Mr. Kien Pham is an American investor and philanthropist. He is the president of the Vietnam Foundation, a U.S. non-profit organization established to support educational improvement in Vietnam. In business, he serves as Board member and strategic advisor to his portfolio of Vietnamese companies in media, mobile technology, education and real estate. Mr. Pham is also a senior advisor to TPG, a global private equity firm with $82 billion AUM.

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Mr. Pham grew up in Saigon, Vietnam. In 1977, he came to the U.S. as a refugee. He settled in Colorado and worked in a factory while learning English at night; and later, attended college on scholarship. Mr. Pham received a bachelor in Marketing and International Business from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and won a senior fellowship to study in London. His graduate degrees, earned concurrently at Stanford University, included an MBA in International and Organizational Management, an
MA in International Economics and a special diploma in Public Policy. In 1990, Stanford University featured Mr. Pham among its “100 Most Outstanding Alumni” in the school’s 100 years history. Mr. Pham is a recipient of an honorary Doctorate of Law degree from Pfeiffer University.

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Mr. Pham has broad experiences in the business, government and non-profit sectors. In business, he was an executive in Fortune 500 companies such as Procter & Gamble and Tenneco, as well as entrepreneur owner in technology and consulting firms. In government, he worked at the White House, the Pentagon, and the U.S. Senate. In 2003, Mr. Pham returned to the government as the founding executive director of the Vietnam Education Foundation, an independent federal agency that selected and sent hundreds of top Vietnamese scholars to leading graduate schools in the U.S. Also in the non-profit sector, Mr. Pham has established foundations to assist college students, orphans and the handicapped in Vietnam. Mr. Pham is publicly recognized for his leadership and management abilities. In 1985, President Reagan introduced him to the nation as a White House Fellow at the age of 27, among the youngest ever in the history of that prestigious leadership program.

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Mr. Pham is active in international affairs. In 1986, he was chosen for the Young Leader program by the American Council on Germany, and in 1992 named a U.S.-Japan Leadership Fellow by the Japan Society. In 1993, he was elected as a term-member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a participant in the American Assembly. In 1996, Mr. Pham was a recipient of the “Never Fear, Never Quit” award. In 2000, he received the “Legacy of Leadership” award from the White House Fellows program for excellence in public service. In 2005, the Vietnamese Government presented Mr. Pham with the “Glory of Vietnam” award to recognize his contribution to the welfare and future of the Vietnamese people. In 2007, Mr. Pham was named Pacific Leadership Fellow by the University of California in San Diego.
 

Mr. Pham is married with three young children. He maintains legal residency in California and splits lime between the U.S. and Vietnam.