Capital Markets and Financial Services Committee (CMFSC)

Co-Chair

Matthew Smith, Head of Institutional Research, Yuanta Securities Vietnam

Matthew Smith is Head of Institutional Research at Yuanta Securities Vietnam. A native of Massachusetts, Matt has resided in several East Asian locations since 1995: Seoul, Taipei, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, and (since 2018) Saigon. Previous employers include Macquarie Bank, ING Barings, and – 23 years ago – Amcham Taipei. In his current role with Yuanta, Matt focuses on advisory work for institutional and high-net-worth individual investors in Vietnam financial assets, including equities and fixed income securities. A CFA charter holder, Matt earned a BA in History from UMass Amherst and a Master of Finance from INSEAD.

Co-Chair

Tyler McElhaney, Country Head – Vietnam, Apex Group

Tyler is a senior level, global-minded executive with extensive finance, strategy and leadership experience with the ability to lead and inspire stakeholders. Specifically:

• Proven ability to develop/lead complex, multicultural and strategic teams, and projects at a financial services organization.
• Introduced over USD 1.5 billion in buy/sell side opportunities across sectors including education, energy, infrastructure, fintech and insurance.
• Skilled leader with experience cultivating teams and managing strategic relationships with clients and cross-border partners.
• The ability to influence individuals, groups, organizations, and systems that are unlike his own.
• Client base spans from UK FTSE 15 to leading startups in Asia with the ability to transform leadership and help bring strategy in line with true execution.

Tyler is a seasoned business executive with over 20 years of international experience having lived in the USA, China (Beijing/Shenzhen), Singapore, Hong Kong, Qatar & Vietnam. He has extensive experience in data analytics, finance and sales pipeline development/management and is an expert in global strategy & execution. He has received extensive training in Franklin Covey’s Helping Clients Succeed, Leading Change and Transformation (Kotter) & Business Intelligence.

Most recently, he was the CEO of a regulated asset management firm while also serving as General Partner (GP) of an USD 1 billion impact-based investment fund focused on infrastructure in Africa & Southeast Asia.  As part of his work, he serves as a founding member of the OECD’s Blue Dot Executive Consultation Group and works along-side the governments of USA, Australia, & Japan to develop quality infrastructure standards and principles.

Prior to his work in asset management, Tyler was a Senior Partner at a Hong Kong based capital advisory firm. There, Tyler led the Hong Kong office and introduced in excess of USD 1.5 billion in capital to his client base. He served as a strategic and special advisor to a number of African energy projects and as part of his firm’s direct investments, served as the Director of Asia for one of Australia’s fastest growing FinTech startups (Deloitte Technology Fast 100).  The highlight of his time within the group was winning a USD 1 billion off-take agreement from the Ghanian government to build and deliver 15,000 affordable housing units.

Prior to his work within the finance sector, Tyler was the Global Director of Strategy & Development for a global top 8 professional services organization where he was responsible for the implementation of the organization’s strategic plan while also leading the efforts to build a global sales-oriented organization.  In addition to his work with the global management team to execute on strategic plans, Tyler oversaw and managed both the global communications and global marketing teams.

Early in his career, Tyler was project manager for a global branding project that included conceptualizing, communicating and building stakeholder support for bringing the global organization’s close to 100 separate brands in 100+ countries into a single-global brand. During this time, he was also the co-developer and facilitator for Demand Creation training that was delivered in multiple countries and resulted in several hundred million USD in pipeline growth. Along with these activities, Tyler personally managed a cross-border weighted sales pipeline in excess of USD $20 million.

Tyler earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration (summa cum laude) from the University of Tennessee – Chattanooga where he was the top graduate within his major and earned multiple awards and honors.  Later, he earned a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) with honors from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and completed a semester abroad at Peking University (北京大学).  Upon graduation from Thunderbird, he was accepted into the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society and the Phi Sigma Iota Foreign Language Honor Society for his graduate degree work.

In addition to English, Tyler speaks basic Mandarin and Spanish.  He lives in Ho Chi Minh City (District 7) and enjoys street side coffee shops, street food, and exploring the Vietnamese countryside.

Vice Chair for Advocacy and Securities

Hung Hoang, Country Head of Securities Services, Citi, Vietnam

Hung Hoang is responsible for overall management and strategic direction of the Securities Services business in Vietnam, including Direct Custody, Clearing and Investor Services and fostering partnership across the broader Markets & Securities Services and Capital Market businesses. Hung engages as a member of the management team at Citi Vietnam in the franchise management and governance forums. Hung is a member representing Cit at the Capital Market Working Group, Vietnam Business Forum.

Leveraging over 20 years of experience in Vietnam’s capital market, deep and extensive relationships across key regulatory and capital market agencies, Hung is well positioned to drive Citi securities business, client and product strategies. Prior to Citi, Hung spent over 11 years at Horizon Capital and Horizon Securities, where as CEO he was responsible for the partnership between Citi and Horizon Securities. Hung started his career, in 1998, at the State Securities Commission of Vietnam in the Surveillance and Enforcement Department, before moving to Mekong Securities as Head of Equity Analysis and Consultancy. He then joined Grant Thornton in Corporate Finance and Advisory.

Hung holds an MBA in Finance & Banking from the KDI School of Public Policy and Management, Seoul, Korea and a Bachelor of Economics from Foreign Trade University, Hanoi, Vietnam.

Vice Chair for Sustainable Finance

Binh Le Vandekerckove, Founder, CEO & Head of Advisory, ASART Deal Advisory

Binh is a highly regarded advisor in Vietnam, recognized for her expertise and dedication. She leads M&A, corporate finance, corporate strategy, and wealth advisory practices, and oversees all aspects of ASART Deal Advisory. Binh contributes several thought leadership efforts at AmCham, including ESG Committee, Capital Market and Financial Services Committee, and Sustainable Finance initiatives. She is also a Fellow at the Australia Vietnam Policy Institute and serves as a valued member of the RMIT Alumni Advisory Board.

Over the past 16 years, Binh has advised 250+ prominent multinational and Vietnamese companies in 120+ projects, across 15+ countries and 10+ industries, with an accumulated value of USD4.5+ billion. She has successfully led and delivered M&A transactions, fundraising initiatives, strategic projects, valuation exercises, and government relations/ advocacy, building a unique and distinguished track record in these fields. Her work emphasizes value creation and sustainable growth, combining these areas for optimal outcomes.

She holds an MBA from Indiana University and Purdue University Fort Wayne (USA), where she received a full-ride scholarship and served as a Graduate Assistant. She also graduated with Distinction from RMIT University (Vietnam) with a Bachelor of Commerce. Prior to founding ASART, Binh held notable roles at KPMG and Lafarge.

Thuy Van Pham, Partner, Baker McKenzie