Trần Thanh Phương (Alex) - CEO & Founder of ExtendMax

Tran Thanh Phuong (Alex Phuong Tran) is a Vietnamese businessman, founder and CEO of ExtendMax Vietnam Co., Ltd. Phuong has more than 20 years of experience in the field of executive management . Phuong is also known as a leading reputable legal expert in Vietnam in the field of certification of conformity, import and export procedures for information technology equipment with more than 10 years experience. Under his leadership, ExtendMax has developed into a professional company in market access services of international stature, becoming a supplier of the world's leading technology corporations such as Amazon, Microsoft, Lenovo, Dell, ASUS, Oppo...

Biography summary

Born:	1980
Home town:	Hai Phong, Vietnam
Residence:	Hanoi, Vietnam
Nationality:	Vietnam
Education:	Engineer degree
Occupations:	Entrepreneur, founder, manager, investor, jurist
Organization:	ExtendMax Vietnam Company Limited
Career:	ExtendMax - CEO, Founder
	VNCA laboratory - Co-founder
	AZ Global Technology JSC - Co-founder
	Cleverlearn Trung Hoa - Co-founder
	Heineken, Diageo, Carlsberg, Coca-Cola, PTSC
Social:	LinkedIn | Facebook
Awards:	Business Icon of the year in Vietnam 2024
	World Visionary Leaders Making a Footprint
	Infulential Business Leader of the Year
	Innovators of the Year 2024
	10 Prominent Male CEOs in 2024
	SME100, GBM, WBO, IBMA, GI, BRM, GBFM
Archievement:	Judge for IBA Stevie Awards

 

Childhood

Tran Thanh Phuong was born in 1980 in Hai Phong in an ordinary family. Since childhood, Phuong has shown a passion for reading and business. Phuong had the first "start up" with a sidewalk stall that rented out books at the age of 12 with capital  of hundreds of books he collected over the years.

At the same time, Phuong also worked hard at the local market and had many different part-time jobs such as selling vegetables, making bricks, fishing, salesperson at a clothing shop, and tutoring. Rich business experiences during her youth awakened and nurtured Phuong's desire to become a businessman.

 

Youth

After graduating from university, Phuong started his first career as an employee of the Commercial Department of Petrolium Technical Services Company (Mechanical & Construction) - PTSC M&C (under Petro Vietnam Group) in 2002. This position helped him gain experience in international trade, how to implement large projects and coordinate work between different departments.

During the period from 2006 ~ 2014, Phuong moved to the field of sales management and held sales manager and sales manager positions at multinational corporations in the beverage and alcohol sector including Coca-Cola, Carlsberg, Diageo, Heineken. This is the stage that helps Phuong accumulate valuable experience and skills in the fields of business management, sales and marketing.

With the experiences he has gathered, Phuong also has other successful personal business projects during this period such as a cafe and founding a Cleverlearn franchise foreign language center.

 

ExtendMax foundation

Phuong's chance with ExtendMax began in 2014. He realized there was a great need for consulting on regulations on quality certification and procedures for import and export of information technology products in Vietnam, but there was a lack of information, professional and reputable agency to meet. He decided to seize this opportunity and founded ExtendMax in 2015 with the mission of being a bridge between the world's leading manufacturers and the Vietnamese market.

Under the leadership of CEO Tran Thanh Phuong, ExtendMax has achieved many significant achievements such as participating in the Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien MRT project, being a consulting service provider on equipment import and export procedures for LEGO factory project that worth approximately 1 billion USD in Binh Duong, becoming the official supplier of giant technology corporations such as Amazon, Dell, Lenovo, Palo Alto, Arista, LEGO. Mr. Tran Thanh Phuong and ExtendMax have also won many prestigious international awards also.​

His start-up process with ExtendMax was not easy. For the world's leading manufacturers, any mistake in complying with the host country's regulations can lead to major impacts on stock prices and can cause huge financial losses. As a young business, ExtendMax has had to make a lot of efforts to achieve the standards of becoming a direct supplier and win the trust of the world's leading manufacturers right from the first days of its establishment.

With a broad vision and sustainable development strategy, Mr. Tran Thanh Phuong has brought ExtendMax to an international level in the field of import-export consulting and regulation certification. He is also always interested in building a professional, dynamic and friendly corporate culture, creating conditions for employees to develop themselves and improve their capabilities.

Archivements and Awards

The success of Tran Thanh Phuong and ExtendMax has been recognized by international organizations with top prestigious international awards and honorary positions such as speaker in the Lithium Battery forum in Shenzhen, jury member of the world's top prestigious Stevie Awards.

Business Icon of the Year in Vietnam

The Global Business Review Magazine Awards is one of the most prestigious and highly regarded awards, recognizing entrepreneurs and companies with outstanding achievements in global business. This award focuses on evaluating innovation, financial performance, strategic vision, and contributions of entrepreneurs to economic development both regionally and globally. In Vietnam, leading companies in Vietnam such as CMC Telecom, VNG, CIMB Vietnam, Shinhan Bank, Sacombank-SBR, and others have proudly received this prestigious award from Global Business Review Magazine (headquartered in Dubai, UAE).

For entrepreneurs, those awarded are not only leaders in their field but also visionary managers capable of making positive changes. The Global Business Review Magazine assesses entrepreneurs based on criteria such as sustainable business management, excellent leadership, innovative business strategies, and their impact on society and the economy. In 2024, CEO Tran Thanh Phuong was honored with the "Business Icon of the Year in Vietnam 2024" award by Global Business Review Magazine (GRBIZM).

>>> Read more: Global Business Review Award Winners 2024

Judge of the Stevie Awards 2024

The Stevie Awards are the world's most prestigious business awards, established in 2002. When launched, the Stevie Awards were considered "The most prestigious award globally for the business community" and were once voted The New York Post praised it as "The Oscar Award for the business world". In Vietnam, this award has been awarded to outstanding businesses and entrepreneurs such as FPT, Viettel, VNPT, MobiFone, TH Group, Ms. Thai Huong - founder of TH Group...

The official website of the Stevie Awards talks about the judges as follows: