As I sat across from Anthony Salzman, better known in the media as “The First American,” I couldn’t help but wonder what on earth could make such a charismatic, successful, and innovative man nervous. Well, let me tell you, not much…

Having lived and worked in Vietnam for over 18 years, this New York native is tough as nails. I mean, how else could he have survived and succeeded in a country under the US embargo, with a nonexistent banking system, no cars, and poor infrastructure?

When he searches for Salzman on the Internet, he discovers that he played a key role in normalizing the relationship between Vietnam and the US, as well as the signing of the Bilateral Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the US.

But, you also read that he was “first” in everything in Vietnam… Really? I ask you… first of all?

I argue that any powerful man has his detractors, and you are probably wondering if Salzman was the first to write a check… Wasn’t there a banking system in Vietnam before Salzman arrived in 1992? – Was Salzman really the first to own a car? Does it seem so unlikely that in the 1990s a country like Vietnam didn’t have cars? And then, most importantly, the Chicago Tribune claims that Salzman was “the first” American to do business in Vietnam. Let’s go! surely there were other Americans who flew to Vietnam with a dollar and a dream and somehow did business there in 1992, right?

Tony Salzman, aka “Tony the Tiger,” the president of V-TRAC Development Co. is a soft-spoken, charismatic (yes, I said that), almost humble… As he sits across from me while I play the devil’s advocate, laughs at my questions and smiles calmly… without getting upset he explains:

TS: “Banks. No, there were no foreign banks in this country when I arrived. It doesn’t mean zero. While I was here, sometime after I arrived, ANZ Australia bank was the first. Citibank was the second. The country manager from the australian bank was a wonderful guy named AM who i chose to hand over the caterpillar banking business to him.

I ran one of the most successful and innovative marketing programs of all time: it was a contest to find the oldest working piece of Caterpillar equipment in Vietnam. The reward was $1,000. At that time, the average monthly salary was $80. Submissions came from all over Vietnam. And I thought it was about time the first check was issued in Vietnam. After all, it was a 100% cash partnership. A virgin banking market. So, we found the oldest caterpillar in the country that was still in operation, a bulldozer built in 1937. The runner-up was 1939.

There should be some kind of stock photos of this somewhere. I will try to find them. When we announced the winner, it was a celebration attended by a lot of people, and the winner, who was an engineer who owned a tugboat. Sorry, the oldest engine was in the tug, the second in the bulldozer. In the tug it was used for propulsion. I remember seeing those huge checks as a kid on game shows. The ones the size of the bed. I decided that this was exactly what my company and the bank needed. A giant check with our two logos in the name of “carrier”. One of my staff members described the smile on the winners’ faces as Ivory from ear to ear! Well, the ivory disappeared when he saw this thing, the check, which I announced he had won. During the ceremony I proceeded to explain what a check is: a negotiable instrument. I told the audience that it’s about time Vietnam started using negotiable instruments, and here’s the first one! I invited the very puzzled men onstage and then gave him a cheap plastic pen. He seemed even more confused. The huge check was in the hands of two bankers as a backdrop for me and the very puzzled winner.

At that point I asked the bankers to turn the check over to show the blank side to the audience. They did this, and then I asked the winner to sign his name to endorse it. You can imagine, he looked even more puzzled than puzzled than puzzled! He did not want to sign. I then directed his attention to another bank representative who was holding two plastic bags with the bank’s logo on them. Shopping bags were overflowing with cash. The ivory smile returned. He started toward the bankers. I said no, you have to sign your name on the back of the check. He didn’t really know what he was talking about, but realized that he wasn’t going to go near those bags of cash unless he signed his name.

So, he signed his name. Then he went to the bags of cash and once again I told him no, the other two bankers holding the giant check gave it to him to take to the guy holding the two bags of cash, he took the big check to the other partner, then an assistant took it from him, and the bags of cash were delivered into his hands. At the time, probably only me, my wife, and the bankers understood what the hell was going on. Certainly no one else did! Anyway, that was the first check negotiated in the history of Vietnam, no matter what government regime it is.

Now, you have become the fifth or sixth person in the world to understand the nature of that ceremony and transaction. Unfortunately, I have never written any of this anywhere, nor have I told any reporters about it. I’ll eventually find the verification image, I hope, in any case, it’s quite a story.”

It’s a great story indeed, and that explains how the tiger earned his stripe as “the first” American to write a check in Vietnam history.

But what about being “the first” businessman to do business in Vietnam, that’s quite absurd, I tell him, now how are you going to explain that, Tony?

He smiles, and without roaring he says: “On being the First American to do business, here I confess that the media took some liberties. In fact, there were two others, neither of them had employees, but there were two others. Oh yeah, I mean two other Americans in Hanoi, there were others in South Vietnam, I never knew who they were.”

So that settles it, Anthony Salzman may not have been the only “first American” to do business in Vietnam, but he was certainly “the first American” to have employees in Vietnam. And that is precisely why in 2010 he was given the most prestigious honor, receiving the Vietnam Friendship Medal from President Nguyễn Minh Triết, who recognized the enormous contributions of the American to Vietnam, mainly as a pioneer whose commitment personal and business opened a new chapter of friendship and paved the way for others.

While I am impressed with all the Salzman anecdotes you shared with me, I point out that the devil’s advocate is rarely satisfied…

IDG: I have to ask Tony, the “first” to own a car in Vietnam? Are you kidding? It was the 90’s, all the somewhat civilized countries had cars… seriously, how could this be?

Without pausing, Salzman explains, “NN-35-01, so 35 means the United States and 01 means the first person to register!

The problem arose when the first US ambassador was appointed. According to protocol, he had to be number one in the United States!

So I hated the negotiation and sued during which I was told that I had to hand over my 01 plate. There was a solution, typical Vietnamese style: they gave me the license number 00 001!

There is also a story about how I made the couple between the ambassador, whose wife had tragically passed away due to a terrible illness, and, you guessed it, the bank clerk at the Bank of Australia.

Now, if your naysayer friends don’t think I introduced the first American ambassador to his wife, they need to read the next installment in the story!

Hint: the American ambassador had been a prisoner of war in Vietnam. And the banker lady was a Vietnamese immigrant in Australia. Back then, Australian newspapers had headlines saying “US Ambassador Marries Vietnamese Girl.”

Well, this young lady was not far behind! She responded to reporters by saying that the headline should have read “former scammer marries Australian diplomat”!

Hopes, I blew the punchline. She had been with the Australian aid organization in Vietnam before joining the bank.”

In fact, that takes care of the “First” to own a car in Vietnam and the best American matchmaker in Vietnam. The registration is not only straight but is etched in “steel” rather than stone, as Salzman tells me he still owns the earlier model Mercedes with its 00 001 license plate from Vietnam.

As I thank Salzman for this rare interview, he kindly thanks me and adds, “When I was a kid, there were these stories called ‘the righteous stories’ by Rudyard Kipling. My favorite was ‘how the elephant got his trunk.’ I have explained a little in the same way. [laughs]

In our Just So Story, I say that this “tiger” has definitely explained how he earned his stripes.

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