Surprise at the largest Ford car distributor in Vietnam

Mr. Tran Ngoc Dan – Chairman of the Board of Directors of City Auto – Photo: CTF

Another story about a father who is the chairman and a son who is the CEO.

The personnel changes at the General Director position of City Atuo Joint Stock Company (CTF) occurred just days after TNG Investment and Trading Joint Stock Company was penalized for appointing a general director who had family ties to the Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Notably, City Auto was recently also a publicly traded company with a situation where "the father is the chairman, and the son is the CEO."

Specifically, in the personnel change notice sent to the Securities Commission on January 3rd, City Auto stated that the board of directors had approved the resignation of Mr. Tran Lam from the position of general director.

Mr. Lam is the son of Mr. Tran Ngoc Dan, who currently holds the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors and legal representative of City Auto. The Board of Directors of City Auto has assigned Mr. Dan to implement the relevant procedures in accordance with regulations.

Mr. Lam is responsible for handing over all work-related matters and relevant documents as assigned by the Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Mr. Tran Lam

Notably, Mr. Lam has only been in the "hot seat" as CEO for exactly one month – since December 3, 2024.

Mr. Lam's predecessor, Mr. Nguyen Dang Hoang, has submitted his resignation.

According to the corporate governance report for the first six months of this year, Mr. Tran Ngoc Dan holds 9.23% of City Auto's charter capital, while his son Tran Lam holds 8.4%.

Mr. Lam, born in 1983, was introduced as a graduate of Algonquin College (Canada).

The company's annual report states that Mr. Lam had prior leadership experience in several businesses before becoming the CEO of City Auto.

During the period from 2007 to 2010, he served as the director of Nissan Motor Corporation, then as the director of UK Motor Corporation from 2010 to 2013. From 2013 to 2018, Mr. Lam was the deputy general director of Tan Thanh Do Group Corporation, and from 2019 to the present, he has been the general director of this company.

In addition, from 2017 to the present, Mr. Lam has also been a member of the Board of Directors of City Auto.

Besides Mr. Lam, Mr. Dan also has another son named Tran Long who holds 8.01% of City Auto's capital.

According to its 2023 annual report, City Auto maintains its position as the leading distributor of two car brands in Vietnam: Ford and Hyundai.

City Auto achieved the highest sales nationwide with the Ford brand, and also led the Southern region with Hyundai vehicles. By the end of 2023, the company had 11 Ford showrooms and 6 Hyundai showrooms.

The 2023 financial report shows that despite the challenging automotive market, City Auto's revenue still reached VND 7,385 billion, a significant increase compared to the previous year.

Why are companies where the father is the chairman and the son is the CEO being penalized?

Recently, the Chief Inspector of the Department of Planning and Investment of Thai Nguyen province issued a decision to impose administrative penalties on TNG Investment and Trading Joint Stock Company (TNG). The decision clearly states that TNG Investment and Trading Joint Stock Company committed an administrative violation by appointing Mr. Nguyen Duc Manh as its general director, who is related (son) to the company's manager, Chairman of the Board of Directors Nguyen Van Thoi.

Inspectors from the Department of Planning and Investment of Thai Nguyen province confirmed that this appointment did not meet the conditions stipulated in point b, clause 5, article 162 of the Enterprise Law.

According to our research, point b, clause 5, Article 162 of the Enterprise Law stipulates: “For public companies, state-owned enterprises, and subsidiaries of state-owned enterprises, the director or general director must meet the following standards and conditions: They must not be related to the enterprise manager, the company's auditor, or the parent company; the representative of state capital, or the representative of the enterprise's capital in the company and the parent company.”

According to an expert, a publicly traded company is no longer a business owned by a single individual. Therefore, the law stipulates quite strict regulations regarding transparency, information disclosure, and operational methods, as well as the establishment of personnel mechanisms to ensure the public nature of the business.

The above regulations restrict and eliminate practices that demonstrate "nepotism," ensuring democracy and that the legitimate rights of the majority of shareholders are exercised in accordance with the law and charter of public joint-stock companies.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/bat-ngo-o-cong-ty-phan-phoi-xe-ford-lon-nhat-viet-nam-2025010413530178.htm