TEDxSaigon

Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check the event website for the latest lineup.

• Andy Ho

  Co-Founder & Business Director at RICE Content & Media | Executive Produce, Filmmaker & Storyteller Creator & Showrunner

  Andy Ho - filmmaker, storyteller, and content producer whose work explores how authentic stories can transform the way the world experiences Vietnam. As Founder & Executive Producer of RICE Content and Media, Vietnam's first filmmaker-founded content marketing agency, Andy Ho has collaborated with global networks including Discovery Channel Asia, National Geographic, VICE Media, and Channel News Asia before creating acclaimed projects such as Street Cooks (Đầu Bếp Đường Phố). His work demonstrates how visual storytelling can turn everyday Vietnamese culture into experiences that inspire travel and connect with audiences worldwide. His team has shone a light on so many Vietnamese street cuisines, bringing them back to life & along with the wisdom and life stories of these local vendors, most of whom are middle aged/ elder chefs. Through RICE & Partners' production, their local businesses have been empowered with millions of views and large support communities.

• Anh Hoang

  Global Partnerships for Vietnam Future | Founder of VIENTITY

  Vietnam is entering a new chapter with ambitious goals, from Net Zero and the green transition to smart cities, sustainable tourism, and cultural heritage preservation. But having a vision is only the beginning. What we need are bold Ideas and practical solutions to turn these ambitions into action. Inspired by TED’s mission of “Ideas change everything,” Vibrant Ho Chi Minh City carries a simple yet powerful message: Ideas change Vietnam. Ngoc Anh created a space of collaboration to bring together inspiring minds from Vietnam and around the world to share breakthrough ideas, challenge perspectives, and discover solutions that can shape the future of Vietnam. Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City- our vibrant city, where ideas meet people, conversations spark possibilities, and possibilities can become change.

• Hadi Ganjineh

  CEO of Orbitify | Vice Chair of the EuroCham Vietnam Digital Sector Committee

  Hadi is advancing the Twin Transition — the convergence of digital transformation and sustainability. His work in the field led to a simple yet powerful realization: "The greatest harm we cause is rarely deliberate. It is simply invisible. And what we choose to measure determines what we are able to change." As Founder & CEO of Orbitify, Hadi is building an AI-native operational layer for the multi-trillion-dollar energy transition & critical infrastructure sectors. Previously, he served as Vice President of IT & Innovation at Super Energy Corp, their renewable energy portfolio spanning Southeast Asia. He also serves as Vice Chair of the EuroCham Vietnam Digital Sector Committee and Startups Group Member Leader at the Forbes Technology Council. An international keynote speaker, Hadi has spoken at platforms such as Reuters Momentum AI, Reuters Energy Asia, GITEX, World Clean Energy, and the Green Economy Forum, exploring how Energy × AI is shaping the future of humanity and our planet.

• Honor Harger

  TED Speaker | A Curator of Possible Worlds | Director & Chief Curator of Futures Imagined

  What'll be possible when art, science, and futures thinking intersect? Ms. Honor Harger is a curator, cultural strategist, and institutional leader with more than two decades of experience directing organisations at the intersection of art, science, and emerging technology. Also, she is the Director & Chief Curator of Futures Imagined, a consultancy and studio working at the intersection of art, science, and futures thinking, helping organisations imagine and communicate new possibilities in response to technological, environmental, and societal change. From 2014 to 2026, Honor was the director of ArtScience Museum in Singapore, one of the world's foremost institutions at the meeting point of creativity and scientific enquiry, where she led its artistic vision, institutional strategy, and interdisciplinary programme. Across a 25-year international career, including senior roles at Tate Modern, transmediale, AV Festival, and Lighthouse, she has delivered over 80 major exhibitions.

• Hugh Choi

  Innovation Catalyst, Technology Strategist & Future Designer

  Hugh Choi is a visionary, technology strategist, innovation catalyst, and keynote speaker exploring how emerging technologies are reshaping business, society, and the future. He helps organizations anticipate disruption, rethink strategy, and translate technological change into meaningful innovation and social impact. His career spans USC/ISI, Samsung Electronics, Cypress, and MagicEco, where he built deep expertise across mobile, IoT, AI, hardware, and digital innovation. Currently, he is also the Co-founder and CEO at Fast Build, an AI hardware catalyst connecting innovators with Shenzhen’s world-class hardware ecosystem to rapidly prototype, validate, and scale breakthrough AI products. Beyond these roles, he has founded and led several tech companies and has 50+ domestic and international patents across various domains. He also co-founded Pan Asian Network, connecting hundreds of innovators, creative minds, and polymaths across Asia to foster collaboration and innovation.

• Peter Debrine

  Senior Project Officer for Sustainable Tourism at UNESCO

  Mr. DeBrine is currently a Senior Project Officer for sustainable tourism at UNESCO. From 2021 to 2023, he served as a destination advisor and sustainable tourism expert for UNESCO. Before this, he coordinated the UNESCO World Heritage & Sustainable Tourism Programme, establishing a global framework to create coordinated sustainable tourism solutions for heritage conservation and local community development. He has led the implementation of global tourism projects and fostered private sector partnerships for UNESCO. Previously, he was the Director of the World Heritage Alliance at the United Nations Foundation—a global community working together to preserve and protect World Heritage sites. With extensive experience in sustainable development & tourism, he was a Deputy Director of the International Tourism Partnership for the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum, where he worked with major hotel companies to create practical sustainability strategies & tools.

• Phuong Do Tran

  Deputy Head of the Faculty of Tourism, Hanoi University of Culture | Director of the Institute for Preservation and Development of Traditional Culture

  PhD. Do Tran Phuong is an educator, researcher, and tourism expert who has spent 2+ decades teaching and promoting the role of Vietnamese cultural heritage as a driving force for sustainable tourism and community development. As Deputy Head of the Faculty of Tourism at Hanoi University of Culture, Director of the Institute for Preservation and Development of Traditional Culture, and Strategic Advisor to Tam Chuc National Tourism Area, Dr. Phuong bridges academia with real-world practice. Additionally, He has recently embarked on a new role - Director of the Institute for Preservation and Development of Traditional Culture. He believes the future of tourism depends not only on destinations, but on the people we educate—and the partnerships we build to empower them.

• Tuan Anh Le Ngoc

  World-Class Circus Artist | Creative Mastermind Behind Vietnamese Bamboo Circus

  Mr. Tuan Le - world-class Circus Artist, choreographer, and show director whose work has redefined how Vietnamese culture is experienced on the global stage. As the Mastermind Pioneer & Show Director behind internationally acclaimed productions of Vietnamese Bamboo Circus Shows: À Ố, Làng Tôi (My Village), and Teh Dar, he transformed familiar elements of Vietnamese life into a universal language of storytelling. Tuan Le was the first Vietnamese artist to sign a long-term collaboration with Cirque du Soleil, and the first Asian recipient of the Excellence in Juggling Award from the International Jugglers' Association. Yet at the height of his global success, he made the remarkable decision to return to Vietnam. Together with Lune Production, he pioneered the concept of the Vietnamese Bamboo Circus - an unique theatrical language that blends bamboo, woven baskets, traditional live music, and contemporary circus into performances that resonate across cultures.