Mai Ky Duyen

Scholar background

Based in Ho Chi Minh City, Duyen is the Global Trade and Customs Advisory Manager for Deloitte, one of the global Big Four accounting firms. She leads a team that primarily advises and supports clients regarding customs advisory and compliance services to help them optimize operations and make them more cost-effective.

Prior to that, she was a Global Trade Specialist at Intel Products Vietnam, where her responsibilities included conducting self-audits, establishing cross-department KPIs and building a framework to ensure the firm’s compliance with Vietnam Customs Department regulations. Duyen earned a bachelor’s degree in International Business Management at Vietnam Foreign Trade University in 2015 and a Master of Global Trade at RMIT University through the Hinrich Global Trade Leader Scholarship Program in 2023.

Personal statement

When I was a child, despite many life challenges, my mother tried her best to create the most favourable conditions for my study. She helped me to believe in the power of education and that it could be the best method to change a person’s life. After graduation, I spent seven years as a Global Trade specialist at one of the world-leading companies in the high-tech sector, which made me very proud of making positive changes for the Vietnam Customs policy environment. I decided to step out of that comfort zone and started a new career as a professional consultant at Deloitte to experience more with other trade practices and diversified business scenarios.

My determination of contributing to the transformation of the trade and customs policy system in Vietnam has never changed. I believe by leveraging continuous technological development we can create sustainable global trade networks and value chains, which can accelerate trade facilitation and foster the international economy.

Fundamentally, a concrete and adaptable legal framework is the ultimate baseline to implement feasible solutions for global trade development. Hinrich Foundation and the comprehensive Master of Global Trade program provide me essential and valuable knowledge, soft skills, leadership and network to foster my career and personal development. I do expect and believe that with Hinrich Foundation’s mission and vision of creating long-term value and well-designed curriculum can develop me into a global trade expert and a change-maker.

I highly appreciate the pay-it-forward spirit of the program that has brought development opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds. Specificially, the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the whole world and how we have been living, working and interacting with each other. Nevertheless, with the effort to challenge the status quo and look for new initiatives, the MGT program will bring a valuable experience to the students.