Success Story of Sao Mai Group’s President & CEO

The title “Outstanding entrepreneur of the Mekong Delta” once again went to engineer Le Thanh Thuan, owner of Sao Mai Group. This was the fourth straight year he was honoured with this highly respected award presented by VCCI Can Tho, which is seen as a token of confirmation for Sao Mai Group’s achievements to national and regional development.

 

“I would like to share this award with more than 7,000 employees of the Group who have devoted day and night to glorify the name of Sao Mai Group,” he said with a touching voice. To elevate the vision and position of Vietnam, the power of economy is a prerequisite. That aspiration is placed on true entrepreneurs and enterprises. With its ongoing efforts and clear message, Sao Mai Group is taking firm steps on the journey to become a leading economic group in Vietnam.

 

His poor birthplace, where farmers’ thinking never went past the boundary of the village, could not rein in Le Thanh Thuan within its limit because his nerve, intelligence and knowledge helped him break such boundary to open his heart to new perceptions, ideas and thinking of wealth. He spent 22 years learning and passing many classes and training courses in various forms. This is the only way for an executive to grow up with his business and even elevate himself before his company grows up. That must be a secret for this CEO not only to be a manager but also a “commissary” of inspiration of developing Sao Mai Group.

 

President and CEO Le Thanh Thuan has a very famous saying that “Creativity is not endowed to a certain person but it is for all. Those who are creative enough will be successful. Against the backdrop of global integration and stiff competition as now, creativity and innovation are seen as key to the survival and growth of many businesses. Even ‘ongoing innovation’ means ‘never to be perished’.” He thinks that creativity makes difference in business. Therefore, he has gone through numerous difficulties and challenges with this different directions. For example, when the property market is overheating, instead of investing in major economic centres such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City like many other investors, he decided to invest in smaller markets such as An Giang, Ben Tre and Vung Tau. Then, when the property market slumped, his decision became wise and visionary.

 

Staff unity, knowledge and behaviour are the secrets to success, he said. More importantly, a company must know how to capture opportunities in dilemmatic situations to jump over. There is a famous saying from Dale Carnegie that “Take a chance! All life is a chance. The man who goes furthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare.” This is a satisfactory answer to the question why Sao Mai Group still moves fast at the centre of crisis storm. Furthermore, that is also a testament to thinking of breaking the boundary to make a change that CEO Le Thanh Thuan possesses and applies to business administration.

 

 

There is a very meaningful and interesting concept in statecraft: A leader is the one who starts the flame and transfers the heat and inspiration. Of course, to burn the fire and convey inspiration, he must meet numerous objective and subjective criteria. For CEO Le Thanh Thuan, complying with three principles of “living with the true heart” - “making the trust” - “knowing how to sacrifice” is the basis for a leader to “start the flame” of development for a business. He always stresses that the core to success of Sao Mai Group is the collective brainpower and unity but it is undeniable that that success comes from the excellent leadership of CEO Le Thanh Thuan. A violist can play solo well but when he plays with an orchestra, he will need a bandmaster to play in tune with the rest. With his careful steps to build and realise his visions to burn the light to show the way to development for Sao Mai Group, CEO Le Thanh Thuan is deserved to be the best conductor.

 

If leadership is the mission of leading someone with virtues or humanity values, it is certain that, in his business administration, CEO Le Thanh Thuan is going the right way. Business ethic and culture plus the application of leading-edge technologies to production are becoming the growth supporting pillars of Sao Mai Group (ASM). The launch of Ranee premium cooking oil that is appreciated and encouraged for use by the National Institute of Nutrition is a testament to that. Raw pangasius which is placed under strict international quality control is the basis for creating high-quality safe and nutritious oil for health. Besides, the use of modern European technology to retain valuable natural nutrients in fish fat such as Omega 3, Omega 6, Omega 9, EPA, DHA, vitamins and minerals needed for human body helps Ranee to gradually win the trust of customers and gradually expand its market share. However, it is noteworthy that the participation and commitment of Sao Mai Group to farmers as Thuan used to tell the entire business community of Vietnam: A business wants to develop and grow up, it must act with a heart and do the good.

 

Nearly two decades is not a long time but it is much enough for multi-business Sao Mai Group to affirm its presence and position on the fiercely competing market. Multi-business is a favourite business model that Thuan pursues because he believes that it will generate pillars of stable development. After securing a strong foothold in construction with the successful construction of complicated projects with high requirements for quality and artistry, Sao Mai Construction Corporation, set up in 1997 - the predecessor of Sao Mai Group, rapidly expanded its operating areas throughout Southwest and Southeast provinces and Central Highlands region.

 

On that basis, when stepping into real estate and service fields, Sao Mai Group had essentially shaped the leading principle in business construction and development. Then, after having strong positions in these new fields across the nation, Sao Mai Group expanded into a variety of new business lines, including building civil, industrial, traffic and irrigation constructions; operating infrastructure of residential, urban and industrial zones; investing and operating tourism services; farming, processing and exporting aquatic products, processing fish meal and fish oil; processing edible oils and oil extracted from fish fat; investing and operating seaports; engaging in financial investment, mining, etc.