by Editor BGF | Jan 6, 2026 | Executive Board
The Boston Global Forum’s Technical Manager
Hoang Trong Ton serves as Chief Technology Officer (CTO), spearheading AI, cloud computing, automation, blockchain, and digital transformation initiatives within Vietnam’s dynamic tech ecosystem. His deep expertise in software development and enterprise solutions positions him as a leader at the nexus of technology and business innovation.
Professional Leadership
As Co-founder and CTO of Vnnplus JSC since 2006, Hoang drives cutting-edge digital solutions, including value-added services (VAS), for clients throughout Vietnam. He also leads the AI & Automation team at SV Technologies JSC, delivering consulting and implementation for major automation projects serving large banks, telecoms, and enterprises. Hoang holds numerous certifications from leading tech firms such as IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle.
Key Ventures and Impact
Hoang co-founded Vnnplus, Vietnam’s premier CP ecosystem for VAS solutions, blending over two decades of technical mastery with strategic management to cultivate thriving company cultures, robust policies, and scalable growth. As head of AI and automation efforts, he pioneers digital transformation through training, consulting, and tailored platforms for financial and telecom sectors.
Broader Contributions
Hoang’s visionary leadership places him at the vanguard of Vietnam’s blockchain revolution, championing leapfrog innovations like AI-powered efficiencies. He provides expert guidance on talent development and cross-border operations, advancing the nation’s tech landscape.
by Editor BGF | Apr 4, 2022 | AIWS City and Rebuilding Ukraine
Boston Global Forum Plans To Host April 29 Conference
Chris Lisinski 4/4/22 9:30 AM, State House News Service
APRIL 4, 2022… Former Gov. Michael Dukakis and his leadership institute have already honored heads of state and international figures such as former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and former United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon.
And when it came time to select the latest dignitary to receive the “World Leader for Peace and Security” award, Dukakis felt there was no debate. All he had to do, after all, was turn on the news.
The Boston Global Forum and the Michael Dukakis Institute this month plan to present Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with the annual award, honoring him for poise in the face of a Russian invasion that the former Massachusetts governor condemned as “madness.”
With the award, Dukakis said, the constellation of Boston-based experts in the institute hope to recognize “not only bravery, but the kind of leadership we need in this world of ours.”
“To introduce this (war) at this time, in a completely unprovoked way, is completely unacceptable,” Dukakis told the News Service in a phone interview. “The sheer bravery of this guy in doing what he’s been doing, not only risking his own life but the lives of others and mobilizing that community in the face of just brutal offensive attacks — it’s completely extraordinary.”
Zelenskyy, a former actor and comedian who handily won election as president of Ukraine in 2019, soared to new prominence on the global stage when Russia’s military invaded his country in late February.
His interviews have been broadcast worldwide, and Zelenskyy’s videotaped messages — sometimes filmed himself, usually depicting him remaining on the ground alongside his fellow Ukrainians — have been seen by millions.
“We’re appalled at what has happened,” Dukakis said. “We’re enormously impressed by the bravery of the Ukrainian people and not only the president, but thousands of them which seem to have stopped the Russians in their tracks.”
On Wednesday, Dukakis called on “students, scholars, and all alumni and alumnus of all universities throughout the world to support the students in Ukraine.” The Boston Global Forum launched a website to connect Ukrainian students with professors who could help advise and educate them.
Zelenskyy’s award will feature at an April 29 conference BGF and the Latvian Transatlantic Organization plan to host, titled “Laurel for Peace and Security in Ukraine,” to convene political leaders and academic experts from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The former governor said he believes Massachusetts has demonstrated a “very broad base of support for Ukraine and its president and its people.” One of his own friends and neighbors, Dukakis said, is an immigrant from Ukraine who has proudly flown his home nation’s flag at his house.
Altogether, Dukakis said he hopes the visible and vocal backing for Zelenskyy and his nation will ramp up the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt the war.
“Let’s hope that that’s getting through to Putin and company to end this madness,” Dukakis said.
A Brookline native who was Democratic Party’s nominee for president in 1988, Dukakis praised President Joe Biden’s response to the war, saying Biden has “exercised real leadership” and “pulled the world community together” in support of Ukraine.
Asked if he agreed with Biden’s argument that Putin “cannot remain in power,” Dukakis said he does but that “how it’s implemented is an interesting question.”
“Needless to say, at this point, what we ought to be doing is just try to rise together, get him and whoever it is who’s advising him to end this madness and to come up with a solution, which Ukraine has already laid out,” Dukakis said. “If Putin is serious about this whole thing, he should get deeply and actively involved in settling it in a way that makes sense but preserves Ukraine’s independence and its ability to chart its future.”
Dukakis said the Boston Global Forum would try to have Zelenskyy appear remotely at the group’s event to receive the award. At a minimum, Dukakis said, he hopes to welcome Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova in person.
“We sincerely thank the BGF Board for honoring President Zelensky and all Ukrainian people the 2022 World Leaders for Peace and Security Award,” Markarova said in a statement provided by the Boston Global Forum. “We take it as acknowledgement of outstanding bravery and exemplary leadership, demonstrated by our Head of State, his government and military personnel under the challenging and daring times of Russia’s unprovoked attack on our sovereign nation.”
by Editor BGF | Mar 30, 2022 | AIWS City and Rebuilding Ukraine
Boston, March 30, 2022
Today, Boston Global Forum and Michael Dukakis Institute honor President Zelensky and all Ukrainian people as the recipients of the World Leader for Peace and Security Award for 2022 for their courage and sacrifice for freedom and independence.
We are calling upon students, scholars, and all alumni and alumnus of all universities throughout the world to support the students in Ukraine. Like all Ukrainian citizens, students continue to be under attack from the Russian military. They need our concrete support to continue their education and live their lives in this new brutal reality. The Boston Global Forum (BGF) calls upon students across the world to connect with and help Ukrainian students. We call on scholars and professors of universities to advise and educate Ukrainian students in their efforts to rebuild Ukraine. The Boston Global Forum is creating a website to organize these connections: Ukraine.AIWS.city
The BGF is working with the Ukrainian Government, and organizations on the ground in Ukraine, to connect their students to this website. We invite students from all over to become friends of Ukraine, and to help them through our online resources. Students who contribute to these meaningful efforts will be recognized for their support.
Governor Michael Dukakis
Co-Founder and Chair
Boston Global Forum
Nguyen Anh Tuan
Co-founder and CEO
Boston Global Forum
by Editor BGF | Mar 10, 2022 | Papers & Reports, Publications
The Russian invasion of Ukraine throws into sharp focus many urgent global problems that have been neglected for decades, including cybersecurity, disinformation, trade disparities, and dependence on unreliable and environmentally damaging fossil fuels (“Hey Congress, blue and yellow ribbons won’t save Ukrainian lives,” Editorial, March 4). They are all related and all need immediate attention.
An overarching concern that touches on all of these challenges: artificial intelligence technology. This technology can make positive contributions to health care, commerce, and communications. However, in the wrong hands, AI can be used to distort reality, invade individuals’ personal space, and undermine democracy.
Through the Boston Global Forum and the Dukakis Institute, a global effort is underway to create an international accord on AI and digital rights. This accord would establish guardrails for the use and abuse of personal information to drive policy decisions that generate positive pressure and counteract efforts by malignant governments and private entities.
Dozens of heads of state and other world leaders are sharing ideas and recommending solutions to address growing concerns about AI. Without such protections, we are at the mercy of technologically savvy actors who can cause significant damage to our world.
Michael S. Dukakis
Cofounder and chairman
Nguyen Anh Tuan
Cofounder and CEO
Boston Global Forum
Boston
Dukakis is the former governor of Massachusetts. Tuan is director of the Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/03/10/opinion/ai-means-progress-can-do-harm-if-wrong-hands/
by Editor BGF | Feb 21, 2022 | AIWS City and Rebuilding Ukraine, Statements
Boston, 02/20/2022
We, the Boston Global Forum (BGF), an organization dedicated to promoting a more peaceful world through its World Leader for Peace and Security Award (its recipients have been Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chancellor Angela Merkel, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President Sauli Niinisto, President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, President Ursula von der Leyen, Riksdag Speaker Andreas Norlen), urgently call upon concerned parties to peacefully resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in a way that upholds the rule of law and the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and legitimate security interests of both nations.
We urge Ukraine to pledge not to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and not accept offensive military weapons on its soil. We urge Russia to pledge respect for the independence of Ukraine on land, air, sea, and cyberspace and to refrain from acts that threaten the territorial integrity of Ukraine and its people’s right to self-determination. We urge other nations to respect these commitments and refrain from acts disruptive thereof.
We urge the world community to respond to the current crisis by developing binding new international rules and instruments to safeguard the rights, interests, and integrity of countries that are too weak on their own to withstand aggressive hostile actions by more powerful countries. We, the Boston Global Forum, commit to assisting in the development of the new international rules and instruments and to advocating for their adoption.
Michael Dukakis, Co-founder and Chair, Boston Global Forum
Tuan Anh Nguyen, Co-founder and CEO, Boston Global Forum
Thomas Patterson, Co-founder, Boston Global Forum
