Trung Dung successfully escaped from Vietnam as part of the “boat-people” exodus in 1984, after three attempts, one of which landed him in a harsh communist prison. After staying one year at Galang island, an Indonesian refugee camp, Mr. Dung arrived in Boston in May, 1985. He was eighteen years old. By chance, his older sister landed on the same island after her escape three months later. With little English and not much else, Mr. Dung started his American dream by attending the University of Massachusetts in Boston while taking on various manual labor jobs such as janitorial work and dish-washing.

Mr. Dung is now a successful technology entrepreneur. He is currently the founder and chief executive officer of Fogbreak Software, a provider of enterprise compliance software for the manufacturing industry. Prior to Fogbreak, Mr. Dung was the founder and Chief Technology Officer of OnDisplay, a provider of business-to-business integration software. He grew OnDisplay from a product concept to an enterprise software company that was one of the ten most successful IPOs of 1999 and was ultimately acquired by Vignette Corporation in 2000. Prior to OnDisplay, Mr. Dung was a Senior Engineer at Open Market, the first developer of internet commerce software. He is also a founding investor and board member of DICentral, a provider of EDI & supply chain integration services for small and medium enterprises. In addition, he serves on the board for non-profit organizations such as the Viet Heritage Society, Interplast, and is an advisor to Vietnamese American Silicon Valley Networks.

Mr. Dung has completed postgraduate work in computer science at Boston University and holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computer science from the University of Massachusetts. His personal and professional story has been profiled in many leading publications including the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, and many others. His story has also been featured in books such as The American Dream by Dan Rather and The Incredible Payback: Innovative Sourcing Solutions That Deliver Extraordinary Results by Dave Nelson.

Additional Resources: More about Trung Dung View video of Mr. Dung accepting his award at the AILF Annual Benefit, on June 24, 2005.