Grab Vietnam country head to resign

Update (March 12, 7:45 p.m. SGT): This article was updated to include a statement from Grab. 

Grab Vietnam’s managing director, Nguyen Thai Hai Van, will resign from her post at the end of April. She delivered this news at a company townhall earlier today, Tech in Asia has learned.

For now, it’s unclear who will be her replacement.

Photo credit: Grab

A Grab spokesperson has confirmed that Nguyen “will be leaving Grab Vietnam to pursue a new career opportunity.”

“She led the Vietnamese team through an uncertain pandemic period, and guided the growth of the Vietnamese business, as well as created more positive impact to local communities under the Grab for Good programme,” the official statement reads.

Nguyen joined the super app in November 2019 after spending 17 years at Unilever Vietnam. Her appointment to lead Grab’s operations in the country was announced in January 2020.

She was tasked to lead Grab’s next growth phase in Vietnam after her predecessor Jerry Lim returned to Singapore for a regional role. Lim was credited with driving Grab’s expansion from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in 2014 to its current operational footprint that covers 43 localities in the country. He also oversaw GrabFood’s launch in Vietnam in 2018.

See also: Org Chart: The people driving Grab (updated)

However, Grab took a huge hit this year from the fourth wave of Covid-19 in Vietnam, with its revenue slipping by 9% in the third quarter of 2021. The company explained that the drop was due to pandemic-related lockdowns and severe restrictions.

For the fourth quarter of 2021, Grab also saw its revenue plunge by over 44% to US$122 million. The market also reacted negatively to its latest results after the company went public in the US in December 2021.

Grab and US-based Uber entered Vietnam in 2014, spearheading the first wave of ride-hailing apps in the country.

Initially, Grab faced a lot of opposition from local taxi providers, including a lengthy lawsuit with taxi firm Vinasun. In August 2019, Grab announced a US$500 million investment into Vietnam, considering the country its “next growth market.”

A 2020 report found that Grab had cornered 75% of Vietnam’s ride-hailing market, competing mostly with Indonesia-based super app Gojek and homegrown player Be.