A Brief History of CanCham

The origin of CanCham dates back to 1994, when Mr. Rob McDowell, the Canadian Government’s first Trade Representative in HCMC, drafted the first bylaws for what he hoped would become the Canada Vietnam Business Association (CVBA). 

The next year, the first Canadian Consul and Trade Commissioner in HCMC, Mr. Ian Burney, called together a founding group of Canadians to start a formal discussion about the creation of the Association. This included Don Lam, Lorraine Chan, Susan Hutton, Phil Turner, Jacques Gaboury, Terry Prechel, and others.

CVBA was formalized in March 1997, under Acting President Terry Prechel. Meetings were often held in coffee shops until an informal meeting was held in Terry’s office at 103 Pasteur Street, which led to the first iconic Pancake ‘n’ Maple Syrup Breakfast event, which then led to luncheons with guest speakers.

On December 22, 1999, a constitution was signed by eight committee members: Bonny Berger, Timothy Dang, Jacques Gaboury, Eric Laferriere, Andy Marshall, Lucia Pham, Graham Potter, and Diego Tsang. 

Thirty Canadians, the legal minimum number for a foreign business association in Vietnam, were rounded up as the first members and an application was filed for a license with the People’s Committee of HCMC, with the support of the Consul General of Canada to Vietnam, Judy St. George.

On March 2, 2000, CBVA became a legal business association and Graham Potter was elected President at the first Annual General Meeting (AGM). In March 2001, Tim Dang was elected President of the Hanoi Chapter. CVBA hired its first part-time Office Manager in early 2001. The first full-time Office Manager was appointed at the end of the year – and we’ve never looked back since!

2003 saw changes with Michael Howard as President. Michael introduced the new logo and changed our name to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce Vietnam (CanCham). Successive Presidents include Ms. Martha Maier (2004), Mr. Gary Dawson (2005 to 2007), Sam Wazir (until May 2008), followed by Sami Kteily, Winnie Lam, and Bao Nguyen.

Following the 2014 AGM, Mr. Antony Nezic was elected President. In 2013-2014, financial systems and the formalization of Chapter establishment within the Constitution were completed. 

CanCham activated its role within the Vietnam Business Forum (VBF). In the following years, CanCham continued to evolve, developing a strong sponsorship base and concepts for business services packages under the leadership of Presidents Kelly Wong and Ralf Matthaes. 

From 2020 – 2022, President Winnie Lam helped the Chamber navigate through the impact and challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, including temporarily reducing operational costs and pivoting from regular events to raise tens of thousands of dollars for “Rice for Life” – a CSR campaign to deliver food to the hungry during the pandemic.

Mike Hebert served as President for three years in 2022, 2023, and 2024; a time of rebuilding the Chamber following the end of COVID-19. This period saw CanCham’s membership grow rapidly. Meanwhile, business services – including support for dozens of Canadian delegations and trade missions (most notably, 2024’s “Team Canada Trade Mission to Vietnam”, which brough over 300 Canadian companies to HCMC) – became a fundamental revenue driver and part of the Chamber’s identity. This period also saw the launch of the Children’s Cancer Run as the Chamber’s predominant CSR activity.

CanCham continues to adapt and evolve in the changing business climate. We look forward to offering more services, introducing new social and business opportunities for members, and to upholding our reputation as one of Vietnam’s most active business groups with a dedicated CSR program.