In the world of corporate leadership, the path to the corner office is usually linear – you start in sales/finance/engineering, build contacts, upskill along the way, and become a CEO/MD. But Pham Sanh Chau, the CEO of VinFast Asia (also of Vingroup Asia), walked out of an embassy and into a boardroom.
“If I hadn’t joined VinFast, I would have done something different, like setting up a business,” Chau told FE, reflecting on a career path that has made him one of the most unique figures in the global automotive industry.
CEO by chance
Chau is a CEO in title, but a diplomat by soul. He served as the Ambassador of Vietnam to India from 2018 to 2022, building bridges between the two countries. “But now I’ve to build bridges between customers and cars,” he said. “It all started with a phone call.”
After his tenure in India was over, Chau was slated for a United Nations posting in a war-torn region – a ‘hardship post’ his family was wary of. Simultaneously, he got an offer from an MNC. As he was about to sign the contract, his phone rang.
It was Pham Nhat Vuong, the chairman of Vingroup and Vietnam’s richest man.
“I’ve known him for two decades,” Chau said. “He asked me to support Vietnam, and said the best way to support Vietnam was to support its product. He said VinFast plans to enter the Indian market, and I would be the best person to lead that project.”
CEO by strength
Chau had no experience running a carmaker – he couldn’t read a balance sheet with the fluency of a CFO, nor had the sales and marketing experience of an auto veteran. But he had something else.
“As a diplomat, I carried the weight of 100 million people of Vietnam in India,” he said. “This proved invaluable.”
In a country where relationships and hierarchy matter, Chau found that his former title opened doors that remained shut for standard corporate executives. “When you tell a minister that you are a CEO, he may be hesitant in meeting you, especially if your company isn’t well known. But if you say that you are the former Ambassador to India, they themselves will approach you,” he said.
His statesmanship skills helped VinFast build a manufacturing plant in record time. Just months ago, in August 2025, VinFast officially inaugurated its manufacturing plant in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, spread over 400 acres. By September 2025, the carmaker had commenced sales, launching its premium electric SUVs, the VF 6 and VF 7.
The VF 6 has a 59.6-kWh battery with an ARAI-certified range of 468 km, and is priced from Rs 16.49 lakh to Rs 18.29 lakh, ex-showroom. The VF 7 has two battery pack options (59.6 kWh and 70.8 kWh), range between 438 km and 532 km, and is priced from Rs 20.89 lakh to Rs 25.49 lakh.
CEO by strategy
“We aren’t afraid of local players, nor of BYD or Tesla,” Chau said. His confidence stems from a strategy that goes beyond just selling cars. In December 2025, VinFast signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Tamil Nadu government to expand the Thoothukudi facility, allocating an additional 200 hectares to produce electric buses and scooters.
This ‘ecosystem’ approach – after electric cars, VinFast will launch electric buses, electric two-wheelers, and set up a nationwide EV charging infrastructure – is central to Chau’s ambitious targets. “We aim to be among the top-3 carmakers in India within 10 years,” he said, a goal that many CXOs will term unrealistic. But Chau has a reason. “I think that, within a decade, 70% of car sales in India will be electric, giving VinFast a vast new playing field.”
The carmaker is scaling its physical footprint. By the end of 2025, VinFast had opened 24 dealerships across major Indian cities, with a target to hit 35 shortly. “This expansion has been bolstered by partnerships with Castrol India for after-sales service and BatX Energies for battery recycling,” Chau said. “The aim is ensuring that the ‘ecosystem’ is robust from day one.”
CEO by ambition
While India is a primary focus, Chau’s mandate covers Asia, and he said that Indonesia is VinFast’s another focus area, despite fierce competition from Chinese brands like BYD.
“VinFast is the only EV carmaker from the entire ASEAN region,” he said. “And the only ASEAN carmaker with truly global ambitions. We’ve big plans in India, and are progressing with a multi-billion-dollar facility in North Carolina, US.”
The ultimate goal of VinFast is to become for Vietnam what Toyota is for Japan – a national champion that commands global respect. For Pham Sanh Chau, the skills required to achieve this aren’t found in a business school or in a management treatise. “Sometimes, the best way to do business is to act like a statesman,” he said.