STORYTELLERS
KHỔNG LOAN
Founder & Head Coach, Leadership Visibility Lab
Former Deputy Managing Editor of Forbes Vietnam
Khổng Loan
Senior Journalist
Advisor on Leadership Visibility
Founder & Head Coach, Leadership Visibility Lab
Senior journalist Khổng Loan is a strategic advisor and trainer specializing in leadership communication and visibility. Guided by Hannah Arendt’s insight that power exists only where it is visible, she helps leaders bridge authority and visibility without compromising substance — particularly in contexts involving executive presence, public trust, and high-stakes communication. Through advisory and training practice, she has consistently pursued a broader mission: contributing to Vietnam’s emergence as a nation of distinctive, confident, and trusted voices, led by professional and impactful leaders.
She is the Founder and Head Coach of Leadership Visibility Lab, which positions leadership visibility as a strategic asset. With more than 20 years of experience in media and communications in Vietnam, including her former role as Deputy Managing Editor of Forbes Vietnam, Khổng Loan brings deep editorial judgment and narrative intelligence to her work, having collaborated closely with business leaders, policymakers, and entrepreneurs.
She holds a Master’s degree in International Journalism from City University London (UK), and is an alumna of the Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law Program at Stanford University (USA).
DƯƠNG NGUYỄN
Managing Editor, ELLE Decoration Vietnam
Design Lecturer, University of Architecture of HCMC
Thuy-Duong Nguyen Phan
Managing Editor, ELLE Decoration Vietnam
Design Lecturer, University of Architecture of Ho Chi Minh City
Nguyễn Phan Thùy Dương is a Vietnamese design and editorial leader best known as the Managing Editor of ELLE Decoration Vietnam, a role she has held since 2017, where she drives the magazine’s editorial vision and promotes Vietnamese design and culture to a wider audience.
She holds master’s degrees in Visual Design from Scuola Politecnica di Design (Milan, Italy) and Design Managementfrom the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in the U.S.
Before leading ELLE Decoration, Thùy Dương served as Art Director for ELLE Vietnam. She is also active in education as a full-time lecturer in design at University of Architecture of Ho Chi Minh city and visiting/ associate lecturer at RMIT University Vietnam, Van Lang University, Hoa Sen University, Saigon Technology University.
Passionate about design, craftsmanship and cultural expression and cross-disciplinary creativity, she frequently engages in industry events, mentorship, and initiatives that support emerging Vietnamese designers and sustainable creative practices.
CURATOR
Irene Öhler - Founder of Lightpath Leadership, is passionate about leadership development and women's empowerment. Irene has more than 20 years of international experience in HR development, having worked with Fortune 500 corporates and governments in Europe, China, Brazil, New Zealand, and Vietnam as an executive coach and consultant, Her mission is to ignite leadership and support organizations to nurture talent, through executive coaching and delivery of programs designed especially for female executives.
Since her arrival in Vietnam in 2012, Irene has become a sought-after expert in Vietnam for her work to promote women's leadership. she is the co-author of a best-selling book on Vietnamese women leaders, Ba Trieu's 21st Century Daughters, Stories of Remarkable Vietnamese Women. She also curates the unique live event series, the Women's Storytelling Salon in Hanoi and HCMC.
Since 2014, Irene has organized 38 Women's Storytelling Salons in Hanoi, HCMC and Danang as well as tailored SALONS for Flinders University's Women's Leadership Development Programmes.
