Kien Pham, President and Co-Founder, The Vietnam Foundation

Mr. Kien Pham is an American investor and philanthropist.  He is the president of the Vietnam Foundation, a U.S. non-profit organization established to support educational improvement in Vietnam.  In business, he serves as Board member and strategic advisor to his portfolio of Vietnamese companies. Mr. Pham is also a senior advisor to TPG Capital, a private equity firm with $250 billion in investment worldwide.

Mr. Pham has a wide-ranging professional life covering business and investment, consulting, political and congressional affairs, security and defense policy, foreign relations, trade policy, and international education. He has worked in major corporations such as Procter and Gamble, Tenneco and served at the White House, the Pentagon, the Senate and led an independent federal agency. All of his professional works have been related to international activities. In 1985, Mr. Pham, at the age of 27, was named a White House Fellow by President Reagan.

He has also been active in the non-profit sector, where Mr. Pham has established foundations to assist college students, orphans and war victims in Vietnam.

Mr. Pham grew up in Saigon, Vietnam.  In 1977, he came to the U.S as a boat refugee.  He settled in Colorado and worked in a factory while learning English at night; and later, attended college on scholarship.  Mr. Pham received a bachelor in Marketing and International Business from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and won a senior fellowship to study in London.  His graduate degrees, earned concurrently at Stanford University, included an MBA in International and Organizational Management, an MA in International Economics and a special diploma in Public Policy.  In 1990, Stanford University featured him among its exemplary alumni in its 100 years history.  Mr. Pham is a recipient of an honorary Doctorate degree from Pfeiffer University.

Mr. Pham is recognized for his leadership in international affairs.  In 1986, he was chosen for the Young Leader program by the American Council on Germany, and in 1992 named a U.S.-Japan Leadership Fellow by the Japan Society.  In 1993, he was elected as a term-member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a participant in the American Assembly.  In 1996, Mr. Pham was a recipient of the “Never Fear, Never Quit” award.  In 2000, he received the “Legacy of Leadership” award from the White House Fellows program for excellence in public service.  In 2005, the Vietnamese Government presented Mr. Pham with the “Glory of Vietnam” award to recognize his contribution to the welfare and future of the Vietnamese people.  In 2007, Mr. Pham was named Pacific Leadership Fellow by the University of California in San Diego. In 2023, Mr. Pham received a special recognition from the Government of Vietnam for his role in fostering closer ties between Vietnam and the U.S as the two countries upgraded their bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership.