VinaLand Limited announced that the board of directors has appointed Mr. Tran Trong Kien as a new independent non-executive director, with effect from 25 September 2015. Tran Trong Kien, aged 42, is a qualified Medical Doctor and began his business career running local tours to fund his medical studies in Hanoi. Leveraging that experience, he founded Buffalo Tours in 1994 and has subsequently grown it into the Thien Minh Group (TMG) with assets across three divisions, Travel, Hospitality and Online.

Mr. Tran currently serves as the Chairman of TMG and on various businesses within the group. He has also applied his entrepreneurial mind to financial services as an independent board member of the Asia Commercial Bank, and has been involved in charitable work with the Pearl S. Buck Foundation. Mr. Tran has replaced Mr. Daniel McDonald, who has resigned from the VNL Board in order to pursue new challenges.

Mr. McDonald was elected as a Non-executive Director in 2014 and was a member of VNL's Valuation Committee and its Divestment Committee.