Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao

Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao is the founder and chairwoman of Vietjet, Vietnam's first private-sector commercial airline. She founded the low-cost airline in 2011 with the goal to make flying accessible domestically and internationally. Since it started operations, the airline's growth has been rapid. It carried 25.3 million passengers last year, more than the 24.1 million who flew on state-owned Vietnam Airlines. Much of Vietjet's recent growth has been driven by its international routes, and it transported 7.6 million international passengers last year, a 183% increase from 2022. The Vietjet founder is often referred to as Vietnam's first self-made female billionaire.