Hoang Le Thuy Duong
London School of Economics and Political Sciences
Thuy Duong has gained herself a reputation as the Ambassador for Facing The World UK Charity, an organization that has carried out free-of-charge surgeries for children with innate facial deformity, inspiring them and giving them the chance to overcome such barrier of appearance. Moreover, she is also well-known for being the Deputy Secretary General of the Vietnam UK National Friendship Association, Owner – CEO of Nemo Partners Investment and Consulting Vietnam, Owner of a chain of F&B stores, Co-Founder of Carvir Trading Company, the number 1 Vietnamese pangasius importer & distributor in Panama, in partnership with the former Panamanian Ambassador to Vietnam.
Being an active board member of the Vietnam UK National Friendship Association, Duong was later contacted by Facing The World charity, to become their representative ambassador. With the rates of war-related cases of facial deformity in Vietnam almost 10 times higher than other countries, Facing The World has helped a great number of children by giving them access to surgeries, and have been continuously giving out aids since having their license granted in 2015.
Ever since, Facing The World has managed to increase the number of children receiving life-changing surgeries from hundreds to thousands of kids, even in the most remote areas. They have not only increased the number of yearly missions of sending doctors to Vietnam to perform surgeries, but also have organized training sessions for local doctors as well as flying Vietnamese doctors onto fellowship programs abroad, making them a much more trustworthy charity and popular worldwide, resulting in a huge rise in all kinds of amazing donations for Vietnam.
After years of operation, Duong and her team has made great achievements, such as the Points of Light Award from the UK Prime Minister Teresa May in 2017; Friendship Medal from the Vietnam President in 2018; establishment of the first multidisciplinary integrated approach craniofacial centre in Vietnam, which was opened by HRH the Duke of York in December 2018, in collaboration with 108 Military Hospital, the biggest state owned hospital; and signed a MOU with The Red Cross & Direct Relief for more donations to Vietnam.
'What stands out most about having studied in the UK, apart from being able to receive the highest level of education at one of the top Business Schools in the world, is the fact of having shared experiences with a diverse student body and being exposed to a culture rich city like London. I believe this was key in broadening my knowledge and understanding the importance of globalization in today's world. But surely having studied abroad, specifically in the UK, a country which Vietnam has a very close political and economic relationship with, allowed for many doors to open once I graduated from university. Perhaps studying in another country would have been different in this regard.' – Ms. Thuy Duong
At a younger age, after her primary education in London, Thuy Duong had won several international awards including the first Silver Medal for Vietnam in the ASEAN Young Talent Competition in Manila, Philippines and then later she was the Vietnam winner in the International Environment Competition in South Africa.
Thuy Duong had her experience in higher education at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) on a full scholarship. Upon graduation, the degree gained her valuable job offers from the Vietnam Foreign Minister, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank, creating a solid foundation for her personal development afterwards, including the establishment of her own business.
According to Duong, the British education has served as a solid base for success in her career and in life in general. To her, the place taught her to look beyond a professional career, and to learn to give back to society while enriching experiences of her own.
