Vietnam’s First Woman Billionaire and Serial Entrepreneur

Born in June 1970 when U.S. troops were still in Vietnam, Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao went to school in Moscow. While there, she created a business importing goods from Vietnam and other South East Asian countries and selling them in the Soviet Union. She quickly became a millionaire. When she returned to Vietnam in the early 1990s, she invested her wealth in real estate development projects and commercial banking.

 She started VietJet in 2007, the first private Vietnamese airline company. VietJet now serves 23 domestic and 10 international destinations and carried its 25 millionth passenger on December 5, 2015. She announced earlier this year plans to take the company public.

 An extraordinary entrepreneur, Bloomberg estimates that Thao’s wealth will soon exceed $1 billion based on her ownership stake in VietJet and her real estate holdings in Ho Chi-Min City.

DISCLAIMER:  This information is not intended to provide legal or accounting advice, or to address specific situations. Please consult with your legal or tax advisor to supplement and verify what you learn here. This is presented for informational or educational purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation to buy/sell any security investment or other product, nor is this an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy/sell any security investment or other product. Any opinion or estimate constitutes that of the writer only, and is subject to change without notice. The above may contain information obtained from sources believed to be reliable. No guarantees are made about the accuracy or completeness of information provided. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. 

Walking the Camino: A Celebration of Women and Friendship

Walking the Camino: A Celebration of Women and Friendship

I started walking the Camino de Santiago, the 500-mile pilgrimage route in Northern Spain, last year with my husband. The route, which is also called the St. James Way, was a popular pilgrimage route in the 12th and 13th centuries. Pilgrims would congregate in Saint Jean Pied de Port, a small French town in the foothills of the Pyrenees. After climbing the mountains, they would then spend weeks walking through fields, towns, and flatlands before arriving at the cathedral in Santiago de Compostello. While few modern day pilgrims walk the Camino for religious purposes, the 7-week journey creates time to think and connect with others.  

Grandmother walking the camino

While on the Camino, we met many groups of women walking the route. One was from Norway: 6 women who spend one week each year walking the route. They started 5 years ago in Central France and hope to get to Santiago in 2018. Another group of 5 women was from Ireland, all of them doctors or nurses. My favorite group, however, was a 75-year-old grandmother walking the Camino for her third time, but with her 19-year-old granddaughter.  Just the two of them. But instead of doing the pilgrimage in one-week intervals like the other groups, they were hoping to complete it in 7 weeks. 

We met the pair at the Abbey of Ilarratz and Eskirotz, a 12th century structure located about 12 miles northeast of Pamplona. The smiling face of the grandmother, her granddaughter (back to us), and a guide at the Abbey, is a wonderful reminder of my trip.

DISCLAIMER:  This information is not intended to provide legal or accounting advice, or to address specific situations. Please consult with your legal or tax advisor to supplement and verify what you learn here. This is presented for informational or educational purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation to buy/sell any security investment or other product, nor is this an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy/sell any security investment or other product. Any opinion or estimate constitutes that of the writer only, and is subject to change without notice. The above may contain information obtained from sources believed to be reliable. No guarantees are made about the accuracy or completeness of information provided. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. 

Girls in the Garage

Driverless cars, electric vehicles, and car sharing services like Lyft and Uber are transforming the auto industry. Two women, an outsider and a consummate insider, are leading the way.

Robin Chase, the outsider, co-founded Zipcar in January 2000. The company helped turn the car rental industry upside down. Zipcar went public in April 2011 and was later bought by Avis. Robin has since gone on to found other companies, most recently Veniam, a technology company focused on turning one billion vehicles into free Wi-Fi Hotspots.

Mary Barra, the insider, became CEO of General Motors in January 2014. She is the first woman to lead a major auto company. She knows GM like the back of her hand having spent three decades at the company as an engineer, plant manager, worldwide head of product development, and worldwide head of HR.

Since becoming CEO, she unveiled the Chevrolet Bolt EV, a fully electric car that will go on sale in early 2017. She also announced a $500 million investment in Lyft as part of her plans to make GM a leader in driverless cars. 

To the girls in the garage, your grit and determination inspire me.  

DISCLAIMER:  This information is not intended to provide legal or accounting advice, or to address specific situations. Please consult with your legal or tax advisor to supplement and verify what you learn here. This is presented for informational or educational purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation to buy/sell any security investment or other product, nor is this an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy/sell any security investment or other product. Any opinion or estimate constitutes that of the writer only, and is subject to change without notice. The above may contain information obtained from sources believed to be reliable. No guarantees are made about the accuracy or completeness of information provided. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. 

What We Can Learn About Life from a Master Sushi Chef: The Story of Jiro Ono

I was moved and inspired recently when I watched the 2012 documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi about Jiro Ono, an 85 year old sushi chef with a ten seat, three Michelin star restaurant in Tokyo.

Jiro is known for his obsessive dedication to his work, techniques, and his relentless quest for improvement. The community of venders that supply Jiro share his values. From the rice dealer to the tuna dealer, they are all passionate about providing the absolute best to their customers and honing their skills.

Jiro spoke in the documentary about his child rearing philosophy, which could not be in sharper contrast to how children are raised today. Jiro has two sons. The older son, Yoshikazu, works in the restaurant with Jiro and the younger son, Takashi, opened his own restaurant after apprenticing with his father. The love and respect between father and sons was evident and touching even though Jiro talked about how he was not around much when his sons were growing up. When Takashi opened his own restaurant, Jiro told him that he had no restaurant to come back to. In the documentary, Jiro said “Nowadays, parents tell their children, “You can return if it doesn't work out." When parents say stupid things like that, the kids turn out to be failures.” 

This documentary made me reflect on what it takes to be resilient. According to Jiro, it’s self-reliance, dedication to excellence and commitment to a chosen profession. Minerva, goddess of wisdom and skill, would agree.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi is available on Netflix.

DISCLAIMER:  This information is not intended to provide legal or accounting advice, or to address specific situations. Please consult with your legal or tax advisor to supplement and verify what you learn here. This is presented for informational or educational purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation to buy/sell any security investment or other product, nor is this an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy/sell any security investment or other product. Any opinion or estimate constitutes that of the writer only, and is subject to change without notice. The above may contain information obtained from sources believed to be reliable. No guarantees are made about the accuracy or completeness of information provided. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. 

Angela Merkel Versus Alexander Hamilton: And The Winner Is?

Angela Merkel, elected Chancellor of Germany in 2005, is the longest serving political leader in the free world. Time Magazine named her Person of the Year in 2015. Who knew that someone raised in East Germany with a Ph.D. in Chemistry would rise to the pinnacle of power in the reunified Germany.

For a wonderful take on her amazing story, check out this video on YouTube

She is not going to miss her shot! Watch the behind the scenes of our YouTube Women's Program video: https://youtu.be/ZibaNazDj18 See more http://www.collegehumor.com LIKE us on: http://www.facebook.com/collegehumor FOLLOW us on: http://www.twitter.com/collegehumor FOLLOW us on: http://www.collegehumor.tumblr.com

It is a riff on the opening number in the hit Broadway musical Alexander Hamilton, starring Lin-Manuel Miranda. I love it!

DISCLAIMER:  This information is not intended to provide legal or accounting advice, or to address specific situations. Please consult with your legal or tax advisor to supplement and verify what you learn here. This is presented for informational or educational purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation to buy/sell any security investment or other product, nor is this an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy/sell any security investment or other product. Any opinion or estimate constitutes that of the writer only, and is subject to change without notice. The above may contain information obtained from sources believed to be reliable. No guarantees are made about the accuracy or completeness of information provided. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. 

The Girl And Her Pig: April Bloomfield

New York is one of the toughest places on the planet to run a top restaurant. Well, how about simultaneously running two Michelin-starred restaurants (The Spotted Pig and The Breslin Bar and Dining Room) in the city that never sleeps along with opening up a third one (Salvation Burger) last month. 

Born in the UK, April Bloomfield originally wanted to be a cop. But after being turned down by the police academy, she decided to go to culinary school. After stints in number of top London restaurants, she moved to the U.S. and opened The Spotted Pig in 2003. She has been on a tear ever since. I love her food and her business acumen. Another great immigrant story!

Be sure to check out Salvation Burger at 230 East 51st Street and April’s book, The Girl and Her Pig: Recipes and Stories.

DISCLAIMER:  This information is not intended to provide legal or accounting advice, or to address specific situations. Please consult with your legal or tax advisor to supplement and verify what you learn here. This is presented for informational or educational purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation to buy/sell any security investment or other product, nor is this an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy/sell any security investment or other product. Any opinion or estimate constitutes that of the writer only, and is subject to change without notice. The above may contain information obtained from sources believed to be reliable. No guarantees are made about the accuracy or completeness of information provided. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. 

The First Female Mathematician: Hypatia of Alexandria

I like math. Always have. 

Back when I was in graduate school, I wondered who was the first female mathematician of note. After some digging in the library stacks, I discovered Hypatia of Alexandria.

Born in Egypt around 355, she was trained by her father. She went on to be the pre-eminent mathematician of her time, writing commentaries on geometry, number theory, astronomy, and philosophy. Based upon letters that have been preserved from that time, we know she was also a popular teacher and lecturer.

“Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all. All formal dogmatic religions are fallacious and must never be accepted by self-respecting persons as final.”

Because she symbolized learning and science, she found herself on the wrong side of politicians, war-lords, and local clergy. She was murdered in March 415 by a gang of Christian zealots.

DISCLAIMER:  This information is not intended to provide legal or accounting advice, or to address specific situations. Please consult with your legal or tax advisor to supplement and verify what you learn here. This is presented for informational or educational purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation to buy/sell any security investment or other product, nor is this an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy/sell any security investment or other product. Any opinion or estimate constitutes that of the writer only, and is subject to change without notice. The above may contain information obtained from sources believed to be reliable. No guarantees are made about the accuracy or completeness of information provided. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.