BritCham Vietnam: All Things Business

A Snapshot from Denzel Eades - BritCham Vietnam Chairman

• Niall Mackay

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Insights from BritCham Vietnam's New Chairman

In this episode of the BritCham Vietnam podcast, host Matt speaks with the new Britcham Chairman, Mr. Denzel Eades. Denzel shares his professional background, his experiences with BritCham, and his vision for the organisation's future. He discusses the importance of member engagement, partnerships with key stakeholders such as the UK Consulate and Embassy, and the development of working groups to address sector-specific interests. The conversation also highlights the dynamic nature of Vietnam's business environment and Britcham's role in supporting its members through active participation and strategic collaborations.


00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome

00:23 Denzel Eades' Professional Background

02:17 Involvement with Britcham

03:15 Priorities as Britcham Chairman

05:53 Key Partnerships and Collaborations

07:54 Engagement with the Vietnam Government

10:24 Supporting Members in a Dynamic Vietnam

13:45 Closing Remarks and Contact Information

For more information about the Britcham Chamber of Commerce Vietnam please visit www.britchamvn.com

Matt:

Hello and welcome back to the Britcham Vietnam podcast. Today I'm very happy to be joined by our new Britcham chairman, Mr Denzel Eades. Denzel. Hi Matt. Thank you very much for joining us. So before we delve into all things Britcham, maybe to set the scene, put a bit, put things in context, can you give us a little bit of background about yourself? your professional career and how long you've been involved in Britcham.

Denzel:

Yeah. So I was elected to the board of Britcham in 2020. and I was elected chair this year, before being elected as chair as the vice chairman, for a couple of years. And, professionally, I co founded Pioneer International Consulting in 2018. Pioneer International Consulting is an advisory firm focused on, the energy sector in Vietnam, specifically energy transition and, clean energy power projects. So we undertake macro and sector research, provide policy and regulatory analysis. And we work with investors and developers on the development of their power projects in Vietnam. and before setting up Pioneer International Consulting, I worked with the UK law firm called Clifford Chance. And after that I worked with HSBC. my move to. I moved to Asia in, 2008, and I've lived in a few different countries. first when I moved to Asia, I was in Bangkok with Clifford Chance, and then I moved to Japan. Oh, sorry, actually, no, then I moved to, Hanoi, 2010 to 2012, and then Japan and then Hong Kong. So I've been in the Asia region a bit of time. And yeah, professionally trained as a lawyer. I'm at university. I studied international relations. I then did a law degree. And, whilst I was in Hong Kong, an MBA, which was a joint program between Kellogg, business school, which is part of a Northwestern university in Hong Kong. University of Science and Technology.

Matt:

So quite a bit of travel and I'll be careful to watch what I say with your legal background. just out of interest before, again, before we delve into Vietnam, were you involved in any Britchams when you were in the other places?

Denzel:

I was, but mainly through participating in events as a member. So actually when I came to Vietnam, that was the first time I've joined the board. but I saw how Britchams worked in Hong Kong, in Tokyo and in Bangkok. So I think, yeah, my impression from. living in those countries, participating in the chambers is a really important part of the business community and how, members of the British community, and British businesses are able to participate, in advocacy, in networking, and saw them really as, key. The one thing I did get involved in as well was some of my university alumni groups as well. And I think they're a good example of how, people living outside of the country where they were born can really get involved with, other people with shared experiences.

Matt:

Excellent. Okay, so let's, delve into Britcham, Vietnam. So you are currently chairman. I think it would be great to understand where you see your priorities and, how you'd like to drive Britcham forward as chair.

Denzel:

So I've been on the board for about four years. When I first joined the board, it was really to. One of the main reasons was to try and develop more some of the activity we were doing in Hanoi. and I think that's, been a, success. We've now got a bigger community and level of activity in Hanoi from our events. And I think that takes me to the main area, one of the main priorities, which is really maximizing engagement with our members. So I think it's working out over the course of this year, how, how we do that, working out. The areas that our members are most interested in and providing them with a platform for that engagement and participation. and then I think the second priority is to really enhance and develop the relationship we have with our key partners. so I think, top among those is the consulate and the embassy, but also other, organizations who are focused on Vietnam, such as the UK ASEAN Business Council, the UK Vietnam Network, and other groups like that. So really working out how do we expand our involvement in our business presence through, relationships with those key partners. And then really, how do we focus our activity around core areas of interest? So how do we really, as an organization, structure ourselves so that we're really, focusing our attention on those areas. And with that in mind, over the course of the last few months we've expanded the concept of our working groups. In 2023, we set up the energy working group and the education working group, and they've been a real success in terms of providing a, a means through which our members with a shared interest can share ideas, experiences, but also organize relevant activity. And from that, we've set up in 2024, 2024. three more, working groups. So there's the professional services working group, environmental, social governance, or ESG working group, and the investment trade and manufacturing working group. So to expand That, structure as a basis for more engagement and then also really working with, those key partners. So namely, Department of Business and Trade, Consulate and Embassy teams to work out how we can maximize what we're doing in Vietnam through collaboration.

Matt:

You, you talk about partners and what, one of the fascinating parts of the job I do is the, amount of different Stakeholders and the diversity amongst them. from your perspective, where do you see Bri Jam's place within that kind of stakeholder ecosystem?

Denzel:

Well, I think our key relationship is with our members. in a way that's got to be our primary focus. But in terms of our key partnerships and wider relationships, the embassy and I think the consulate form that backbone to what we can really do in the country. So through, shared initiatives and sharing resources. Through collaboration with respect to events, be those trade visits, or wider initiatives such as the Green Economic Forum, which is gonna be held in HoChi Min City or the Defense Expo, where we really can align ourselves with. the priorities, and the activity of the embassy and consulate teams. And I think that's got to be a really core focus because when we work with the consulate and the embassy, we're just able to do a lot more for our members. And I think there is a kind of alignment between our working groups and the priorities of, the UK as a whole. You know, expertise in financial services, in education, in energy. That's what our members are really focused on. So where we can. be joined up in that. I think that's a great way to move forward. But I think also the other partnerships are, where can we identify potentially new relationships that we can develop? whether that's through alumni associations or whether it's, through wider trade initiatives. So I mentioned the UK ASEAN Business Council. there's, Busier, I think it's Business in Southeast Asia. Britain in Southeast Asia. Britain in Southeast Asia. Yeah. So where we can identify those or indeed other chambers of commerce in other countries so we can try and, link up with Singapore, link up with Thailand and work out how they can be synergies, but also opportunities to do things together.

Matt:

Okay. So you talked a little bit about the UK government side. obviously another important part of what we do as a chamber, and, and the work groups also have an integral part in this is our relationship and working with the Vietnam government. how would you like to see, see us engage with the different ministries and the different departments?

Denzel:

So the working groups that we have actually feed into the, broadly, there's not always a direct correlation, but the Working Groups of the Vietnam Business Forum. So the Vietnam Business Forum is a consortium of chambers of commerce which was set up really to be the main advocacy vehicle in Vietnam for engagement with the government. So our working groups feed into the Working Groups of the Vietnam Business Forum. And that's, if you like, our sort of easiest route into engagement with the government because that structure is already set up. Otherwise, I think it's really working again around our core areas, so financial services, education, energy, and identifying where there's opportunity for specific engagement with the government on those particular issues. So Brick Jam will be represented in the Just Energy Transition Plan. partnership process, for example, that's going to focus on energy and BritCham will be present, with different representatives, in that process. So again, identifying where there are, formal structures that BritCham can directly be involved in, as well as those existing, forums and frameworks. I think the other is, working with, the UK government in terms of their, engagement. as mentioned, there's this sort of, where there are priorities, such as the Green Economic Forum, or otherwise, where there are trade missions, both sides. that's outbound and inbound, working out how we can work with, the UK government initiatives on those particular issues. And sometimes those will be trade focus. So I think we've had one on focused on agriculture. There's another one coming up, on energy, working out how those sort of set pieces each year can be utilised, by our members. But key to this has to be what, of concern to our members. What is the business community finding as an opportunity or indeed a challenge in Vietnam? And how do we convey that to whoever our particular partner is? That partner might be the UK government. It might be the Vietnamese government. So just the choosing and selecting what's the right forum for that and the right avenue for relaying the activity of our members.

Matt:

Talking a little bit now about present day Vietnam is an incredibly fast moving and dynamic country. how would you like to see Britcham evolve and develop so that we can best support our members and work as closely as possible with our other stakeholders?

Denzel:

So I think we have to remain engaged and aware of what is going on. and that's got to be premised on understanding what are the concerns and the business activity of our members. So I think our working groups are a great way. of doing that because they provide a sector focus, through which there's regular discussion, most commonly monthly on the particular issue. So listening to what's happening in those working groups and then, responding to that and taking it forward. So awareness, I think, is the key, aspect of that and just being on the pulse of what is, going on. but then I think the second part to that has to be thinking about where are the new opportunities for activity, the new opportunities for engagement. where is there an initiative that's really relevant that we weren't previously involved in, but we could be going forward. And that's just really thinking and being aware of, how, either, business activity or, opportunities are evolving over time. I think. That's partially going to come from our membership, it's going to come from the board, it's going to become more widely. So just thinking about what we can be doing, that we're not currently and not standing still.

So just final question. We've talked a lot about membership. we are here to support our members. In the time that you've been chair, have there been any, specifics with regards to what, what the member base are looking for or asking for?

Denzel:

I think the interest of members when it comes to chambers of commerce change over time, but there are some key areas which people are interested in. I think it's having events which are specific to their interests and their business activity. So where we can organize networking, but if it's associated with speaker on a particular issue, or if we can ensure that people interested in a particular sector are aware of events relevant to them, where we can be specific to a particular sector and an interest area, that's one thing that's been relayed to me as being key. So don't be generic, be specific. I think the other area is, being open to and receptive to feedback. we have a board. Anyone should feel completely able to email directly a board member with an idea or a suggestion. but equally yourself and the executive team to be able to, our members should feel that, we're here to, serve their interests and to respond to, Specific issues or areas of interest. So I think members feeling that there is an open channel of communication. Hopefully every member feels that they have at least one of those be that with you or board member or now through our working group so that We're responsive, we're dynamic, but we're also really relevant to what's going on within our membership. and, and that's the way that our members will feel engaged and we can grow as well. So I think if any members, you have any ideas and we're very open to hearing those and working with them.

Matt:

Yeah, there's certainly a lot going on. It's already been a very busy year. I think you've been now in the chair's post for three or four months. time is disappearing. thank you very much. Denzel field time. it's been a great place to talk to you greatly appreciate it. if you want more information on brickham, please visit brickham vn.com and please go to your normal platform for listening to podcasts, search brickham, vn and download. Thank you and see you again