Billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong, founder and chairman of Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup, has become CEO of VinFast, the electric vehicle (EV) arm of Vingroup.
In a Friday statement, VinFast said Vuong is no longer the carmaker's board chairman. Le Thi Thu Thuy, who was previously CEO, has taken over the position.
Vuong will directly oversee the operations of VinFast, including global production, sales, and marketing.
The EV manufacturer stated that it believes Vuong is uniquely suited to take on the CEO role at this important phase of the firm's development, given his industry experience from founding and growing VinFast and his track record of leading Vingroup.
Vingroup is the largest private conglomerate in Vietnam by market capitalization, with its market-leading businesses across the industrials, technology, real estate and social services sectors.
VinFast also announced Nguyen Thi Lan Anh as its new CFO, succeeding David Mansfield. Lan Anh joined Vingroup in 2020, previously working as deputy CEO in charge of finance & operations, and chief financial officer of VinES Energy Solution JSC, the battery arm of Vingroup.
VinFast, listed on the Nasdaq as VFS, said the leadership change was announced as the company enters the next phase of development, following its successful entry into the North America market and U.S. listing.
VFS shares fell 0.71% to $7.02 each at the close on Friday, U.S. time.