Co-Founder, Partner, and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. LaLonde inaugurated Vietnam Partners in October 2003 after completing a 25 year career in investment and corporate banking. As CEO of Citibank Vietnam from 1994 to 1999, Mr. LaLonde established and managed the bank's franchise in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Mr. LaLonde was also a founding member and Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) in Vietnam. Prior to Vietnam, Mr. LaLonde held senior Citibank management positions in Tunisia, Turkey, Bahrain, and Liberia. His extensive banking experience has included general management, credit risk management, strategic planning, bank consulting, and marketing.
Mr. LaLonde holds an MA in International Affairs from Columbia University and a BA in Political Science from the University of Michigan.
Co-Founder, Partner, and Chairman
Mr. Lewis co-founded Vietnam Partners in 2003. He is also Founder and Chairman of Geometry Group, an investment management holding company based in New York City. Prior to founding Geometry, Mr. Lewis was a Managing Director of Morgan Stanley for 17 years, serving as Chairman of the Risk Management Committee and had senior management responsibilities for the fixed income and equity trading businesses.
Mr. Lewis is a private investor in early stage growth companies, serving as an advisor and board member to these companies. He is a lifetime member of the Advisory Council of the Graduate School of Business of the University of Chicago where he received his MBA in Finance. He serves on the Business Advisory Council of Miami University where he received his BS degree.
Partner and President
Ms. Foote joined Vietnam Partners as Partner and President in 2007. Prior to joining Vietnam Partners, Ms. Foote was President of the US-Vietnam Trade Council (USVTC), which she co-founded in 1989. Ms. Foote continues as President of the USVTC Education Forum and the Board of the International Center. In this role, Ms. Foote has worked closely with the U.S. Government and Congress, the Vietnamese Government and National Assembly, US and Vietnamese companies, and other US interest groups. Under Ms. Foote’s leadership, USVTC played a leading role in the U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement and Vietnam’s accession to the WTO. For efforts to improve the US-Vietnam relationship, Ms. Foote has received the US Ambassador’s Award for Citizen Diplomacy in 1999 and the Government of Vietnam’s Medal of Friendship in 2007 for nearly 20 years of work on US-Vietnamese relations.
Ms. Foote received her BA in International Economics from Hampshire College.
Partner
Mr. Gartland joined Vietnam Partners in 2008 with more than 30 years of experience in financial services. He most recently spent 28 years with Morgan Stanley where for the last two years headed a firmwide Profit Improvement Initiative. Since joining Morgan Stanley in 1979, he has held numerous positions including Manager of Financial Planning, Vice President of Money Cashiering, Head of Finance, Administration and Operations in Europe, Head of Global Information Systems, Head of Morgan Stanley Services and Head of Fixed Income Infrastructure.
Mr. Gartland was a member of the Board of the National Securities Clearing Corporation, Southwest Securities Corporation, the Board of Directors of Trade Web LLC, and the Board of OMGEO.
Mr. Gartland received an MS in Industrial Engineering from Columbia University and a BS from Hofstra University.
Partner, Chief Financial Officer, and Ho Chi Minh City Chief Representative Officer
Mr. Hai joined Vietnam Partners in 2006 with 14 year experience in financial management in banking, manufacturing and trading. Mr. Hai served as CFO at Citibank Vietnam, where he provided local accounting and tax advice to develop and launch new banking products to meet the needs of Vietnamese corporations, multi-national and regional companies. Mr. Hai was an advisor to several Vietnamese State-owned commercial banks and joint stock banks in bank business strategy; centralized fund management systems and Transfer Pricing Rate mechanisms; MIS and related operations and technology; Debt restructuring; Risk management; Core banking system and bank operations. Beside Citibank Vietnam, Mr. Hai also served as CFO of AVON Vietnam and a group of local companies.
Mr. Hai received his MBA from Maastricht School of Management (the Netherlands). He holds a BA in Accounting and Finance from Hanoi University of Finance and Accountancy and a BA in Laws from University of Social Science and Humanity in Hanoi.
Partner, Chief Marketing Officer, and Hanoi Chief Representative Officer
Mr. Phong joined Vietnam Partners in 2005 after a 12 year banking career at Citigroup/Citibank Vietnam where he held various senior executive responsibilities. Mr. Phong started working with Citibank Vietnam in 1993, playing a leadership role in re-introducing the Citibank franchise in the country. Mr. Phong was in charge of building relationships with National corporations, project and structured trade finance as well as government relations, a role in which he developed strong relationships with the senior management of all major Vietnamese national corporations and government entities. Before joining Citibank, Mr. Phong helped establish business in Vietnam for Toyota Motor Corporation and Societe Generale de Surveillance of Switzerland. Prior to this, he worked for ten years at the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Transportation of Vietnam.
Mr. Phong holds a Master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and an Engineering Degree from Byelorussia State Polytechnics in Minsk (former USSR).
Director, Investment Banking
Mr. Nam joined Vietnam Partners in 2008 after finishing his MBA and two-year Graduate Research Assistantship at George Mason University. Currently, Mr. Nam is in charge of corporate finance and investment banking works of Vietnam Partners. Before pursuing his career in the US, Mr. Nam had six years of experience in various positions in the Financial Department of Bao Viet Group, the largest insurance group in Vietnam. As a senior financial analyst, he was in charge of due diligence and appraisal for tens of project financing and private equity deals. He also served as assistant to Bao Viet's investment committee and Bao Viet's Chief Executive Officer. Under these roles, he took part in many large scale strategic financial investments as well as Bao Viet's equitization process.
Mr. Nam graduated from National Economics University in Hanoi with a Banking major and won Vietnamese Government's full scholarship to study for an MBA in Finance at George Mason University, School of Management, VA. He is a CFA charter holder, regular member of New York Society of Security Analysts and actively contributes to the establishment of the Vietnam CFA society.
Manager
Ms. Ngan joined Vietnam Partners in 2007 after two years working at the Center for Consulting on Management (CRC-HUT) where she was Project Manager and PR Manager. In this role, she provided consulting services for IT companies on business planning, strategic positioning, marketing planning, and partner matching. She was also in charge of developing branding strategy and executing nationwide PR programs for international and local corporations. From 2003 to 2005, Ms. Ngan participated in a pioneer IT project – controlling computer and environmental devices by brain signal. The project was covered by most major networks and newspapers, including NBC, CBS, ABC, and CNN. At Vietnam Partners, Ms. Ngan provides support to the Advisory team to deliver strategic and business development advisory services to clients across a number of industries.
Ms. Ngan holds an MBA from Texas A&M-Commerce University and an MIS from Georgia State University.
Manager, Government Relations and Advisory Services
Ms. Thuy joined Vietnam Partners in 2007 after five years working at the US - Vietnam Trade Council (USVTC) as Program Manager. In her role at the USVTC, Ms. Thuy developed long-established relationships with the Vietnamese government, ministries and other State bodies for foreign trade and investment during Vietnam's accession to the WTO. At Vietnam Partners, Ms. Thuy gives support on advisory, corporate responsibility, and government relations to clients to deliver strategic and business development in the Vietnam market. She also assists clients in communicating and building relationships with government and stakeholders on regulatory affairs issues through messaging, legal monitoring, and advocacy activities.
Ms. Thuy holds a Master of Finance from Jean Moulin University and a BA from the Hanoi Foreign Trade University.
Manager
Ms. Trang joined Vietnam Partners in 2006 after two years working with Thai Airways International Public Co., Ltd., where she took the position of Financial Supervisor in the Finance and Accounting Department. In this position, Ms. Trang developed solid credit analytical skills. From 2001 to 2003, Ms. Trang worked for the Sydney based Securities Industry Research Center of Asia Pacific (SIRCA), where she participated in a number of empirical studies of Australian IPOs and secondary equity issues. At Vietnam Partners, Ms. Trang provides support to the investment team to develop investment strategies and to evaluate and execute a number of investments in various industries, including finance, consumer goods, infrastructure, manufacturing, and aquaculture.
Ms. Trang holds a Master with Merit in Finance and Accounting from the University of Sydney and a Bachelor with Merit in Finance and Accounting from the University of New South Wales.
Chief Executive Officer, Indochina Automotive JSC
Mr. Dixon is a marketing professional with over 20 years of experience in the automotive industry. In Australia during the late 1990’s, Mr. Dixon managed the General Motors Retail Advertising Programme (Holden Dealers), Valvoline, and Eagle One advertising accounts on behalf of Fame Advertising in Sydney, with combined spend circa A$20 million per annum. Prior to that, he managed the Ford Dealers Advertising Fund (FDAF) - the retail arm of the Ford Motor Company business, on behalf of J Walter Thompson. He is a graduate of the Ford Motor Company Professional Automotive Sales Program. In 2001, Mr. Dixon was appointed as managing director of the Vietnam operations of the international advertising agency, Young & Rubicam. In 2005, he initiated the start up of Vietnam’s first manufacturer of high tech composite marine craft. He oversaw the expansion of that business to take on third party production of Corsair Marine branded yachts, and the successful merger of the two companies in May 2007.
Since May 2009, Mr. Dixon has concentrated full-time on the establishment of Indochina Automotive Joint Stock Company (IC Auto), the general distributor for Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge branded vehicles in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Vietnam Partners is the major shareholder in IC Auto.
