Thao Nguyen, Chief Executive Officer:
Thao is passionate about pho and social enterprises that benefit
women in poor communities. Her love for pho began when she
was little, listening to her many aunties and uncles tell stories
about her grandfather's famous pho restaurant in Nam Dinh, the town
where pho first came. Star Anise Foods is where Thao gets to
fulfill her dreams of sharing beautiful Vietnamese food, building
an enterprise that leads the way in sustainable business practices
in Vietnam and creating opportunities for women and farming
communities.
She is also a Newton International Fellow currently working with
Professor Tim Unwin, UNESCO Chair for Information and Communication
Technology for Development, on the creation of a replicable,
sustainable ICT-enabled business model to serve women-run
micro-enterprises in poor communities, with special interest in
Vietnam. Thao has a Ph.D. in Information Systems from the
Centre for Extended Enterprise and Business Intelligence (C.E.B.I)
and a Master's degree in Electronic Commerce from Curtin Business
School, Curtin University of Technology, Australia.
Karen A. Cheng, Chief Operating Officer & Pho
Lover:
A collision of three elements - feeding her belly, her obsession
for noodles, and a determination to live a natural and organic
lifestyle -- sparked Karen's fire to create Star Anise Foods. After
working in Vietnam and tracking its development in recent years,
Karen believes Vietnam today is the place to realize her passion of
starting a company that embodies her beliefs: produce innovative
and healthy food products, support and develop organic farming,
empower women through grassroots development, and build
self-reliant communities.
For the past five years, Karen has been an independent
consultant retained by philanthropic foundations, non-governmental
organizations, humanitarian agencies and global banking
institutions to provide project management and strategic marketing
assistance. Karen has traveled extensively throughout Asia, Africa
and Latin America to document, report on and assist humanitarian
development projects. Prior to 2005, Karen headed a proprietary
preferred stock trading, syndicate and retail distribution desk for
Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco, California, United States. Karen
completed a Bachelors of Arts degree in International Relations
with a concentration in European Studies from Johns Hopkins
University in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The only
"constant" throughout these years…Pho.