She used to use the male name, Joey Ngo, for her great deals with male chauvinist customers. Ngo Thi Hong Thu, Deputy General Director cum the member of the board of directors of Truong Thanh Furniture Corporation, made foreign partners regard Vietnamese women as smart, professional and dynamic partners, not “household generals.” In 2000, the group had only two medium-sized factories in Dak Lak and Binh Duong provinces but it is now the largest exporter of woodwork in Vietnam, with seven factories with an annual output of 3,000 containers, 5.500 direct workers and 500 indirect labourers. The strong growth of the group has important contributions of this talented deputy general director. The Vietnam Business Forum has been granted an exclusive interview with her.
What do you think about a modern woman?
Women should have involved in business and politics for long, not recent time. Their diligence, carefulness and resolve enable them to take any posts in their careers. However, their success is limited by their family binding and other relations. Due to inherited restrictions, the percentage of successful women is not as high as that of men. If they can harmonise their housework and their career, they will be as good as men, or even better. A company is proven to have very high working efficiency when it successfully arranges male and female personnel. Young women, especially aged from 25 to 40, know how to perform will easily conquer success. We will be more hesitant if we are older. Personally, I spend 70 per cent on work, 10 per cent on my beloved family and 20 per cent on study. I will complete a doctor degree of business administration at IAU, USA. And I am now striving to adjust my work and study for the best.
You are very young but you have held many key positions like Deputy General Director and Member of the Board of Directors of Truong Thanh Furniture Corp, Director of the group’s largest 18 ha factory, the most modern of Truong Thanh in Binh Duong province, and Member of the Board of Directors of many affiliated companies of Truong Thanh. I think you must be under heavy working pressure.
More positions we take, the more accountability we bear. Thus, more pressure is unavoidable. My heaviest pressure and biggest concern is limited time for my inferiors. I do not understand much of their thinking, living conditions and difficulties to encourage them to make wholehearted devotion to the company. I hope fledging persons will be trained to take on more work and will be directed and supported to take solid steps in their career. Besides, I want to transmit my knowledge and experience to all inferiors regardless of positions or levels.
In addition, sometimes, I feel that I cannot perform a work to the depth because I have to take on so many others at the same time. I want to break this limit. My company as well as I always requires all employees to make work more perfect day after day. This creates pressure but also motivation to advance in work and study. My current objective is to try my best to do more in-depth work.
Another pressure on my shoulder arises from the ongoing global economic recession. It is very hard to forecast the bottom of the crisis and measure the subsequence. Hard hit by recession, many small enterprises have collapsed or nearly gone bankrupt while bigger entities are striving to survive by cutting expenses. I am seriously pressurised at my positions. How can I maintain orders and avoid firing my staff. The top priority of Truong Thanh is to keep close customers at all costs and attract new ones. The order pressure has forced us to lower prices and we have to exercise thrift in all aspects, enhance productivity and avoid making irrational dismissal decisions.
What would you like to say to women with high entrepreneurial spirit?
I admitted that I am a person of work. I work to remove the sadness of life and sublimate my happiness. I only bear in my mind that I have to make more effort, learn from various sources, including my experience and victories. Once learning, I remember General Director Vo Truong Thanh, my respectful teacher, brother and colleague. He is a living dictionary for me to learn and I have learnt most from him. From his scientific handling of work and his thick business experience, I gradually accumulate essential knowledge and skills to apply to my work.
Apart from learning from experienced people, I acquire anything essential, practical and useful to my work. For me, learning is forever and my learning is not only going to school but digesting what I see from the life. We should open my mind to new knowledge.
Additionally, I always try to gather elite staffs to push me and my work forward. For me, promoting capability of inferiors means making me stronger.
As a successful and ambitious woman, you must be nurturing your own ambition?
My ambition and desire are to devote to the prosperity of Truong Thanh Group.
If I have to separate from this beloved company, I will choose big companies with solid foundation. I prefer Vietnamese companies because work is easier when it is done by persons sharing the same culture. And, I will make wholehearted contributions to any company I work for. I hope my new company, if any, will go public or list their shares on the stock markets.
Reported by Anh Dao
Vietnamese
