Mr. Gian Tu Trung, Director of the Institute for Research
of Educational Development 

Young Global Leader Award (YGL) is the annual title voted and awarded by the World Economic Forum (WEF) to individuals of less than 40 years old who have significantly contributed to the social and professional areas.

According the YGL 2013 list that was announced on March 12, Vietnam has two representatives: Mr. Gian Tu Trung, Director of the Institute for Research of Educational Development (IRED) and Ms. Le Thi Thu Thuy, the Vingroup’s CEO.

Le Thi Thu Thuy was born in 1974. Before becoming Vice President of the Vingroup, Thuy served as Vice Chair of Lehman Brothers in Japan, Thailand, Singapore and had extensive experience in the field of real estate investment in Asia. She joined the Vingroup in 2008 as the Chief Financial Officer, then the Vice President in charge of investment and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). After taking office, she made hallmarks through the issuance of $100 million of international convertible bonds of Vincom in 2009 and $300 million of international convertible bonds for the Vingroup in 2012.

Gian Tu Trung was born and raised in Nghe An province. He worked for the world's largest audit firms such as KPMG, PwC and DTT. After working at the State Securities Commission in Hanoi, he and some others established the PACE Group and holds the posts of President cum Directo. IRED is a non-profit and independent research institute operating in the educational field.

 Ms. Le Thi Thu Thuy, the Vingroup’s CEO. 

In 2012, Vietnam also had a representative on the list - Dr. Pham Minh Tuan, Chairman of TOPICA. Previously, Professor Ngo Bao Chau (2011), Mr. Jimmy Pham, founder and chief executive of the KOTO (2011), Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hung, Chairman of Sovico Group (2007) and Mrs. Pham Thi Hue city, founder of the Red Flamboyant group in Hai Phong (2007) were also awarded this title.

This year the prize is presented to 199 young leaders from 70 countries around the world. Their fields of activity vary from culture and arts, education, media, business to politics. In the list, there are 49 representatives from Europe, 45 from East Asia, 40 from North America, 19 from sub-Saharan Africa, 18 from South Asia, 16 from Latin America and 12 from North Africa.

These people are selected from thousands of candidates. Initially, their professional background is carefully reviewed and then they are evaluated independently by Heidrick & Struggles. A council led by Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan will pick up the winners. Candidates are selected based on professional achievement, knowledge, commitment to society and the ability to overcome difficulties.