Tu Ngo

Tu Ngo is a passionate builder for positive impacts and unlocking human potential. As a member of the inaugural cohort of the Obama Foundation’s Leaders: Asia-Pacific Program, Tu is passionate about lessening the inequality gap through technology and values-based leadership transformation in the region. Tu believes everyone has an inner potential but opportunities are not equally distributed, hence as a serial founder, angel investor and community builder, she wants to bring scalable solutions to enable especially young people, entrepreneurs and women to grow their skillsets and lead their own lives.

In 2009, right after graduating from Stanford University with a B.A. in Public Policy, she came back to Vietnam to start YOLA, now a leading education company providing English and critical thinking skills training to 30,000+ K-12 students in Vietnam both online and offline and employing over 1,000 staff and collaborators. She’s now serving as YOLA’s Chairwoman leading the company’s strategic directions, investors relations and innovation. After finishing her MBA at INSEAD in 2014, on a quest to apply technology to education, she co-launched ELSA in 2015, an AI coach for English pronunciation with over 5 mil users. In 2020, ELSA was selected as Honoree of Fast Company’s World-Changing Ideas in the AI and Data category. She’s also currently investing as an angel investor in ASEAN startups, particularly in education and healthcare technology.

Tu is a well-known leader among Vietnamese youth. She co-founded VietAbroader in 2005, the first online community with 20,000+ members helping Vietnamese students gain information to apply for U.S. college scholarships and financial aid. She was also Co-President of Southeast Asian Leadership Network (SEALNet) in 2007 and 2008, a non-profit equipping young leaders in Southeast Asia with service leadership skills and mentorship to start their own community projects. In 2015, Forbes Vietnam selected Tu as one of the first Forbes 30 Under 30 of the country.

In 2020, Tu spearheaded Project Breath, providing ventilators and N95 masks to COVID hospitals in Vietnam, serving as an information bridge connecting government institutions, private donors, hospitals, volunteers and makers groups for collaboration.

In her free time, she enjoys playing with her young siblings, watering her plants, meditation and loves the ocean. One of her latest small joys is to cook and share food pictures with friends.