Chuc Mung Nam Moi! Happy Tet to our AmCham members and friends as we welcome in the Vietnamese New Year 2020 – the year of the Rat. As Vietnam embarks on the most important festival of year, we wish you all a very special holiday time, where many traditions with family and friends are observed and celebrated all over Vietnam. The colors, flowers, and foods of the season are among some of the special things shared and celebrated. We were honored to join several Tet celebrations, including those of the People’s Committees of Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, among others.

Warmest greetings of the season! We at AmCham Vietnam-HCMC are grateful for our members and for all of your wonderful support this year. We could not have achieved the many successes and opportunities for our members and the Chamber without your active participation and generous sponsorships. Together with you, our engaged Board of Governors, dedicated staff, and our new Executive Director Mary Tarnowka, we have reached a record number of members at AmCham Vietnam-HCMC, engaged in important national and local advocacy efforts, and hosted many high-quality business and signature events.

October has been an active month at AmCham Vietnam – including a successful Supplier Day, robust committee and business events, and on-going advocacy activities surrounding potential changes to laws affecting many of our members. And, as our new Executive Director completes her second month with AmCham, Mary Tarnowka continues to canvas the membership, as well as participate in many business events, to open doors to existing and new members and opportunities for the HCMC chapter.  It is an exciting time for the organization.

By now, I hope you have heard our big news that Mary Tarnowka, the former U.S. Consul General to Vietnam, has joined AmCham Vietnam as its new Executive Director in Ho Chi Minh City. Mary’s experience in both the private sector and foreign service, including the past three years serving as one of the top