Do Minh Khoa
Deputy General Manager · Maison Marou
Panel: Minh (Managing Director) + Chi (Head of People)
· In-person, VN/EN, ~45 min (date not stated)
Overall weighting: Culture 50% / Competency 30% / Future-fit 20%. It informs; the panel decides.
Exceptional multi-unit systems operator with rare integrity and self-awareness; de-risk the absent premium and international experience, unproven full P&L ownership, and product passion before betting the DGM seat on him.
Khoa is a nine-year, discipline-chain operations specialist whose systems, measurement, and succession rigor are exactly the backbone a twenty-to-sixty-store scale-up needs, and whose integrity and honesty under probing were the standout of the conversation. His development edges are real and self-named: no premium or experience-led format, no international opening, only co-ownership of P&L, and a passion aimed at the operating machine rather than the chocolate. The one structural watch is level fit: this is a premium, global, brand-instinct role, and Khoa is candid that he brings the operations half and would learn the brand half from the founders in year one.
One objective scorecard column beside the human panel. It scores and flags; the panel decides.
Top strengths
- Authenticity Culture Fit - Marou values
- Integrity Culture Fit - Marou values
- Detail-oriented and analytical Attitude
Verify next
- No premium and no international experience for a premium global DGM Integrity check
- International market entry (Bangkok July, then HK, Japan, US, France) Future-fit
- Passion for artisanal bean-to-bar product Future-fit
Probation plan
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Day 14
Brand and product immersion; test whether the passion growsFarm/sourcing field trip, a customer masterclass, and shadow shifts in the two strongest stores. Deliverable: his written read on what creates the premium guest feeling and where operations either protects or erodes it. Targets the Passion and premium-CX gaps he named; early signal on whether product love is starting, per his coffee precedent.
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Day 30
Premium CX diagnostic beyond the dashboard, plus P&L model co-ownership kickoffStore walks producing a 'why does a green store still feel flat' improvement plan that goes past KPI compliance, co-authored with a strong store manager and the brand team. In parallel, begin co-owning the store P&L allocation methodology with the finance director. Targets the 'systems for behavior, not inspiration' gap and the full-P&L growth edge.
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Day 45
Bangkok readiness stress testWith the expansion team, produce the international-opening QA loop (who checks, how often, against what standard) and the second-and-third-leader bench plan for the first overseas opening, plus a scored feasibility framework for one comparison market. Tests the international market-entry gap directly and how fast he absorbs the layer he has never touched.
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Day 59
Fit and level decisionEvaluate against all four probation deliverables plus a live, unscripted cross-functional review conducted in English to gauge board-readiness and pressure sharpness. Decide: confirm as DGM, confirm with a defined brand/international mentor and staged scope, or pass on level fit. VN law caps probation at two months with no extension, so this is the final call.
One objective scorecard column beside the human panel. It scores and flags; the panel decides.