An Integrated Leadership Program: Large Enterprise · Family Business · SME / Startup
Leading a business through a volatile era is no longer a question of strategy or finance alone. It is a question of integration: global strategic thinking with Vietnamese realities, digital capability with human character, near-term growth with long-term vision.
The tentative commencement date for Cohort 1 of both the Large Corporations and Family Businesses tracks.
Most leadership programs today force CEOs to choose between a global strategic framework detached from domestic operating realities, or a local management program without international perspective. CEO of the New Era does not make you choose.
The program is built on a principle of complementary strengths, not duplication: on every overlapping topic, INSEAD owns the strategic and global layer while VNUHCM goes deep into Vietnamese context and the functional management dimension. Running throughout the journey are Executive coaching and a mentor-supported Action Learning Project, helping participants convert learning into real management initiatives inside their own organizations.
CEO of the New Era is an integrated leadership program combining INSEAD's global strategic academic framework with VNUHCM's depth in Vietnamese context and functional management, advised on and coordinated by A11 Management Consulting, with VCCI providing sponsorship and access to the business community.
Four partners, four roles
Design principle: complementary strengths, not duplication.
International academia
INSEAD
Owns the strategic and global layer: academic frameworks, international case studies and credit transfer for INSEAD's Global Management Program.
Domestic academia
VNUHCM
Goes deep into Vietnamese context and the functional management dimension: legal, tax, ownership structures and domestic capital markets.
Advisory & coordination
A11 Management Consulting
Advises on and coordinates the program, mentoring participants directly and supervising each Action Learning Project.
Sponsorship & community
VCCI
Sponsors the program and connects participants with the business community throughout the journey and after graduation.
Five capability pillars
The content of all three tracks maps back to these five core pillars.
1
Strategic Intelligence & Decision-Making
Strategic thinking, judgment and high-quality decisions under uncertainty.
2
Digital, Data & Artificial Intelligence
Positioning and deploying AI and data as a competitive advantage.
3
Organizational Architecture & Culture
Designing organizations, teams and a high-performance culture.
4
Institutional Governance & Capital Strategy
Governance, legal, finance and capital markets.
5
Self-Leadership & Learning Agility
Self-awareness, personal resilience and the capacity to keep learning.
Choose the right track
Three tracks for three different stages of a business journey, select one to see the details.
Track 1Large Enterprise CEO
Leading strategic, digital and capital transformation at enterprise scale
Who it is for (indicative)C-level executives and founders
Structure (indicative)4 months · 10 in-person days (5 at INSEAD + 5 at VNUHCM), 3 interwoven modules
Designed for C-level executives and founders, this track connects global strategy with execution in Vietnam, from AI thinking at the executive level to capital-market fluency and cross-border competitiveness.
Learning journey
Step 1
Online preparation
A pre-program online phase building a shared foundation in strategy, finance and AI before the in-person modules begin.
Step 2
INSEAD module · 5 in-person days
The global strategic framework across the five capability pillars, taught through case studies and business forums.
Step 3
VNUHCM module · 5 in-person days
Vietnam's macroeconomic context, business law, finance and accounting, and the functional management dimension.
Throughout
Executive coaching
Executive coaching runs throughout the program, anchored in each participant's real leadership challenges.
Throughout
Action Learning Project
Mentor-supported, concluding with a management initiative applied directly inside the participant's own organization.
What you leave with
A Certificate of Achievement with credit transfer available for INSEAD's Global Management Program, together with an Action Learning Project already implemented inside the participant's own organization.
Track 2Family Business
Confident leadership and sustainable succession for family businesses
Who it is forFamily business leaders & owners, and the succeeding generation
Structure (indicative)2 months · 10 in-person days (5 at INSEAD + 5 at VNUHCM)
Built specifically for family business leaders and owners, this track professionalizes governance, prepares the next generation and opens access to private capital, on INSEAD's global conceptual foundation and VNUHCM's expertise in Vietnam-specific legal, tax and ownership realities.
INSEAD covers governance, succession, private capital and digital transformation at the conceptual level; VNUHCM focuses on what is specific to Vietnam: inheritance law, taxation, ownership structures, access to domestic capital, functional management and establishing a family council.
Learning journey
Step 1
Online preparation
Building a shared foundation in family governance, succession and digital transformation before the in-person modules.
Step 2
INSEAD module · 5 in-person days
Global family governance frameworks, succession, private capital and digital transformation at the conceptual level.
Step 3
VNUHCM module · 5 in-person days
Inheritance law, taxation, ownership structures, access to domestic capital and establishing a family council.
Throughout
Executive coaching
Executive coaching tailored to each family's generational transition challenges.
Throughout
Action Learning Project
Mentor-supported, typically anchored in the family's own governance mechanism or succession plan.
What you leave with
A Certificate of Achievement with credit transfer available for INSEAD's Global Management Program, together with a governance mechanism or succession plan drafted for the family's own business.
Track 3SME / Startup
Flexible capability-building series for founders & core management teams
Who it is forFounders & core management teams
FormatBlended: each module is roughly a half to full online session plus a hands-on in-person workshop
Structure3 series, approximately 5 modules each
Unlike the two tracks built for senior executives, this track follows a capability-building series model made of short, flexible and affordable modules. Participants can take a single series or the full set.
Co-delivered by A11 and VNUHCM, applying INSEAD's methodological frameworks and tools in a digital format.
Three module series
Series 1: HR Upskilling Series
Module
Core content
Building the core team & early-stage hiring
Capability profiles, lean hiring processes, attracting key people with limited resources.
Culture & engagement in a fast-growing business
Shaping core values and holding on to culture while scaling.
Lean organization design & role definition
Role structures, delegation, avoiding overlap in a small business.
Compensation, ESOP & talent retention
Designing pay and bonuses, employee equity (ESOP), progression paths.
Collecting and organizing data, simple dashboards, operating metrics.
Building digital products/services & a lean tech stack
Choosing the right technology, MVPs, working with technology partners.
INSEAD Faculty
The global strategic frame · 5 on-site days.
INSEAD
Professor Roderick Swaab
Professor of Organisational Behaviour
The INSEAD Chaired Professor of Leadership and Conflict Resolution
Programme Director CEO The New Era
View bio
Education & experience
PhD and MSc in Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Amsterdam (the Netherlands)
Previously at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University (USA)
Co-Director of INSEAD’s Negotiation Certificate Programme and the Leading Teams programme; former Academic Director of INSEAD’s PhD Programme
Co-Founder of INSEAD’s Negotiation and Conflict Management Collaborative
Teaching areas: Leadership, Team Performance, Influence and Persuasion, Decision-Making, Negotiations and Conflict Management
Has designed and led senior leadership programmes for Bank of America, Cisco, Emirates Group, Aramco, Allianz, Jardines, Société Générale and Accenture
Key achievements
FT Responsible Business Education Award 2025; Dean’s Award for Outstanding Teaching in Executive Education (2021–2025)
Awards from the Academy of Management, the International Association for Conflict Management and the Dutch National Science Foundation (NWO)
His co-authored case won the Best Case in Human Resources / Organisational Behaviour award from The Case Centre
Co-author of “Ricardo Semler: A Revolutionary Model of Leadership”, an award-winning case (2016) and for many years The Case Centre’s best-selling case
Several teaching awards in INSEAD’s MBA and EMBA programmes and in Executive Education, for both teaching and programme direction
Research published in the Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Organization Science, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes and Psychological Science
Former Associate Editor of Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes; former editorial board member of Academy of Management Review
INSEAD
Professor Daniel Simonovich
Senior Affiliate Professor of Strategy
View bio
Education & experience
MBA, INSEAD; Doctorate, EBS University (Germany)
Graduate degrees in computer science and business from the University of Cambridge, École Centrale Paris and the University of Hamburg
Former Dean and University Vice President, ESB Business School; has taught at HEC Paris, Harvard Business School, the Technical University of Munich, the University of the Armed Forces Munich and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Former strategy consultant at Booz, Allen & Hamilton and CSC Index
Key achievements
Dominique Héau award for inspiring educational excellence
INSEAD outstanding teaching and programme-direction awards in Executive Education
Dean’s commendation for excellence in MBA teaching; Steinbeis and Euro-FH best teaching awards
Scholarships from the German National Scholarship Foundation (Studienstiftung) and the Edmond de Rothschild Foundation
Consulting and executive education for organisations including Airbus, AstraZeneca, BAE Systems, Daimler, Danone, Deutsche Telekom, Ferrero, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Roche Diagnostics, Zurich Insurance, Jardine Matheson, Keppel, MTR Hong Kong, Qatar Petroleum, Allen & Overy, HDFC Life and the Moscow Stock Exchange
Author of the case “Avolon: Building a Global Leader in the Aircraft Leasing Industry”
INSEAD
Professor Guoli Chen
Professor of Strategy
The Mubadala Chaired Professor in Corporate Governance and Strategy
View bio
Education & experience
PhD in Strategic Management, The Pennsylvania State University; at INSEAD since 2008
Former investment banker at Daiwa Securities SMBC, advising on IPOs and fundraising
Teaches competitive strategy, Blue Ocean Strategy, corporate strategy, China strategy, corporate governance and incentive design across MBA, EMBA, PhD and Executive Education
Key achievements
Named among The Case Centre’s Top 50 Bestselling Case Authors
Author of business cases on Huawei, Xiaomi, Lenovo, Tencent, Ant Financial, TikTok, Shein vs. Zara, Uber vs. Didi, MIXUE vs. Starbucks, W Hotels and DeepSeek
Author of “Seeing the Unseen: Behind Chinese Tech Giants’ Global Venturing”
Research on strategic leadership and corporate governance, organisational growth (M&A, globalisation, innovation, IPOs), sustainability & CSR and Chinese management; published in Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Management Science, Organization Science and the Strategic Management Journal
Former senior editor of Organization Science; featured in the Financial Times, Harvard Business Review, Bloomberg, Forbes and the South China Morning Post
INSEAD
Professor Balagopal (Bala) Vissa
Professor of Entrepreneurship and Family Enterprise
The André and Rosalie Hoffmann Chaired Professor of Family Enterprise
Chair, Entrepreneurship and Family Enterprise Area, INSEAD
View bio
Education & experience
Doctoral studies at London Business School; alumnus of BITS-Pilani and IIM-Calcutta
Before academia, an intrapreneur building new specialty chemical businesses for Unilever in India
Directs the INSEAD Leadership Programme for Senior Executives – India and numerous client-specific programmes for some of India’s largest companies
Teaches entrepreneurial leadership, corporate venturing and managing leadership transitions in family businesses
Key achievements
Numerous research awards; multiple awards for teaching, programme direction and teaching-case development
Author of cases on Alorica, Crescendo.AI, Rosy Blue, Pahal Financial Services, Sankara Eye Foundation, Amoy Street Ventures and “Simplex Solutions: Expanding the Entrepreneurial Team” (award-winning)
Former Associate Editor of the Strategic Management Journal and the Academy of Management Journal; former elected Chairperson of the Entrepreneurship & Strategy interest group, Strategic Management Society
Researches entrepreneurial leadership in emerging economies, including founding teams of new ventures, boards of family businesses and family offices
VNUHCM Faculty
The Vietnam-context layer & functional-management depth · 5 on-site days. Mobilize multidisciplinary experts across the VNUHCM system based on the specific needs of the programme.
VNUHCM
Assoc. Prof. Pham Tan Nhat, PhD
Senior Lecturer and Vice Dean, School of Business, International University – VNUHCM
View bio
Education & experience
PhD in Management, Tomas Bata University (Czech Republic)
16+ years of teaching and management training
Visiting Professor, Tomas Bata University (Czech Republic)
Key achievements
Experience in leadership, management and green-transition training for enterprises and provinces/cities, including leadership training for SHB Bank
H-index 28, 5,600+ citations · Published in FT50 / ABS 4* journals
Top 2026 Scilit Top Cited Scholars List
VNUHCM
Assoc. Prof. Vo Thi Quy, PhD
Senior Lecturer, School of Economics, Finance, and Accounting, International University – VNUHCM
View bio
Education & experience
PhD in International Business – AIT (Thailand)
Associate Professor since 2012; former member of the Institutional Professorial Council (VNUHCM-IU)
40+ years of experience in teaching, business consulting and postgraduate training in finance, corporate governance, finance & banking and organisational behaviour
Key achievements
Extensive publications on working capital, capital markets, FDI and corporate governance in prestigious international journals
Chief editor of textbooks on Business Planning and of case studies for Business Administration and Finance programmes
Management-training expertise in financial market analysis, working capital management, international finance and data-driven financial decision-making
VNUHCM
Trinh Thuc Hien, PhD
Vice Dean, Faculty of Economic Law, and Deputy Director, International Institute, University of Economics and Law – VNUHCM
View bio
Education & experience
PhD in Law – Lancaster University (UK)
LLM in International Business Law – KU Leuven (Belgium), Cum Laude
20+ years teaching Business Law
Key achievements
Expert in corporate law, ESG, carbon markets & digital assets
Experience in leadership and corporate training & international projects
VNUHCM
Trinh Quoc Dat, PhD
Dean, School of Economics, Finance, and Accounting, International University – VNUHCM
View bio
Education & experience
PhD & MSc in Finance – University of Lille (France)
MSc in Economics – NUS
Key achievements
Teaching and practical experience at BIDV, Viettel Technology, Vinaconex–Viettel Finance
Expert in corporate finance, ESG, climate finance & corporate governance
Published in numerous Q1 / ABDC A journals
VNUHCM
Nguyen Canh Tien, PhD
Vice Dean, School of Economics, Finance, and Accounting, International University – VNUHCM
View bio
Education & experience
PhD in Financial Accounting – Auckland University of Technology (New Zealand)
Master’s – Université de Lille 2 & University of Queensland
Key achievements
Nearly 20 years of teaching & research
Expert in business analysis & valuation, finance & investment
Published in Finance Research Letters & Economics Letters
VNUHCM
Phan Trieu Anh, PhD
Lecturer, School of Business, International University – VNUHCM
View bio
Education & experience
PhD – Brunel University (UK)
Key achievements
15+ years teaching at VNUHCM & other universities
Experience with multinational enterprises & international organisations
Expert in strategic management, international business & cross-cultural management
VNUHCM
Nguyen Hong Anh, PhD
Lecturer, School of Business, International University – VNUHCM
View bio
Education & experience
PhD in International Business – Colegio de San Juan de Letran (Philippines)
Key achievements
Teaching experience in E-Commerce & Management Information Systems, Business Planning, Change & Crisis Management
Corporate training in Negotiation & Data-Driven Management
Research on digital business, entrepreneurship & change management
VNUHCM
Le Quoc Bao, PhD
Deputy Director, VNUHCM Institute for Policy and Leadership Development
Programme coordinator on the VNUHCM side
View bio
Education & experience
A higher-education leader with 17+ years of experience at VNUHCM
Leads executive education initiatives that connect academic expertise, public-sector leadership and business practice
Key achievements
Focuses on university governance, leadership development, innovation and international partnerships
Indicative faculty and mentors for Cohort 1 / 2026. Content, schedule, tuition, platform and faculty are subject to change.
Executive Mentors
Each group of 4–5 CEO participants is accompanied by an Executive Mentor throughout the Action Learning Project, with one session a month over two months. Mentors are leaders who have run large organisations in Vietnam and have been through cycles of growth and generational transition. They do not lecture or instruct; they ask questions, challenge, and open up different approaches and ways of thinking for participants.
Executive Mentor
Pham Phu Ngoc Trai
Chairman, PRO Vietnam
Former Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo Indochina
View bio
Profile
Mr. Pham Phu Ngoc Trai is a business leader and economist with more than three decades in senior leadership roles at domestic and international enterprises and multinational corporations: General Director of Foodexco, General Director of the IBC joint venture, General Director of SPCO, Chairman & CEO of PepsiCo Indochina.
He is currently Founder & Chairman of GIBC, Chairman of Rolex Vietnam and Chairman of the Vietnam Packaging Recycling Alliance (PRO Vietnam). He also advises on strategy, innovation and sustainable development, and supports the next generation of young Vietnamese entrepreneurs.
Executive Mentor
Michele Wee
Former CEO, Standard Chartered Bank Vietnam
View bio
Profile
30+ years of banking experience
Joined Standard Chartered in 2011 as Global Head of E-commerce Sales; later Head of Financial Markets for Singapore, Australia and Brunei
CEO of Standard Chartered Vietnam from 1 February 2021 until 2024
She was featured in the top 10 of INvolve's Heroes Women Executives Role Model List (top 100) three years running and was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2024.
Brings perspective on capital markets, international banking, people leadership across cultures, and running a foreign bank in Vietnam
Executive Mentor
Wayne Besant
Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, AIA Vietnam
View bio
Profile
25+ years in financial services across Asia-Pacific
Has led AIA Vietnam since 2015; the longest-serving foreign CEO in Vietnam’s life insurance industry
Previously CEO of AIA New Zealand (from 2010) and Managing Director, Retail Banking, at ANZ New Zealand
Leadership philosophy: “What is good for Vietnam is also good for AIA Vietnam”
Author of “Wayne in Vietnam” (Vietnamese edition: “Trên Mảnh Đất Kiên Cường”)
Executive Mentor
Bui Kim Thuy
Economist and trade-policy expert
Former Senior Representative in Vietnam, US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC)
Advisory Board Member for Asia Pacific, Harvard Business School
View bio
Profile
Former Senior Representative of the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) in Vietnam
Member of the Harvard Asia-Pacific Advisory Board
Has taken part in trade negotiation delegations and free trade agreements involving Vietnam and ASEAN, and played a critical role in bringing Vietnam to WTO.
Works with multinational corporations on investment and supply chains; brings perspective on international trade, policy and how global corporations make investment decisions in Vietnam
Executive Mentor
Michael Kokalari, CFA
Chief Economist, VinaCapital
View bio
Profile
Over 20 years in Vietnam, providing thought leadership and technical acumen on global and local macroeconomic issues to maximise the firm’s investment performance
Before Vietnam, 15 years as a derivatives trader in Tokyo and London, running multi-billion-dollar trading books for JP Morgan Chase, Credit Suisse First Boston, Lehman Brothers and Paribas
Contributor of the CFA guide to Credit Derivatives and of “Risk Management: Foundations for a Changing Financial World” with Nobel laureates Myron Scholes (Harvard) and William Sharpe (Stanford)
Master’s degrees in Business, Engineering and Mathematics from Stanford University; graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School
Indicative faculty and mentors for Cohort 1 / 2026. Content, schedule, tuition, platform and faculty are subject to change.
Faculty
The program is designed and taught by INSEAD and VNUHCM faculty, alongside the mentors and advisors of A11 Management Consulting. INSEAD faculty own the global strategic academic framework; VNUHCM faculty bring the depth of Vietnamese context and functional management; the A11 team mentors participants directly and supervises each Action Learning Project.
Learning experience
The journey combines business case-study teaching, group discussion, business forums, site visits, Executive coaching and an Action Learning Project, so participants do not simply absorb knowledge, but apply it directly inside their own organization.
Alumni network
On graduation, participants join the CEO of the New Era alumni community: peer advisory groups, regular thematic forums, connections to the business community through VCCI, and continued access to INSEAD and VNUHCM faculty.
Admissions
Rolling admissions
Admission is based on professional track record, role and responsibility within the organization, in line with the criteria under each track's Who should attend section. No specific academic qualification is required.
The tentative commencement date for Cohort 1 of both the Large Corporations and Family Businesses tracks.