Quang Pham, a Vietnamese American businessman, veteran, author, and community leader, is noted as the first Vietnamese American to earn

naval aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

's wings in the

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through comb ...

. His family were refugees of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, immigrating to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, where Pham served in the Marine Corps then went on to found multiple pharmaceutical companies.

Early life

Pham was born in 1964 in

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

, South Vietnam. During the invasion of South Vietnam by the Communist

North Vietnamese Army The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the armed win ...

, Quang, his three sisters, and his mother left their ancestral homeland, while the

Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; french: Armée de la république du Viêt Nam) composed the ground forces of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April ...

(ARVN) was defending their country and its capital city of

. His father, Hoa Van Pham, a member of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force, remained in South Vietnam and was captured by the

while he was supporting the Republic of Vietnam, resulting in his twelve years in re-education/prison camps.

Education

Pham graduated from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and he went on to complete Marine Corps Officer Candidate School in 1986.

Career

Pham is noted as the second Vietnamese American to complete the Marines Officer Candidate School program and the first Vietnamese American to earn

's wings in the Marine Corps. He served 7 years of active duty, including co-piloting CH-46 helicopter MedEVac missions in the Persian Gulf War, then spent 8 years in the Reserves. After the Marine Corps, Pham switched to the pharmaceutical industry. In 1999, Pham founded MyDrugRep.com, later renamed to LATHIAN Systems, and served as the chairman and CEO. LATHIAN Systems was the first to create a program to send physician response data to

customer relationship management Customer relationship management (CRM) is a process in which a business or other organization administers its interactions with customers, typically using data analysis to study large amounts of information. CRM systems compile data from a ra ...

systems. In 2012, D&R Communications acquired LATHIAN, leading to Pham becoming a co-partner of the new D+R LATHIAN. In 2010, Pham was a candidate for California's Republican nomination in the 47th Congressional District, but dropped his candidacy during the race. In 2015, Pham founded Espero Pharmaceuticals and Jacksonville Pharmaceuticals and is currently the Chairman and CEO. Espero was called the "fastest growing company" in Northeast Florida in 2017. Due to his efforts with Espero, Pham earned the Florida EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2017 and 2018. He has served on the boards of the Marines Memorial Association, Orange County Forum, and Chapman University Business School Board of Advisers.

Personal life

Pham and his family immigrated from Vietnam to the United States when Pham was 10 years old and lived in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Pham and his family moved to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida in 2011.

Quotes

*"Now talk of exiting the war in Iraq has increased. What will happen to the Iraqis who believed in us? Will we let them down too?"

Publications

Autobiography: * Select op-ed Pieces: * Pham, Quang X. (27 June 2005).
Duty and deceit
. ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

''. * Pham, Quang X. (December 30, 2006).
Ford's Finest Legacy
. ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''.

References

External links

*
From Vietnamese refugee to pilot: Memoir reflects on Nam, feelings on duty, family
*Espero BioPharma, a company founded in Jacksonville, looks to clinical trials to help introduce two new medication

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pham, Quang X. 1964 births Living people People from Ho Chi Minh City Vietnamese emigrants to the United States United States Marine Corps officers United States Naval Aviators University of California, Los Angeles alumni American aviators of Asian descent