Board members

Chairman

Nick Holder

BBGV Responsibilities: Chair
Nick is currently Chief Financial Officer for Prudential Vietnam. Prudential Vietnam is the largest life insurance company operating in Vietnam and are part of Prudential Plc. He has worked in accounting, audit and financial services for nearly 20 years and has worked in the UK, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
He has been living and working in Vietnam since 2009. He is married to Stephanie and they have two daughters and one son.

Vice Chairman

David Priestley

David is Managing Director of Rolls-Royce International (Vietnam) Ltd based in Hanoi responsible for the company’s corporate representation in the region. In addition, David is also legal representative and Chairman of Rolls-Royce Vietnam Ltd in Vung Tau, a manufacturing facility which is part of Rolls-Royce’s global supply chain. David has extensive international experience through a series of increasingly senior roles in the Middle East leading to positions as Director of Service Strategy & Business Development M.E and Regional Director - Saudi Arabia. Married to Carmel with 2 sons in education in UK.

Martyn Davies

BBGV Responsibilities: Social sub-committee
Martyn is the Director General of Caravelle Hotel Owing Company. He has worked overseas for the past 30 years, managing hotel in locations such as Cyprus, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Cairo, Hong Kong, Saipan, Fiji, Canada and the USA. Martyn has been in HCMC for the past 10 years having been a BBGV member for the same period.  He was awarded the HCMC medal in 2010. He is married to Lynne with one grown up daughter living in the UK.

Ian Lydall

BBGV Responsibilities: Treasurer
Ian is the Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers Vietnam. Ian has been with PwC for 32 years and prior to moving to Vietnam in July 2001, he has worked in the UK, the Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of South Africa. In 2011, Ian was awarded the certificate of merit from the Prime Minister of Vietnam for contributions to the country's auditing sector. He has been a board member since arriving in the country and served as BBGV Chairman for 4 years stepping down December 2006, Ian will continue to act as treasurer. Ian is married to Jakki and they have 3 sons.

Milton Lawson

BBGV responsibilities: Lawyer
Milton has been resident in Vietnam for almost 20 years, having worked in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. He manages the Ho Chi Minh City office of the international law firm - Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP - one of the oldest, largest and best law firms. He is a long-term member of the BBGV, and has been a member of board since 2002.
He is married with two children.

Paul Cleves MBE

BBGV Responsibilities: Charity and Social sub-committee

Paul works for Foodlines, a seafood sourcing consultancy. In 1992 Paul founded the Saigon Children’s Charity which he continues to serve as a Trustee. In 2004 he was awarded the MBE.

Hugh Sykes, C.Eng., M.I.Mech.E.

BBGV Responsibilities: Business Events and Seminar sub-committee
Hugh holds the position of President and Country Manager for Mubadala Petroleum in Vietnam. He has 23 years of experience in international oil and gas across S.E.Asia, Abu Dhabi, Australasia and the UK North Sea. Hugh has lived and worked in S.E.Asia for 16 years.
Hugh's management experience spans commercial, business development and projects from gas, LNG, pipelines to power. From 2007 until 2012, Hugh was General Manager for Salamander Energy PLC in Vietnam; setting up the business, developing a team and executing exploration operations in the Mekong Delta and in the Gulf of Tonkin. Prior to this Hugh worked for BP for 17 years, including eight years in Vietnam.
Hugh's early career includes research for Rolls Royce Aero Engines and work in UK power generation. He holds Ph.D. and B.Eng. degrees, is a chartered engineer, a member of the IMechE and the AIPN. He sits on the Board of the British Business Group Vietnam and is Representative for the International Society of Petroleum Engineers in Vietnam.
Hugh has four children, is married to a Vietnamese national, has lived in Vietnam for 14 years and speaks Vietnamese.

Chris Jeffrey

BBGV responsibilities: UK Alumni, BBGV Representative on Vietnam Business Forum.

Chris is Dean of the British University Vietnam, based in Hanoi. Prior to taking up the role he was a senior teaching fellow at Cass Business School London where he taught for 15 years, specializing in Emerging Markets (Vietnam, Russia, Brazil, Argentina and China) as well as Customer Service and Satisfaction. He was also Director of the Executive MBA Programme which was taught in London, Dubai and China.

Peter Simson

BBGV Responsibilities: Social Sub-Committee

Peter is General Manager of Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel and has been working with Hilton Worldwide for 20 years in his 24 year international hotel management career across different countries in Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia, before moving to Vietnam in August 2010. Peter is married to Karinne and they have one daughter and one son.

Steve Banner

Steve is currently Executive Director, Techcombank, where he represents HSBC's 19.48% equity stake. Techcombank is one of the leading joint stock banks in Vietnam, and HSBC has held an equity stake in the company since 2005.
Before taking on this role in April 2011, Steve spent nearly three years as Executive Vice President in HSBC's US Consumer & Mortgage Lending business, where he was responsible for driving a number of transformation initiatives in the loss making business. Prior to that Steve held the position of CEO of HSBC Bangladesh, before which he was Regional Head of Strategy & Planning for HSBC's Middle East businesses. Steve joined HSBC in 1991 and has worked in a broad range of banking roles in 9 different countries. He is married to Tiffany and they have two children.

Fiona Nichols

Fiona is the Marketing and Public Relations Manager for the British International School, Ho Chi Minh City. BIS is a selective, independent, co-educational day school, providing a British style education to the international community. It is the largest international school in Vietnam and one of the leading international schools in South East Asia. Fiona has lived and worked overseas for the past 22 years, and has gained experience in the United States, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, China, Taiwan and Korea. She moved to Vietnam in 1996. She is married to Geoff and they have three daughters.

Rob Russell

Rob is currently General Director for Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) in Vietnam. JLT is a market leader in insurance & reinsurance broking, risk consultancy and employee benefits services. The JLT Group is the largest European-based broker quoted on the London Stock Exchange. The Group employs more than 7,000 people worldwide and provides services in more than 135 countries. JLT is also an associate company of Jardine Matheson which has various commercial interests in Vietnam.
Rob is an MBA graduate with 14 years’ experience in risk management and insurance in London, Singapore and Vietnam. He has been living and working in Vietnam for 8 years, both in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

Tom Nguyen

Tom is an English law solicitor heading the Legal & Compliance Team of Standard Chartered Bank’s wholesale and consumer banking business in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Tom joined the Bank in November 2009 having trained at Lovell White Durrant and spent much of his career working within the banking and corporate finance sectors. During his secondment with VTB Bank Europle plc (formerly Moscow Narodny Bank) in London and career with Clifford Chance (London and Moscow), he specialised in asset, commodity and project finance, acting both for borrowers and bank syndicates active in Central Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
Tom is also heavily involved in the areas of real estate finance and structured products and has acted for borrowers and lenders on a variety of cross-border secured and unsecured financing transactions. Originally from Nha Trang but spent much of his life in England, Tom was educated in Nottinghamshire and is fluent in English, French, Russian and Vietnamese. Tom is married to Jo and have two sons age 6 and 2. In his limited spare time, Tom plays tennis, squash, partakes in the occasional triathlon and rides his vintage Vespa.

Dao Nguyen

Dao is the managing partner of Allen & Overy Vietnam. Over the past 18 years, she has advised investors on all aspects of doing business in Vietnam since the country first opened its doors for foreign investment. She advises multinational and domestic clients on a wide range of matters including corporate and M&A, banking and finance, real estate, energy and infrastructure. She has acted for developers and the government of Vietnam on several landmark project finance transactions including the first licensed BOT project in Vietnam. Dao is fluent in English and Vietnamese.

The Asia Pacific Legal 500 2012 notes she is "head and shoulders above her peers in the market" and "demonstrates a detailed view of ongoing and likely future legal developments, a strong willingness to understand the client's needs, combined with a pragmatic approach". The Legal 500 adds she "may be the top lawyer in Vietnam for a complicated important energy project. The government agencies respect her experience and knowledge". Chambers Asia 2011 notes she is "highly regarded as the 'number-one real estate lawyer in Vietnam'". Dao is recognised as a leading lawyer by Chambers Asia in Corporate/M&A (2008-2012), Banking & Finance (2008-2012) and Projects & Energy (2010-2012). She was also named a Real Estate "Star Individual" by Chambers Asia (2008-2011).