Asia Society Australia is proud to announce the appointment of Ms. Thanh Van Dang, Founder and CEO of Savvycom, as the next Asia Society-Victoria Distinguished Fellow.

Ms Van is an internationally-acclaimed technology entrepreneur and an inspirational figure for women in Viet Nam. She founded Savvycom in 2009 and built it into one of Viet Nam’s top 30 leading tech companies in software services and IT outsourcing.

A University of Sydney computer science graduate, Ms Van has been recognised globally as a leader and entrepreneur. Among her many accolades are: 

• First Winner of the Mekong Women's Entrepreneurship Challenge, 2013
• Top 100 Outstanding Start-up Entrepreneurs in Viet Nam, 2016
• ASEAN Female Entrepreneur of the Year, 2017
• Forbes magazine 15 Global Leaders to Watch, 2017
• Most Prominent Australian Female Alumni, Australian Embassy in Viet Nam, 2019
• Fortune-U.S. State Department Mentee, Global Women Mentoring Program, 2020

She currently holds the positions of Vice President of the Alliance of Digital Technology Companies in Viet Nam, Vice President of Hanoi Women Entrepreneurs Association, and Steering Committee member of the Aus4Innovation program. 

Ms Van has spoken on digital transformation and innovation at major events such as TEDx, APEC and ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, and is a regular judge at start-up challenges. 

In appointing Ms Van as the latest Victoria Distinguished Fellow, Asia Society Australia is contributing to Australia’s rapidly accelerating business relationship with Viet Nam under our new strategic objective “Trade Smarter to Grow Faster” and programming focus on Australia-Viet Nam economic relations.

Ms Van Dang says

“I am delighted to accept the 2021 Asia Society-Victoria Distinguished Fellowship, a position that will bring together my work and personal ties to Victoria, Australia and Viet Nam. I look forward to strengthening the growing relationship by facilitating strong business connections in tech, innovation, and entrepreneurship, through outreach and people-to-people engagement over the coming months.”

Philipp Ivanov, CEO, Asia Society Australia says

“Van Dang is a shining example of the next generation of entrepreneurs and we are proud to appoint her as part of our continuing effort to bring the best minds from Asia to Victoria and Australia and connect Asian and Australian business leaders. As Asia Society Australia has demonstrated with the A Path To Viet Nam report and Australian CEO Roundtables, Viet Nam holds enormous opportunity for Australia.”

Ms Van’s first act as the Asia Society-Victoria Distinguished Fellow will be to address the Victorian Virtual Trade Mission with Viet Nam on 15 June 2021.