Entrepreneur, venture builder and business transformation adviser
James Nguyen is an entrepreneur, venture builder, business transformation adviser, technology product developer and doctoral researcher with more than 22 years of experience across Vietnam, New Zealand and Australia.
Biography
He began his career in software engineering and founded E-Solution in Vietnam, building enterprise software and digital platforms for organisations in the Vietnamese market. His work later expanded into business transformation, where he advised and led companies through changes in sales, operations, distribution, financial systems, technology and management practices.
At VPIN, a Vietnam–Malaysia prepaid-card distribution venture, he helped redesign the company's cash collection, digital distribution, dealer financing and marketing model. Monthly revenue increased from approximately VND 15 billion to VND 80 billion within one year.
At Printing No. 7, a 35-year-old printing enterprise under the Saigon Culture Corporation, he led a programme involving sales restructuring, customer management, Balanced Scorecard and KPI implementation, and the development of a USD 2 million Japanese joint venture. Revenue increased from VND 67 billion to VND 115 billion over two years.
James subsequently founded Kiwi Online Solution in New Zealand and J&L International in Australia, extending his work into international SaaS development, startup technology, business advisory, investment and cross-border venture building. Under J&L International, he is also developing BridgeX Lab, an applied-innovation brand ecosystem connecting research, AI and technology development, implementation and venture building.
Alongside his commercial and research work, James serves as Co-President of the VASEA Victoria Chapter. His focus within the chapter is to connect industry and academia, create practical pathways for knowledge exchange, and strengthen professional, innovation and business links between Australia and Vietnam.
He is currently a DBA candidate at the University of Otago. His research examines trust, fairness, evaluation governance and information credibility in digital recruitment, with particular focus on the governance-oriented Verified Relational Endorsement Framework.
Across his commercial, research and writing work, James focuses on one underlying question: how can we design better systems so that organisations and people can make better decisions?
James has also founded, co-founded, invested in or participated in other businesses across Vietnam, New Zealand and Australia beyond the three principal entities described on the Companies page.
Technology is rarely the whole solution
Lasting transformation requires alignment between strategy, incentives, information, processes, people, capital and technology.
- 1. Understand the whole system and the relevant stakeholder perspectives.
- 2. Separate visible symptoms from structural causes.
- 3. Identify constraints in flows of information, money, work, incentives and authority.
- 4. Redesign relationships and operating mechanisms, not only individual tasks.
- 5. Translate strategy into processes, technology, ownership and measurable outcomes.
- 6. Build feedback loops that support learning and adaptation.
Academic foundation
Doctor of Business Administration Candidate
University of Otago, New Zealand
Research focus: trust, fairness, evaluation governance and information credibility in digital recruitment.
Master of Business Administration
Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management — Vietnam Campus
Bachelor of Software Engineering
Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), Vietnam
VASEA Victoria Chapter
Co-President — Industry–Academia and Australia–Vietnam Connection
VASEA — the Vietnam-Australia Scholars and Experts Association — is an Australian not-for-profit organisation and a forum for scholars and experts of Vietnamese heritage to exchange knowledge, expertise and experience. Its broader purpose is to support collaboration and cooperation between Australia and Vietnam for the benefit of both countries.
As Co-President of the Victoria Chapter, James focuses on building practical bridges between sectors and communities rather than treating academic, business and public-sector networks as separate domains.
This role is community and ecosystem leadership. It complements James's commercial profile by demonstrating his contribution to knowledge exchange, professional collaboration and Australia–Vietnam connection — it is not a commercial venture.
Visit VASEA →Areas of Responsibility
- —Connecting universities, researchers and experts with businesses and industry challenges.
- —Creating knowledge events, workshops and dialogues that translate expertise into practical value.
- —Supporting entrepreneurship, innovation, digital transformation and industry engagement within the Vietnamese-Australian community.
- —Strengthening relationships between Australian and Vietnamese organisations, professional networks and business communities.
- —Helping the Victoria Chapter build an active, relevant and sustainable member community.