and General University HCMC – BSc of Chemistry Physic, he has helped bring the diversified knowledge and strong foundation to develop people capital management until now.

In 1996, after two years of completing his university degree in Business Administration, he joined FrieslandCampina Vietnam and held the position of Human Resources Director in both Vietnam and Myanmar until the end of 2017.

In addition to certain successes in the development of people, Mr. Nguyen Huu Thiet has been a keen and inspirational mentor for the professionals, community and HR workshops nationwide.  

In September 2016, Trust of University Innovation in Vietnam appointed Ms. Thuy chief executive officer of Fulbright University Vietnam Corp., the entity which will operate Fulbright University Vietnam, the first private, nonprofit, American-style university in Vietnam. In January 2017, she was elected to be the founding President of Fulbright University Vietnam.
Ms. Thuy received a BA from the University of Hanoi and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. After graduating from university in Hanoi, she co-founded a private foreign investment consultancy firm. It was the first privately owned company in Vietnam facilitating foreign investment and advised clients such as ANZ, Phillip Morris, Coca Cola, IBM and Citibank.
In 1993, Ms. Thuy was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to pursue graduate education in the U.S. In 1995, she graduated from Wharton and joined ANZ Singapore to help set up ANZ’s investment banking business in Asia. She held a number of positions in Singapore, including director of project finance for oil and gas and chief of ANZ’s resources practice for the whole of Asia, then was appointed General Manager of ANZ Vietnam in 2005, making her the first Vietnamese national to lead an international bank’s operations in Vietnam. Most recently Ms. Thuy has served as Head, Group Development, Southeast Asia, at National Australia Bank in Singapore.
Ms. Thuy believes passionately in the transformative power of education. Her conviction that Vietnam’s future will largely be determined by the quality of the learning opportunities available to the Vietnamese people motivated her to embark on a second career in higher education. Utilizing the leadership and management she gained in the private sector, she is determined to make Fulbright University Vietnam a world class academic institution and a bridge between Vietnam and the United States and the international community.

Pham Phu Ngoc Trai – Chairman of Global Integration Business Consultants (GIBC), a company which was established with the mission of facilitating the integration and sustainable growth of Vietnamese businesses – has more than 30 years of experience in various FMCGs businesses including state-owned enterprises, joint-ventures and foreign companies, spanning across Vietnam and countries worldwide.

Mr. Trai held the position of Chairman and CEO of Saigon Food Processing Company (Foodexco), General Director of SPco. Holdings Company, Co-founder of International Beverages J.V Company (IBC) in 1991 - IBC was accorded the first foreign JVC license by Vietnamese Government to a Singapore party, which was later became Pepsico Viet Nam. After that, he was being appointed to the President & CEO of PepsiCo Vietnam and South East Asia, Vice President - Corporate Affairs in Asia Pacific…He was among the very first Vietnamese senior leader in charge of regional business in a leading multi-national company. Under his leadership, PepsiCo Vietnam had consecutively won 4 prestigious DMK awards –the most honorable award of Pepsico International. Besides, he used to be Chairman of Rolex Vietnam and Chairman of Advisory Board of VinaCapital.

Apart from his business leadership, Mr. Trai is also known as a pioneer of CSR work in Vietnam. He has been elected to leadership posts at several reputable Charity and Business Associations, NGOs including the Leading Business Club (LBC - a member of the VCCI), the Saigon Times Foundation, Sponsored Association for Poor Patients in Ho Chi Minh City, the Saigon Golf Association…

Having created many prominent achievements for businesses that he has held the leading position for over 13 years, Vu Minh Tri is known as a talented CEO associated with big names.

In 2006, he became General Director of Sony Ericsson Vietnam and quickly made outstanding achievements, helped the company expand the market twice in Vietnam only after a short time, brought the product of Sony Ericsson to consumers faster and more efficiently. In 2008, after serving as CEO at Yahoo Vietnam, he helped the company become the first and only international Internet company in Vietnam to be granted business license at that time.

He then continued to assume the position of CEO at Qualcomm in charge of Indochina and most recently as CEO of Microsoft Vietnam from 2012 to 2017. Under his strategy and direction, Microsoft has grown at over 300 % for 5 years and 4 consecutive years to be named "Best Workplace" in Vietnam.

In particular, he has made a lot of positive impact to the community in co-operating with the Government of Vietnam, developing Information Technology (IT) in key areas such as IT Infrastructure - Network Security; increase productivity and competitiveness for small and medium enterprises; human resource development and education development. In 2016, he received a certificate of merit from the government for his significant contribution.

Having more than 20 years of experience in the field of HR, Ms. Trinh is one of the leading HR consultants in Vietnam. With an insightful understanding of the local labour market, she has built up long-term relationships with HR professionals, leading experts in the community.

She successfully led Talentnet to become a partner of two leading consulting firms - Mercer and ADP Streamline. In addition, she is an active member of the Young President Organisation (YPO); Vice President of the Vietnam HR Club (VNHR); Vice Chairman of the Association of Young Entrepreneurs of HCMC, Vice President of Hawee, ...

Ms. Trinh is one of the active contributors to the human resources community, who has the passion to devote and build the knowledge to human resource community, make the difference to the lives of each employee.

Ms. Trinh is not only dedicated to human resources but also enthusiastic in business activities in Vietnam. As an analyst, strategic planning with flexible management style and deep knowledge about human resources, she is a trusted advisor to many domestic and foreign companies.

She is not only known as a speaker at business and workforce events of Amcham, Eurocham, AIESEC, YBA, LBC; YPO Asean but also a career consultant for international students in New York, Singapore; She also writes articles about human resources in the media such as Vietnam Economic Times, Saigon Entrepreneurship, SaigonTimes ...

She was awarded the "Best Young Entrepreneur in HCMC" by the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City in 2012, 2014 and 2016.

By the end of 2017, Ms. Trinh officially launching Vietnam Human Resources Training Institute (Viet HCMC) to provide courses on human resource development and management. Ms. Trinh is currently the CEO of Talentnet, a consulting firm specializing in human resources in Vietnam.