The recognition was presented at the Fortune Southeast Asia 500 Summit held in Ho Chi Minh City on November 3. It brought together business leaders, economic experts, and representatives of many leading corporations in the region to discuss shifts in the global economy, new growth drivers, and the future of Southeast Asian businesses.
At the event, Mai Kieu Lien received two honours from Fortune: her third consecutive inclusion in the Most Powerful Women Asia list and Vinamilk’s continued presence in the Fortune Southeast Asia 500 ranking of the region’s 500 largest companies.
The two recognitions in the year Vinamilk marks its 50th anniversary highlight the parallel achievements of its leader and the development capacity of a Vietnamese enterprise on the international stage.
The mark made by a Vietnamese female business leader in the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Asia
In the 2026 Most Powerful Women Asia ranking, Mai Kieu Lien placed 71st, up two places from 2025 and four places from 2024. This is the third consecutive year she has featured in Fortune’s annual list, alongside influential female leaders in finance, technology, manufacturing, retail, and consumer goods across Asia.
This year’s list features 100 female leaders from 14 markets in the region, including founders, CEOs, and senior executives whose influence extends beyond national borders and industry sectors. Fortune assesses candidates based on criteria such as business scale and performance, innovation capacity, influence, career development, and contributions to society.
In its profile of Mai Kieu Lien, Fortune highlighted her nearly half-century-long journey with Vinamilk, from joining the dairy industry as an engineer in 1976 to becoming General Director in 1992. She is one of Viet Nam’s longest-serving CEOs, having led Vinamilk through major periods of transformation, from equitisation and stock market listing to the expansion of its international business operations.
Her achievements lie not only in her long tenure as a leader but also in her ability to maintain competitiveness and drive innovation at a company that has gone through many development cycles. From its first dairy factories established after national reunification, Vinamilk has gradually built a modern production system, developed raw material areas, mastered technologies, and brought Vietnamese products to international markets.
Throughout this journey, Mai Kieu Lien has consistently maintained that quality is the foundation of the food and nutrition industry. A consumer-centred approach, long-term investment in technology, and human resource development have become important factors shaping Vinamilk’s corporate culture and development strategy.
At the 50-year mark, Vinamilk continues to transform itself through a brand repositioning strategy, product portfolio innovation, stronger application of technology, and sustainable development. This also demonstrates the consistent leadership philosophy of Mai Kieu Lien.
In addition to the recognition ceremony, Mai Kieu Lien attended discussion sessions at the Fortune Southeast Asia 500 Summit, which brought together leading business executives from across the region to exchange views on trends shaping the future of the Asian economy.
The sessions focused on challenges and opportunities amid geopolitical and economic fluctuations, rapid technological development, and shifts in global centres of economic influence. In particular, the programme provided a platform for the Fortune Most Powerful Women Asia community to share perspectives on the role of female leaders in building partnerships, expanding influence, and steering businesses through a new phase of growth.
Mai Kieu Lien’s presence at the forum further demonstrated the standing of Vietnamese businesswomen in the regional leadership community, where management experience, adaptability, and long-term vision are playing an increasingly important role.
Vinamilk ranks among Southeast Asia’s 500 largest companies for the third consecutive year
Alongside the recognition of its leader, Vinamilk was once again included in Fortune’s 2026 list of Southeast Asia’s 500 largest companies, ranking 164th.
This is the third consecutive year Vinamilk has featured in the Fortune Southeast Asia 500, and it remains the only representative of Viet Nam’s dairy industry to have maintained its presence on the list since Fortune first introduced a separate ranking for the region in 2024.
The Fortune Southeast Asia 500 ranks companies based on revenue, reflecting the scale of operations and standing of major businesses in the regional economy. In 2026, the minimum revenue threshold for inclusion in the list rose by 26%, indicating increasingly intense competition.
Against a backdrop of prominent energy, finance, and industrial conglomerates in the ranking, the continued inclusion of a food and nutrition manufacturer such as Vinamilk is a notable recognition of its scale and operational capacity.
After 50 years of development, Vinamilk now operates a system of 16 factories and 15 farms at home and abroad, with its products available in 67 countries and territories. The company ranks 36th globally in dairy industry revenue and has also been recognised by Brand Finance as the world’s most promising dairy brand. Vinamilk continues to demonstrate the dynamism of a long-established company that never stops innovating. From repositioning its brand and developing nutritional products in line with emerging trends to modernising production and expanding into international markets, the company is creating additional growth drivers and pursuing sustainable development in the next phase.
The two Fortune honours in the same year carry special significance as Vinamilk reaches its half-century milestone. While the Most Powerful Women Asia ranking recognises the capabilities and influence of its leader, the Fortune Southeast Asia 500 reflects the scale and standing of a company built over generations.
Behind these achievements is the enduring journey of a Vietnamese brand, driven by the ambition to master the nutrition industry, continuously innovate, and enhance its competitiveness. Building on the foundation established over the past 50 years, Vinamilk continues to pursue new development goals, taking Vietnamese products and brands further onto the international stage.
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